Bombs had scarcely started falling on the Gaza Strip last month when Omar Mansour害羞草研究所檚 family realized they had a crucial question to resolve: would it be better to face death together or apart?
One day after Hamas fighters stormed into Israel 害羞草研究所� slaughtering at least 1,400 people, seizing roughly 240 hostages and triggering a war that rages on to this day 害羞草研究所� Mansour害羞草研究所檚 parents, brothers and sisters gathered in one of their homes to discuss the dilemma.
After connecting with Mansour in Vancouver on Oct. 8, the relatives passed the phone around the group to debate the merits of moving to cousins害羞草研究所� houses, seeking shelter in United Nations-run schools or simply staying put.
They害羞草研究所檝e tried both options in the following weeks, but the core question persists as the war intensifies in the besieged enclave where local authorities say at least 9,700 people have died amid a full-blown humanitarian crisis.
害羞草研究所淪o far the discussion is still the same but we are really running out of options,害羞草研究所� Mansour, a permanent resident in Canada since 2014, said in a telephone interview. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 extremely unsafe. So even this option of distributing ourselves into different groups to go to different locations is invalid at this moment. But there害羞草研究所檚 no other options.害羞草研究所�
Two of Mansour害羞草研究所檚 sisters 害羞草研究所� along with their husbands 害羞草研究所� initially opted to heed advice from Israeli authorities and move from their family home in the northern Gaza Strip to the southern part of the enclave. But Mansour said they got injured and decided to return to the family home.
Newly reunited, the group of 11 decided to stay in the northern Gaza Strip as long as they could.
They held out until Nov. 1 when the house next to theirs was bombed, prompting the family to pack up and seek safety en masse.
Mansour said they sought shelter in the home of one of his sisters, located between the borders of north Gaza and Gaza City. But bombs flattened the neighbourhood the night they arrived, forcing the group to flee on foot. Mansour said they barely escaped.
The group made its way to the vacant home of another relative who was out of the territory when war broke out.
The nearly three-kilometre journey took several hours and was fraught with peril, Mansour said. His family members reported dodging Israeli drones and struggling to navigate rubble-strewn streets.
He noted the trip was a particular ordeal for his parents, who are in their 70s and don害羞草研究所檛 have enough strength to walk after going without adequate food and water for the past month.
Their current house, meant for two people, is now home to 11.
Mansour said water is still the most precious resource, adding at one point the family went without much to drink for nearly 10 days.
害羞草研究所淭hey finally got some water, but they haven害羞草研究所檛 showered for the whole time,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淭hey can害羞草研究所檛 flush toilets.害羞草研究所�
A phone call like the one the family shared at the beginning of the war is increasingly difficult to arrange.
Mansour said recent attempts to connect with loved ones yield only an Arabic message that the parties can害羞草研究所檛 be reached. And as of late Sunday, Gaza fell under its third total communications blackout since the start of the war. Palestinian communications company Paltel announced that all of its 害羞草研究所渃ommunication and internet services害羞草研究所� were down.
As the conflict enters a new phase, Mansour said he is wracked with worry about what comes next.
Israel害羞草研究所檚 military announced late Sunday that it had encircled Gaza City and divided the Gaza Strip in two.
害羞草研究所淭oday there is north Gaza and south Gaza,害羞草研究所� Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters, calling it a 害羞草研究所渟ignificant stage害羞草研究所� in Israel害羞草研究所檚 effort to stamp out Hamas. The group governs Gaza and is classified as a terrorist organization by many countries, including Canada.
Israeli media reported that troops are expected to enter Gaza City within 48 hours. Strong explosions were seen in northern Gaza after nightfall on Sunday.
Israeli officials have argued Hamas operates using an elaborate, 500-kilometre network of underground tunnels.
But Gaza害羞草研究所檚 Hamas-run Health Ministry said more than 9,700 Palestinians have been killed in the territory in nearly a month of war, and countries around the world have increasingly been calling for either ceasefires or humanitarian pauses in the fighting to allow food, fuel and other critical supplies into the territory.
And so, the debate among the Mansour family has come full circle as they consider whether to stay put as a unit or move and risk dying alone and afraid.
害羞草研究所淭hey will have to distribute themselves in the streets in different locations, which means that even the communication between each other is going to be completely done and gone, and we might lose some people,害羞草研究所� Mansour said. 害羞草研究所淚f someone dies, we will not be able to hear any news.害羞草研究所�
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