"17,000 Shekels Just to Survive"
Gazans Pay Crushing Price for Hamas's War as Half a Million Flee South
As Israel's campaign surges, exposing Hamas's exploitation of its own people, Gazans' outcry grows: The real enemy isn't just the bombs, it's the terror overlords who started this hell and refuse to end it.
As Israeli forces pound Hamas terror nests in a relentless drive to dismantle the jihadist regime, Gaza's civilians are reeling from the skyrocketing costs of survival, funneling fury straight at the Hamas tyrants who ignited this catastrophe with their October 7 massacre and stubbornly cling to Israeli hostages. Half a million residents are projected to evacuate southward in the next few days (if they haven't done so already), but the exodus comes at a brutal economic toll: thousands in transport fees, tents, and makeshift shelters that shove families to the brink of ruin, all while Hamas deploys goon squads to trap key figures in the north as human shields.
In a damning indictment of Hamas's callous grip, Gazans are venting rage online and in interviews, blasting the terror group for dragging them into endless suffering without a shred of protection or cease-fire deals. "The fear isn't death, it's the life after: no home, no shelter, no family," one resident lamented, capturing the despair amid booming Israeli airstrikes that target embedded rocket sites and command posts.
Israeli assessments paint a picture of massive displacement: By tomorrow, 500,000 Gazans will have fled south, heeding IDF warnings via calls, texts, and leaflets to escape Hamas-infested zones. Yet, in the rubble-strewn streets of Gaza City, voices echo a unified cry: Nowhere safe to go, and no money to make the move.
Silwan, a Gaza resident, told N12: "Evacuation takes more than a day; the journey can drag on for 15-18 hours." She added that most people "have no clue where to head, and many arrive south just to squat on bare ground, they can't even afford a tent."
Transport costs alone hit around $1,000 in cash, cash that vanishes into brokers' pockets and fees, forging a direct link between survival promises and family-crushing debt.
One Gazan woman broke down the "price list": 7,000 shekels for truck transport, 5,000 for a tent, 2,000 to build toilets, and 3,000 to rent a few square meters of land, totaling about 17,000 shekels. "You pay this just to stay alive and homeless, instead of being buried under rubble," she said bitterly.
Social media in the Strip boils with anger and frustration. Muhammad described his family's split: "Half are on high alert, fearing the unknown; the other half is exhausted from displacement and decided to stay."
Others try local fixes: Al-Aqra chose to remain to "protect my family and loved ones in the south," noting trips cost 6,000 shekels.
Salah slammed the ordeal: "Death in Gaza isn't just bombings and hunger. Add death from displacement... A man dies of despair when he fails to scrape together funds to move his family from ruins to ruins."
The economic nightmare intersects with shattered security. Residents report every nearby blast feels like the first, with terror not from dying but surviving – maimed, family-less, roofless, penniless.
"All options before me are worse than the last," summed up another Gazan woman. "Stay north and face death, or flee south into the unknown and I have nothing: no tent, no shelter, not even the means to pay these insane displacement prices."
In a sinister twist, Hamas's elite "Arrow Unit" - a thug squad tasked with enforcing order through violence and hunting collaborators - is blocking senior officials, mayors, and doctors from fleeing south, Israeli security sources reveal.
Deployed along IDF-designated evacuation routes, these enforcers have halted government bigwigs, city leaders, and medics trying to escape with families. Reports include top Shifa Hospital doctors turned back north at gunpoint.
Israeli defense officials see this as Hamas's desperate scramble in the last 24 hours to sabotage Israel's civilian evacuation push and prop up their crumbling rule in Gaza City. Despite the blockades, IDF reports waves of residents pouring out.
Military sources note mounting Gazan backlash against Hamas, with social media ablaze in condemnation for blocking hostage deals and prioritizing endless fighting. "People realize this might be the last time they see their homes," officials said, "and they're pointing fingers squarely at Hamas."
The IDF estimates Hamas fears total collapse if Gaza City falls: "The group senses Israel is going all the way, and after capturing the city, troops will advance to central camps and establish military governance."