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'It was a catastrophe': Israel gives Gaza locals 15 minutes to flee homes

"We took nothing away with us... it is unjust," says Nadia Shamalakh, a Palestinian woman who cares for four disabled sons and daughters, as Israeli bombardment lays waste to properties in Palestine's Gaza enclave.

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Israeli strikes have continued for two days, leaving smoke and dust clouds from the destroyed buildings drifting across the Gaza skyline.

As Israeli attacks on Palestine's Gaza continue on their second day, residents of houses targeted for destruction said they were given only a 15-minute warning to flee.

"What can we do with 15 minutes?" said 68-year-old Nadia Shamalakh, who cares for four disabled sons and daughters in the Israel-blockaded enclave.

"We took nothing away with us," she said on Saturday.

Israeli says it is targeting weapon depots and resistance fighters of Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Palestinian Health Authorities say "Israeli aggression" has so far killed 24 Palestinians, including six children, and wounded 215 others.

Asked whether it had given 15-minute warnings Israel had no immediate comment. An Islamic Jihad official rejected the allegation as "a Zionist attempt to justify their crimes against civilians."

Shamalakh said her one-storey house was destroyed when an Israeli air strike hit a building next door belonging to a relative, who was warned to clear their house and to tell their neighbours to do the same.

"I fell to the ground three times because I had undergone surgery on my leg, while others helped my children in wheelchairs to move away," Shamalakh said, as she sat on a pile of rubble next to where her home had stood.

For Shamalakh, who said the strikes severely damaged the houses of relatives in the area where she and her family might have found refuge, the loss of her home left her with no shelter and an uncertain future.

"Where shall I sleep with my disabled daughters and sons? What happened was a catastrophe, it is unjust."

Reuters

Shamalakh says her one-storey house was destroyed when an Israeli air strike hit a building next door belonging to a relative, who was warned to clear their house and to tell their neighbours to do the same.

Israel 'warned us with rockets'

Strikes have continued since Friday, leaving smoke and dust clouds from the destroyed buildings drifting across the Gaza skyline. Islamic Jihad fighters fired volleys of rockets into Israel in response.

According to the local health officials, Israeli planes bombed at least eight houses across the enclave, wounding dozens of people and leaving many families homeless in a widening of the campaign of strikes launched on Friday.

In one strike on Saturday, a blast flattened the two-storey structure, leaving a large rubble-filled crater, and badly damaged surrounding homes.

Women and children rushed out of the area.

"Warned us? They warned us with rockets and we fled without taking anything," said Huda Shamalakh, who lived next door. She said 15 people lived in the targeted home.

In Gaza City, resident Dounia Ismail said Palestinians have become accustomed to preparing a "survival bag" of items such as money and medicine.

"This latest escalation brings back images of fear, anxiety, and the feeling that we are all alone," she told the AFP news agency.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies