Palestinian Women Recall Harrowing 12-Mile Escape from Gaza

A group of Palestinian women, after being besieged by Israeli forces in a Gaza City neighborhood for over a week, recounted to CNN their harrowing escape to the south. With their children in tow, they left behind other family members, enduring a grueling 12-mile journey along the coast, some without shoes, to find safety.

One of the women was compelled to leave her elderly stepmother on the beach, fearing she had become a target for the stray dogs in the area.

CNN met these four women and their 16 children, ranging in age from 9 months to 12 years, at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza. They arrived on February 3, after an arduous eight-hour trek through cold, rainy conditions from Gaza City. Originating from Abu Eskandar, a northern Gaza neighborhood, they had sought temporary refuge in an apartment building in Gaza City’s Al-Rimal area during their journey.

Throughout detailed interviews, the women shared that their husbands, sons, other elder family members, and a sister who is a doctor, were taken by Israeli forces from their temporary shelter in Gaza City. They further claimed that the Israeli military demolished the building where they were staying, along with other nearby structures.