As thousands of Palestinians fled Israel’s offensive in Gaza City, many escaped the bombardment with none or few of their belongings.

Most walked several miles to reach central and southern areas of the coastal strip amid relentless strikes and shelling across the famine-stricken Gaza City.

“I left with nothing,” said Najwa, a displaced woman from the Shati refugee camp. “We are frightened.”

The woman, whose eyes looked heavy from lack of sleep and exhaustion, spoke as she and many others reached central Gaza. She said transportation costs were skyrocketing.

People, including woman and children, were seen walking southward on Tuesday through the coastal road, with little fleeing on vehicles. A trip from Gaza City to central Gaza costs up to $1,600, according to the United Nations.

Another man, Suhail Aiyash, carried little of his belongings on his bicycle, and evacuated southward.

“We don’t have money for transportation. We have nothing,” the father of seven said, adding that he was forced for flee his home in Rimal neighborhood in the city amid the intensified bombing. "The (Israeli) air force is merciless," he said. "The dead are in the streets. No one rescues them.“

Thousands of Palestinians fled their homes and moved southward in the recent weeks amid Israel’s ground and air attacks on the city of about 1 million people.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Forty-eight hostages, fewer than half believed to be alive, remain in Gaza.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants.

The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, says women and children make up around half the dead.