Could Gaza's situation get even worse? many asked. The answer was yes.

The accompanying photo, from Agence France-Presse, shows a search for victims of an airstrike by the Israel Defense Forces in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where displaced  Palestinians had been advised by the IDF to go.

Many of them came from Khan Younis, a city 5.7 miles northeast of Rafah. Khan Younis's prewar population was about 200,000, although refugees have swelled that number to more than 620,000. The IDF believed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was somewhere in the city, which led to "some of the heaviest fighting of the two-month-old war." So go s0uthwest to Rafah, or perhaps Al-Mawasi (4.3 miles directly west of Khan Younis), said the Israeli military to Gazans who had holed up in Khan Younis. And go they did, not knowing that both "safer" cities were under bombardment. 

Just before the strike on Rafah, the United Nations "expressed alarm" at the hellish conditions there; shelters were way over capacity so refugees had to sleep in the street or any abandoned area. Not that it would improve the situation, but a U.N. Children's Fund spokesman complained that "Under international humanitarian law, the place where you evacuate people to must, by law, have sufficient resources for their survival — medical facilities, food and water." In Rafah, he added, "That is absolutely not the case."

The U.N. also noted that Khan Younis and surrounding towns had been going without aid because of the fighting, and anyone attempting to flee northward on the main roads would be thwarted by Israeli blockades. The Israeli military wrote on social media that Gazans could try fleeing north via the main coastal road, however that area, too, was being bombarded.

Managing to find one's way to the north of Khan Younis would scarcely be an improvement. Aid workers in central Gaza "have described intense bombardment by Israeli forces," with "dozens of bodies" being delivered to a major hospital there. Yesterday Doctors Without Borders impotently demanded  that the siege "be lifted; medical humanitarian supplies and aid must urgently be supplied to the Gaza Strip in its entirety.We are running out of essential supplies to treat [patients]." A journalist at the hospital reported that the dead are being "stack[ed] atop one another in ice-cream containers."  

At Khan Younis's Nasser Hospital, space and supplies have been exhausted. The injured lie on the floor, and medical workers do whatever they can with only first aid. "There are no words to describe what the situation is really like, the wounded come in the dozens and it’s impossible for us to treat all these victims," said Dr. Abu Moussa. "We can’t even diagnose them," he added. Yesterday the routes to the hospital were so treacherous, medical workers failed to reach it.

The U.N. announced this week that among Gaza's 2.2 million population, about 1.9 million — or 85% — have been displaced by the war. Shelters, if they can be labeled that, made of wood and plastic are being built in cities such as Al Mawasi. "There are so many hardships here. There is no water, no food, nothing to drink," said Gazan Mohamed Hamdan. He was especially worried about the women and children, "many of whom were falling ill." An Israeli video broadcast early in the war urged Gazans to abandon their homes and flee to cities like Al-Mawasi. "If necessary, international humanitarian aid will be sent there," said the video's voice less than honestly. 

A personal note.  I find it impossible to write about the horrors of Gaza with any expressed emotion for fear of sounding maudlin. Just the facts, ma'am, is my strategic, Detective Joe Friday approach. Anything beyond that might border on "virtue-signaling," which I also find repugnant. Besides, "just the facts" are provocatively emotional enough.