Others have chosen to move south despite the risks. The Israeli army, which has sealed off northern Gaza from the south, said it was offering residents four hours in recent days to move south safely.
About 5,000 people took advantage of the lull to make the journey Monday through areas held by Israeli forces, United Nations observers said. They trudged south on foot, small children and belongings in hand.
On Tuesday, an Israeli military spokesman posted images on X of a caravan of Gazans moving south on foot and waving white flags. The Israeli military has also claimed that Hamas has physically obstructed the movement of people south, which Hamas has denied.
Others have left the north to return. Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam International’s policy director for the Palestinian territories, said her in-laws were among the many people who had left their homes in Gaza City only to return. In their case, the place where they had sought refuge, in central Gaza, received an evacuation order from the Israeli army.
“My father-in-law said, ‘I would rather die with dignity in my own home than in a stranger’s home,’” she said.
Their Rimal neighborhood, once an elegant part of the city, has been ravaged by air raids. They alternate nights at home and camp near Al Shifa Hospital, along with tens of thousands of other displaced people, Ms. Khalidi said.
Many Palestinians had hoped the hospital and adjacent area would be spared, but there have also been Israeli attacks there, including one on Friday that killed 13 people, according to hospital chief Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmiya. The top floor of a hospital building was hit Monday, killing a child and injuring 10 others, he said.
Israel has accused Hamas of operating a command center beneath Al Shifa, the area’s largest hospital; Hamas denies that.
“We will not leave the hospital no matter what,” said Dr. Abu Salmiya.
Israel has besieged Gaza since the October 7 Hamas-led attacks in Israel, allowing only limited deliveries of food, water and medical supplies through the Rafah crossing – far less than humanitarian groups say is needed.
Conditions are worst in the north, where virtually no aid has been provided. And Israel has not allowed any fuel into Gaza, despite its importance for running water and hospital equipment, the territory’s only power plant, vans, ambulances and generators.
Ms Khalidi stressed that without a ceasefire there is no way to safely deliver aid anywhere in the area.
“How are humanitarians supposed to provide aid when bombings are happening, roads are damaged and we have direct evidence of indiscriminate attacks?” she said.
Arijeta Lajka, Riley MellenAnd She is Abuheweila reporting contributed.