Tens of thousands of people — including one of this article’s authors — have fled the city of Khan Younis in recent days. Their testimonies reveal the harrowing ordeal of crossing Israel’s checkpoints in Gaza.

Israeli tanks have besieged two of the most important hospitals still partially functioning in southern Gaza: Nasser and Al-Amal. Both are located in the western part of Khan Younis, and have been overwhelmed since the war began not only with the influx of patients but also with families seeking shelter after having been displaced from the northern parts of the Strip. Israeli forces opened fire at the more than 8,000 displaced people sheltering in the vicinity of Nasser Hospital, and bulldozed graves in the adjacent cemetery — one of at least 16 cemeteries that Israel has desecrated during its operation in Gaza.

Israeli tanks also penetrated the vicinity of Al-Aqsa University at the western edge of the city, near the previously designated “safe zone” of Al-Mawasi; targeted the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Training Center, one of the largest shelters in all of Gaza which had been accommodating up to 40,000 displaced people; and completely surrounded the western part of Khan Younis refugee camp.

According to testimonies from Palestinians who have made the journey, including one of the authors, those passing through the corridor were forced to chant slogans against Hamas; many had their belongings confiscated; and men were separated from their families, stripped, and subjected to hours of physical abuse and deprivation. All the while, thousands remain trapped inside Khan Younis, unable to leave their shelters out of fear of being shot on the streets.

MBFC