The Israeli military ordered families to leave Northern Gaza on October 13, but a Palestinian family decided to stay and stick together amid constant bombings in Gaza.
Omy Olwan, a retired teacher and mother of eight and four of her family, survived the October 7 attack.
Olwan Family Sticks Together
TOPSHOT - This picture taken from a position along the border with the Gaza Strip near Israel's southern city of Sderot on October 27, 2023 shows a smoke plume ascending following Israeli bombardment over the northern Gaza Strip amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.
The Israeli military has ordered 1.1 million people to evacuate due to a possible ground assault this month. Olwan said in a phone interview on NBC News that the bombings were left and right, south and north. She said, "There isn't any safe place away from the bombing."
The U.N. criticized the Israeli order of evacuation as it would have destructive humanitarian consequences. The residents of Northern Gaza, who are about 1.4 million people, were relocated by the conflict out of Gaza's population of 2.2 million following Israeli's order.
Olwan heard stories of her former students being killed and bombs demolishing mosques, grocery stores, and residential buildings with families inside. She knew that there would be a probability that she could lose one of her children.
"The decision to stay was hard, and the decision to leave was also problematic," she said. The family decided to stay after several days of deliberations on group calls.
The younger family members debated going south, while the older ones hesitated to move since leaving could disrupt their access to medications and necessities. But all family members knew that their family could never split up.
Alhayek, the eldest son of Olwan, said that they will either live or die together, but they will be staying together. The barricade has made it difficult for the separated members of the Alhayek family to see each other frequently.
Alhayek also added that it was hard for other people to understand that it was difficult to leave a place that has all their memories, their father's memories, and all of their lives.
However, the Olwan family said that they could still change their mind about leaving due to the possible Israeli ground invasion. "If they decide to enter and if we feel there is a tremendous danger, we will surely leave," Olwan said.
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Hamas Attack
According to Yahoo! News, Palestinian health officials reported that more than 7,000 people, including more than 2,900 children, had been killed in Gaza on the October 7 attack. One thousand four hundred people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack on Israel, and at least 224 people were taken hostage.
The war resulted in a cut-off of supplies of fuel, water, and electricity. A representative for UNRWA, the U.N. relief agency for Palestinian refugees, said that they would be forced to shut some services for more than 600,000 people hiding out at 150 of its facilities across the territory.
The Gaza Health Ministry expressed their worries in terms of healthcare. The ministry said that the healthcare system was in complete collapse.
Related Article: Israel Expands Ground Operation in Gaza, Military Officials Say
