Gaza City faces deadly strikes, mass exodus as Israeli bombardment intensifies

Gaza City is enduring yet another wave of devastating airstrikes, with residents describing an increasingly dire reality on the ground.

(NBC)- Gaza City is enduring yet another wave of devastating airstrikes, with residents describing an increasingly dire reality on the ground. Local hospitals report more than 140 people killed over the weekend as Israel intensified its bombardment of the densely populated city.

Injured civilians — many of them children — were rushed to hospitals that remain overwhelmed and ill-equipped to handle the mounting casualties. Amid the chaos, parents carried bloodied children through smoke and ash as emergency crews struggled to keep up.

The violence has sparked one of the largest recent displacements in Gaza. Israeli military estimates say more than 100,000 people fled their homes over the weekend, creating a mass exodus not seen in months. Families bundled children and belongings into cars, carts, and trucks, pressing southward in search of safety.

Some residents described unbearable loss. One man said 25 of his relatives had already been killed. “I left only for these children, but I wish a rocket would hit me and I die and find comfort because this is not life,” he said. Another, Ahmad, walked among the rubble of his destroyed home, crying, “The house is gone. Where will we stay?”

Despite evacuation orders, hundreds of thousands remain in Gaza City. Israeli ground forces are expected to enter in the coming days, raising fears of even more destruction and loss.