Gazans flee Israeli blitz as at least 16 killed

GAZA, Sept 15 (Reuters): Israel destroyed a score of buildings in Gaza City, killing at least 16 Palestinians, local health authorities said on Monday, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the war with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
Rubio's visit coincided with an emergency summit in Qatar of Arab and Islamic states, some of them close US allies, convened in response to Israel's attack last week on leaders of Hamas who reside in the Gulf state.
While diplomacy unfolded in Jerusalem and Doha, the Palestinian death toll kept mounting with two air strikes on sites in Gaza City, one on two family homes and another on a tent housing a displaced family.
Witnesses said strikes from the air and the ground hit several areas, spreading panic and prompting thousands to flee encampments established in streets and open areas.
Israel says the offensive to take control of Gaza City is part of a plan to defeat Hamas for good, and that it has warned civilians to head south to a designated humanitarian zone.
However, the UN and numerous countries say its tactics amount to forced mass displacement and that conditions in the humanitarian zone are dire, with food in short supply.
"Do you know what is displacement? It is extracting the soul from your body, it is humiliation and another form of death," said Ghada, 50, a mother of five from Sabra neighbourhood in Gaza City who was refusing to leave.
"They tell us to go south, and when we do, there is no guarantee they won't bomb us there, so why bother?" she said via a chat app.