SHOTLIST:

GAZA, PALESTINE (SEPT. 17, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL)

1. VARIOUS OF HUNDREDS OF DISPLACED PALESTINIAN FAMILIES AND VEHICLES LOADED WITH BELONGINGS MOVING SOUTH

2. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED PALESTINIAN MAN, JUMAA ZARAB, SAYING:

"We've been at war for two years. We're broken with grief — everyone's suffering. They won't leave our women, they won't spare our children. Our cause keeps being pushed aside; the humanitarian crisis is obvious to the entire world, yet no one is taking action. The situation I saw was anything but normal. If anyone thinks this is normal, let them come live it in Gaza.

We don't even know where to turn, by God. I'm one of those you see — I've been displaced for forty days. I didn't leave during the first displacement, but what I saw then I never wanted to see again. They told us some areas were safe and that supplies were provided, but sadly, I'm one of the people who have spent forty days sleeping in the street, with buildings destroyed.

At night, it feels like being surrounded by death. I stay in the street all day so I won't burden others, and at night I keep quiet so none of my children will ask me for anything. I'm torn in front of my children — I swear to God, I reached the point of praying, 'O Lord, let them be taken (or die).' I even came upon a family... that's all."

3. VARIOUS OF HUNDREDS OF DISPLACED PALESTINIAN FAMILIES AND VEHICLES LOADED WITH BELONGINGS MOVING SOUTH

4. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED PALESTINIAN MAN JIHAD ABU QAMER SAYING:

"I was first displaced from the north to Al-Nasr, but the place we moved to became dangerous. We were forced to flee again, under fire and shelling. I grabbed what little I had, but I don’t have a tent or anything to protect my family. For the past two days, I’ve been sleeping in the street, as you can see. We pray that God will ease this suffering. We don’t want to leave Gaza; we want to go back home.

We used to rent a house, but now we’re on the street with no shelter. The danger came suddenly — bullets flying above us — and the children didn’t even understand what was happening. I didn’t want to leave, but I was forced. I left with almost nothing. We lost our first home, and also the rented one. Now I’m sleeping on the ground near Jreib (place unclear), but even here it isn’t safe because there’s no transport or help. For God’s sake, we need a solution. We can’t live like this. The enemy came upon us suddenly, and I swear to God, I don’t even have a tent. I am in the street. Last night I slept outside, alone, with stray dogs around, in the cold, hungry, and exhausted. God knows, no one can survive like this in displacement." GAZA, PALESTINE - SEPT. 17, 2025: Hundreds of Palestinian families continued to flee from northern to southern areas of the Gaza Strip day and night as intensified Israeli bombardment and forced evacuation orders pushed residents southward.

Many describe the nights as being engulfed by death, as ongoing bombardments force families to escape the relentless violence.

Families carried what belongings they could on foot and in vehicles, moving under the constant threat of airstrikes and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Displaced residents who reached southern shelters described dire conditions, with severe shortages of food, clean water, medicine, and shelter.

Many temporary centers were reported to be overcrowded and struggling to meet basic needs. At the same time, survivors said the long trek — often at night and in extreme stress — left them exhausted and vulnerable.

One displaced man, Jumaa Zarab, said families had endured prolonged suffering and displacement. Zarab recounted being uprooted for 40 days, sleeping in the streets amid destroyed buildings and fearing for his children’s lives.

He described a situation of “broken grief,” pleading for international attention and urgent relief as people “sleep in the street” with little hope of safety or supplies.

"At night, it feels like being surrounded by death. I stay in the street all day so I won't burden others, and at night I keep quiet so none of my children will ask me for anything." Zarab added.

Another displaced resident, Jihad Abu Qamer, said he had been forced to flee multiple times as areas declared safe quickly became dangerous. He said he and his family had been left without tents or shelter, sleeping outdoors for days amid cold, hunger, and the threat of renewed shelling.

“We don’t want to leave Gaza, we just want to go back home,” Abu Qamer said, urging aid and protection for displaced families.

"We used to rent a house, but now we’re on the street with no shelter. The danger came suddenly — bullets flying above us — and the children didn’t even understand what was happening. I didn’t want to leave, but I was forced. I left with almost nothing." Qamer added.

Israel’s heavy bombardment of northern Gaza and repeated warnings of forced evacuations have driven hundreds of Palestinian families to flee southward.

Those who reach the south are met with dire conditions in temporary shelters, where shortages of food, clean water and medicine are widespread.

The forced exodus, described by many as a “death road,” has already claimed the lives of numerous civilians.

The Israeli army has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.