In northern Gaza, more than a million people remain in their homes despite an unrelenting campaign of bombardment and repeated evacuation threats. Entire neighbourhoods endure under fire as families, including hundreds of thousands of children, refuse to abandon their communities to the uncertainty of life in the south. For many, leaving would mean not only overcrowding and destitution, but also the irreversible loss of the places that anchor their identity.

The destruction has been merciless. Residential towers and family homes have been flattened, while civilians are repeatedly urged to move south to areas already overwhelmed by mass displacement. Yet for countless families, the choice is impossible. Poverty, the collapse of infrastructure, and the fear of permanent exile mean that staying, even under fire, feels like the only option.

Despite claims of large-scale evacuations, only a small fraction of those ordered to leave have managed to do so. The overwhelming majority remain in the north, enduring airstrikes, hunger, and the systematic destruction of their environment. Their continued presence, despite the staggering human toll, is a testament to resilience and to the refusal to be erased from their own land.