Forced from their Gaza home by Israeli troops, a family makes a frightening walk through a war zone
Associated PressCAIRO — It wasn’t lack of food that pushed Heba al-Haddad and her family to leave their home in Gaza City. Witnesses say Israeli troops conducted building-by-building expulsions of residents in nearby neighborhoods during the military’s two-week raid on Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, which triggered furious fighting across the area. Asked about the reports, the Israeli military said there are no specific procedures for evacuations, only that it “depends on the situation” and if there is an “operational threat.” The Israeli military didn’t respond to questions about burning homes, instead saying its troops carry out “demolitions of Hamas infrastructure and other military targets using approved and appropriate means.” It said it could not comment on the specific case of al-Haddad’s family. The past weeks’ campaign of evacuations in Gaza City has been more aggressive and direct, Euro-Med director Ramy Abdu said: Troops went door to door to expel people or sent detained Palestinians to tell residents to leave. After the raid on Shifa began March 19, al-Haddad said the family heard people screaming or calling for help at her building’s entrance.