Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Image source, Reuters

Amid Israeli gunfire and artillery bombardment, Palestinian doctors say they have begun removing premature babies and other patients from Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp. Troops and tanks surrounded the urban camp. Israel is carrying out its third ground offensive in the region since the start of the war on Gaza, saying it targets groups of Hamas fighters who wish to launch attacks.

Two other hospitals are virtually inaccessible and under evacuation orders, according to Gaza health officials.

“I have been moved more than ten times. I moved from house to house, from school to school, under bombardment and from street to street,” Ahmed Leki, a 50-year-old father from the Falluja region of Jabalia, told the BBC.

“We are exhausted, completely exhausted. There is nothing left. Where can we go? We have small children and there is no safe place in Gaza, not a single inch of security.

“We left our homes to a hail of shells, shelling, destruction and dismemberment all around us. Enough is enough.” In recent days, new “evacuation orders” have been issued by the Israeli army covering a large area of ​​the territory. north of the enclave, including Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia and parts of Gaza City. All those remaining in the north – an estimated 400,000 people – have been asked to head south.

“The displacement is extremely difficult, a tragedy. There is no transportation, no necessities to survive. Men, women and children ask: ‘Where are we going?’ and the answer is: ‘I don’t know’ “, declares a resident of the region, Bilal Al-Amreeti.

Despite Israel’s assurances, many Gazans fear it aims to depopulate the northern Strip and turn it into a closed military zone or Jewish colony.