Khan Younis: Gaza city on its knees with a million mouths to feed 

Khan Younis has being flooded by humanity.

Hundreds of thousands of people fled from the north to this area on whatever transport they could find, including automobiles with fuel, horses and carts, and their own two feet if there was no other choice.

And when they arrived, they discovered a metropolis that had collapsed under the weight of an overnight population increase.

Men, women, and children are crammed into every room, alley, and street. There are no other options.

According to Hamas, 400,000 of the 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza have left in the previous 48 hours after receiving Israel’s order to evacuate.

Along with my wife, three kids, and two days’ supply of food, I was one of them.

Many believe that Hamas’s directive to remain put is nullified by the fear of Israeli bombings and the upcoming assault, which comes after militants from Gaza killed 1,300 Israelis.

However, there are few alternatives for where one can end up in this little area of land that is surrounded by barriers and sealed off from the rest of the world. There is no such thing as safety.

So a thronging mass of Gazans, many of whom had already been bombed out of their houses, gathered here. They were all lost, all terrified, and unsure of what would happen next.

Overnight, the 400,000 residents who previously called this metropolis home increased to more than a million. They came from the east as well as the north, which suffered greatly during the 2014 conflict.

Humanity, however, inevitably overflows onto the streets, fills the alleyways and underpasses, and lives and sleeps in the dirt, the dust, and the debris while yearning for something better that may never come.

There is not much food or gasoline available. The stores don’t have any water. The best chance is at water stations. The situation is disastrous.

Furthermore, this city is not immune to danger. It is still in a combat zone and is frequently bombed. The streets are littered with rubble heaps and collapsed structures.

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As Hamas continues to attack within Israel, I heard rocket launches from a location close to the hospital. That invites retribution in all its forms.

The constant hum of Israeli drones hunting for their next prey is audible.

Buildings collapse, bombs detonate, and more people flood mortuaries and hospitals.

This morning, a bomb went off close to my family’s flat. It took me 20 minutes to get in touch with my kid because all telephone services are down or heavily interfered with.

This cannot be how people live. And the invasion hasn’t even started yet.

In Gaza, where I currently live, I have covered four wars. I’ve never seen it like this before.

I had never witnessed starvation or thirst-related deaths in this area, despite how terrible the previous battles were. This potential exists right now.

The Rafah gate into Egypt, which is the only way out of Gaza, is still blocked. Cairo is aware that opening it will cause a new humanitarian catastrophe.

One million Gazan refugees are still awaiting 20 kilometres from Rafah. Chaos will reign once the crossing opens.

When many attempted to flee the conflict in 2014, I witnessed the same scenario. It would be much, much worse this time. Egypt is concerned about this.

Humanity will just overflow the border, causing calamity and mayhem once more.

BBC