A deadly Israeli strike on a school turned shelter in northern Gaza on Saturday exposed an agonizing dilemma for civilians in Gaza seeking safety after 10 months of war. They could stay at the schools turned shelters, hoping for a modicum of security in the desperate conditions of Gaza. Or they can flee, knowing that the shelters themselves can become targets. Conditions are atrocious, residents have said, but the schools, which offer walls and access to limited plumbing, are attractive for the simple reason that the alternatives are worse. And diseases are spreading fast in squalid, crowded camps and the ruins of former homes.

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Persons: Ahmed Tahseen Abd Shabat Organizations: New York Times, Hamas Locations: Gaza, schoolyards, Gaza City, Israel