The Israeli military's announcement that the Al-Rasheed coastal road in the Gaza Strip would soon close triggered a mass evacuation from Gaza City on Wednesday.
With this route—the last connecting northern and southern Gaza—about to be severed, thousands of displaced families took to the road in a desperate race against time.
Households are moving on foot or piled onto overcrowded vehicles, facing the journey without food, water, or protection as Israeli tanks reportedly begin sealing sections of the route. The closure threatens to trap civilians in the north and cut off what has been the last lifeline for those escaping bombardment.
"For the past 10 days, the situation has been extremely bad, especially at night. Last night, shrapnel fell among my children while they were sleeping, and that's what forced us to flee. There is no safe place in the Gaza Strip, not even in the south, despite their claims. As long as there's occupation and bombardment, there can be no safety," said a displaced Palestinian named Um Mohammed Al-Naouq.
"The announcement of the road closure and possibly the setting up of checkpoints is what forced us to leave. My children cannot walk the long evacuation route, and I'm alone taking care of them, so I decided to leave early in the hope of finding a vehicle to carry them through this long and difficult journey, on top of the fact that planes are firing at us along the way," said another displaced Palestinian named Aya Mosleh.
"With the news about the announced deal, we waited two days before leaving, but unfortunately there are no solutions. We are going through a very harsh Nakbah (catastrophe) for all my family and beloved ones. I have just been displaced from Gaza City, and I can tell you that the situation there is extremely difficult," said Hossam Yassin, a displaced Palestinian.
Israeli forces have repeatedly shut down access to the route since October 2023, isolating northern Gaza and worsening the humanitarian crisis in the coastal enclave. It was briefly reopened in January 2025 during a fragile ceasefire.
The new move comes amid an intensified ground offensive launched by the Israeli army in September in Gaza City targeting Hamas fighters, with the aim of freeing the remaining Israeli hostages.
Tanks have advanced into several neighborhoods, in what the army described as the heaviest fighting since the offensive began.
The United Nations estimates that 1.9 million of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have been displaced multiple times since the conflict began. Humanitarian groups have warned that the latest closure will deepen the isolation of northern Gaza and hinder aid delivery.
Desperate Palestinian families evacuate as Israel announces road closure
Desperate Palestinian families evacuate as Israel announces road closure
