Oppressive heat prevails in Gaza, with a cloudless sky and temperatures above 30 degrees.
More and more black smoke columns rise over the million-city Gaza City as Israel escalates its bombardments ahead of a continued ground offensive there, with the stated aim of taking control of the entire city and defeating the terror-stamped Hamas.
The UN warns of catastrophic consequences in a situation where there is already fully developed famine after two years of war and Israeli blockades of aid.
Dozens of fatalities are reported daily from the city. On Saturday, there were at least twelve children among the victims, according to hospital sources.
Every evening when we go to bed, it is with the knowledge that we may not wake up again, says Umm Anas al-Ashqar, a resident of Gaza City, to the news agency AFP.
The bombs never stop falling around us. We have stayed at home because we have nowhere else to go.
Desperate situation
Israel has ordered the city's inhabitants to flee south. So far, around a quarter of a million have left, according to the country's military.
They face a highly uncertain situation.
Almost all - around 90 percent, according to the UN - of Gaza's more than two million inhabitants have already been forced to flee their homes earlier during the war. Many have been displaced several times.
The camps in southern Gaza and along the coast are already heavily overcrowded. Access to water and care is scarce - the situation is so desperate in many places that some have seen themselves forced to return to the bombarded Gaza City, reports Reuters.
I have been walking around in this heat for two days and in vain tried to find a place (to seek shelter). Now I will have to go back, says 35-year-old Mohammed al-Sherif to the news agency.
Tents by the dump
37-year-old Omar al-Far and his family have, after just having fled Gaza City, found a piece of vacant land by a dump where they have set up their tent.
One thinks that one should return home to fetch more things, but it risks being a fatal mistake, he says to The New York Times.
The family is worried about insects, rats, and diseases, but has not been able to find a more suitable piece of land.
When you leave your home, it is with the knowledge that you will probably not be able to return. It is important to take with you all kinds of metal you have so that you can build a tent.
