Since Israel launched its military campaign against the Palestinian militant group Hamas after the horrific attacks of Oct. 7, the situation on the ground for Gazan civilians has deteriorated markedly. Israel ordered Palestinians to evacuate from the northern half of the Gaza Strip on Oct. 13, sparking a mass civilian exodus amid heavy aerial and artillery bombardment. As the ground campaign expanded on Oct. 27, it increasingly looked as if there was nowhere for civilians to go that was safe from violence. At least 17,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have already died, leading some activists and scholars to charge...