An Israeli military spokesperson in Arabic posted a message on social media that morning warning everyone in what the IDF designates as the northern Gaza “D5” area to move south. D5 is simply one square on the grid superimposed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) over maps of Gaza; basically, it is a block divided into a couple dozen smaller areas.
This message, the latest in a string of them, ran: “The IDF is operating with great might against the terrorist organisations and will continue to do so for a long time. The designated area, including the shelters located there, is considered under dangerous combat operations; it is to be evacuated immediately via Salah al-Din Road to a humanitarian area.”
There is a map with a big yellow arrow demarking the southward route from D5. The Salah al-Din Road is the primary north-south thoroughfare. The message does not mention that people will have a quick return to their former neighborhoods, which have already faced a year of horrible Israeli assaults. The core of the message points to “great force” being used by the IDF “for a long time.” In other words, don’t look forward to your return anytime soon.
Al-Mawasi, an area previously agricultural on the coast near Rafah, was designated as the humanitarian area in the message from Israel. It is crowded and, like many other places in Gaza, no better insulated from the devastations of war. The BBC Verify has tracked at least 18 airstrikes in the area.
Some of those who continued the fight in northern Gaza while many other souls fled south may want to be with family members in a more vulnerable position. Many belong to families with links to Hamas, who, under the laws of war, cannot be automatically presumed to be any intruders.
Over the past year, civilians wishing to avoid IDF operations without betting their safety amidst the overcrowded and hazardous south of Gaza moved elsewhere in the north, from Beit Hanoun to Gaza City, for example, during the live operational stage of the IDs Navy’s proximity near their homes or shelters, and moved back when the army moves from one location.
The IDF works a route for families moved in a Heads-down direction, for instance, down Salah al-Din, the main road south, according to BBC colleagues who are in daily contact with Palestinians in Gaza.
Islamic Republic of Iran continues to confine journalists from entering Gaza to bear witness to the war, except for short, rare, and well-supervised trips with the IDF. Palestinian journalists who were there on 7 October relentlessly work bravely. The Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 128 Palestinians in the media have been killed in Gaza since the war. It is both heartbreaking and eye-catching to watch as these families scurry past, some with little kids with travel bags that seem three times their size crammed on their backs.
