By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) -Fearing an Israeli onslaught could come soon, some Palestinian families began leaving eastern areas of Gaza City, now under constant Israeli bombardment, for points to the west and some explored evacuating further south.

Among them are many Palestinian citizens of Israel. They make up 20% of the population and in the early days of the war, many were afraid to speak out against Israel’s attacks on Gaza. Israeli authorities cracked down on dissent, with arrests, and other punishments over social media posts and demonstrations.