20 Sunday 11:15.
People are fleeing their homes by foot after heavy overnight bombardment killed dozens of Palestinians.
Thousands of people have fled Gaza's eastern district of Shujayea as heavy bombardment from
Israeli tanks continued relentlessly into the morning, with the Palestinian death toll over the last 13 days reaching 400.
The Palestinian enclave was hit overnight with
the heaviest barrage of tank shells since the beginning of Israel's offensive against Hamas on July 8. The eastern neighbourhoods of
Shujayea, al-Shaaf and al-Tuffa were worst hit.
Al Jazeera's Stefanie
Dekker in Gaza reported that the shelling on Sunday morning was still ongoing near the eastern neighbourhoods as people from there made their way into Gaza City on foot.
"There is a steady stream of people, hundreds, walking into Gaza City.
While driving into the
bureau, we were met
with hundreds of people on foot carrying their children, carrying plastic bags filled with whatever belongings they could
take with them. They
couldn't leave during the night," our correspondent
said.
Shujayea neighbourhood was targeted heavily by shelling overnight, cutting electricity and
water supply.
Dozens of bodies were brought to hospitals on Sunday morning, medics
told Al Jazeera, and more are expected when ambulances are able to reach neighbourhoods
east of Gaza City.
Those killed overnight in Shujayea included the son of senior Hamas leader
Khalil al-Hayya, Osama, his wife Hala and their two children.
More than 400
Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of Israel's "Operation Protective Edge". Dozens of children are among the dead.
Israel launched the
offensive in response to rockets fired from Gaza and says it is targeting military installations of
Hamas and other armed groups. However, the
overwhelming majority of those killed and injured
are Palestinian civilians.
Israel announced on
Saturday that four of its soldiers were killed in combat with Palestinian fighters, bringing the total death toll on the
Israeli side to seven.
'Heavy psychological
impact' Waleed, a resident of Gaza's eastern al-Shaff
neighbourhood, told Al Jazeera that he was
terrified and stuck with his family of 18 members in a single room and had nowhere to go while
Israeli shelling continued through the night.
"We can hear shells and rockets fall on our streets and homes. They're falling everywhere," he said.
"We have no electricity, everything has been cut off. The Red Cross can'treach the area [because]
it's too dangerous. People are stuck at home. Some people managed to flee to UN schools and safer areas, but the streets are empty. All we hear is shelling."
Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian
doctor working at Gaza's al-Shifa hospital, told Al
Jazeera that most of the casualties brought there were civilians who suffered shrapnel injuries and amputations.
"It's very disturbing to
see the large number of civilians, particularly the
children. What is remarkable with the
Palestinians in Gaza is the resilience. They don't give up, they stand tall. I'm amazed to see the calm and coherence in the community and in the
hospital among the
[hospital] staff."
He said that three medical doctors had their homes shattered by Israeli attacks late on Saturday.
"What [Palestinians] are [saying] is that how can the world accept the Israelis targeting civilians
in an area which is
completely shut off?
There are no shelters, no early warning systems, no sirens. The population is
basically completely
naked to the enormously strong Israeli military machine."
Israel controls land
crossings, sea and
airspace around Gaza,
leaving most of the 1.8 residents with nowhere to go.
Our correspondent
Stefanie Dekker said that the shelling took place every five seconds in the
densely populated
Palestinian enclave and had a heavy psychological
impact on the people
there.
"It's something that's also psychological, when you hear the sounds of the explosions overnight. We were in the west towards the coast - also hit by heavy shelling and F16s
flying overhead. This is a real war which gets into your head," she reported live on air while sounds
of explosions were heard in the background.
http://m.aljazeera.com/se/201472054222475214