Greenville, Ohio resident Brenda Pollitt wipes tears from her eyes as she clears papers from her bedroom Wednesday. Pollitt and her children were at home when the strong storm hit Tuesday evening. She and her family ran downstairs and were all safe.

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Greenville, Ohio resident Brenda Pollitt wipes tears from her eyes as she clears papers from her bedroom Wednesday. Pollitt and her children were at home when the strong storm hit Tuesday evening. She and her family ran downstairs and were all safe.

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Columbia, Tenn. – Two people died in Tennessee and one died in North Carolina, after the storms produced damaging tornadoes and massive hail a day earlier, forecasters warned that a wave of dangerous storms could march south across the United States early Thursday.

The storms continue a series of rain and tornado outbreaks that have cut across the country this week, from the Plains to the Midwest and now the southeastern United States, where at least four people have died in the storms since Monday.

Amid Wednesday’s storms, the National Weather Service continued to issue tornado warnings past midnight for North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri and Kentucky. Parts of Arkansas and Mississippi were also under a tornado watch by dawn.

A storm that swept across Northeast Tennessee on Wednesday brought high winds that brought down power lines and trees. Sheriff Bob Brooks in Claiborne County, about an hour north of Knoxville, said a 22-year-old man was in a car when he was hit by one of the trees.

A second person was killed in Columbia, Maury County, where a tornado may have struck, the National Weather Service said. Columbia is south of Nashville.

According to Maury County 911 Assistant Director Lynn Thompson, homes were damaged and people were injured. Thompson told The Associated Press that he could not provide any further details: “We are overloaded right now.”

Rita Thompson, spokeswoman for Maori Regional Health, said the hospital had received five patients, including the deceased. Another was in critical condition, he said, while the injuries of three were not life-threatening.

The storms prompted the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Weather Service to issue a temporary ground shutdown at Nashville International Airport, which raised a tornado emergency — its highest warning level — to other nearby areas south of the state capital, including Chapel Hill and Eagleville.

Utility crews survey storm damage on Cothran Road Wednesday in Columbia, Tenn.

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Utility crews survey storm damage on Cothran Road Wednesday in Columbia, Tenn.

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Meanwhile, heavy rain and thunderstorms have led to water rescues northeast of Nashville.

“Do not attempt to travel until you have left an area under a flood or evacuation order,” the National Weather Service warned when it issued a flash flood emergency.

In North Carolina, Gaston County, west of Charlotte, declared a state of emergency Wednesday night after a large storm downed power lines and trees, including one that landed on a car. One person in the car was killed and another was taken to a hospital, officials said.

Storms rolled through the region on Wednesday after parts of Central America were battered by heavy rain, strong winds, hail and tornadoes on Monday, including a deadly twister that tore through Oklahoma City and killed one person. Then, on Tuesday, the Midwest took the brunt of bad weather.

Tornadoes hit parts of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana on Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.

In Michigan, according to the National Weather Service, tornadoes hit the southwest part of the state and in and around Kalamazoo County. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for 4 counties.

Debris surrounds storm-damaged mobile homes at Pavilion Estates Mobile Home Park, east of Kalamazoo, Mich., Wednesday, May 8, 2024.

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Debris surrounds storm-damaged mobile homes at Pavilion Estates Mobile Home Park, east of Kalamazoo, Mich., Wednesday, May 8, 2024.

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The Portage area of ​​Kalamazoo County was hit hard by the outage of a FedEx facility, with about 50 people temporarily trapped inside by downed power lines.

Travis Wyckoff was out Tuesday night after seeing a tornado hit the Portage area on radar and said he helped an elderly couple out of their partially collapsed home and freed a service dog from another home.

“A lot of people were running the streets trying to find people and their pets,” Wyckoff said. “It was very confusing.”

In nearby Pavilion Township, a dozen homes were destroyed and 16 people were injured at a mobile home park, Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller said.

Samantha Smith clutches a box outside her mother’s partially destroyed home in Pavilion Township Wednesday afternoon. Inside the box were her grandmother’s ashes. Being able to recover the most cherished items gave Smith a rare reprieve amid the storm’s devastation. He said his parents and brother were injured during the storm but survived.

“I’ve thanked God probably a billion times since this happened yesterday,” he said. “My children are healthy and well. We need to get back what we lost.”

Tornadoes were confirmed in Pennsylvania outside of Pittsburgh, as well as in central Arkansas and northern West Virginia. The West Virginia twister was at least the 11th tornado this year in the state, which sees an average of two tornadoes a year.

Both the Plains and the Midwest have been hit by tornadoes this spring.

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) — Meteorologist Estel Cías knew water would spill into the metropolitan area of ​​the capital, Porto Alegre, after massive flooding engulfed entire cities in Brazil’s northern Rio Grande do Sul state last week. A safe place.

So she left everything behind, her husband, three children, two dogs. Within 24 hours, water began filling his neighborhood in Canoas, now one of the state’s worst-hit towns.

“My house was flooded,” Sias recalled, her voice breaking. “It was very difficult to leave my family, to leave my home.” He said he could protect his immediate family, but not others who insisted on staying. “It was very painful and still is. I don’t know what it will be like to go back home,” he said.

Authorities in southern Brazil rushed Wednesday to rescue survivors of massive floods that have killed at least 100 people, but some residents refused to leave their belongings behind and others returned to evacuated homes despite the risk of fresh storms.

Officials say 130 people are missing after heavy rains and flooding in the Rio Grande do Sul since last week. More than 230,000 people have been displaced, and most areas have been cut off by floodwaters.

Storms are expected in the state Wednesday evening, with hail and wind gusts of up to 60 kilometers (37 mph), according to the National Weather Service’s afternoon bulletin. And the agency has predicted a cold spell with additional rain this weekend, especially in the north and east of the state.

In Porto Alegre, around 300 people took refuge at local club Gremio Nautico Uniao, based in the upscale, less-affected neighborhood of Moinhos de Vento. Dozens lay on mattresses as volunteers brought boxes filled with feijoada — a typical Brazilian bean and pork stew.

Hayter da Silva was one of them who heeded the authorities’ warnings. However, he worries about his future.

“I only took my documents, three shirts, two pairs of underwear and my flip-flops. Everything else was gone,” said da Silva, 68. “I already had very little, but it was there. Going home would be nothing. And then what?”

Employees of the state’s civil defense agency told The Associated Press they were struggling to force residents of the hard-hit Eldorado do Sul city to leave their homes. It is located near the center of the state’s coast near Porto Alegre. At least four refused to leave.

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A pair of NASA astronauts were ready to go, but a valve scrubbed their ride aboard Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner Monday night. The next shot to fly won’t be until at least May 17.

“I know everybody was excited to see a launch,” NASA’s Ken Bowersachs, associate administrator of the Space Operations Mission Directorate, said during a news conference Monday night after the scrub. We get a chance to see it thrown away.”

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were attached to Starliner atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, but two hours before the scheduled liftoff, the crews abandoned the launch attempt.

ULA scrubs attempt at 1st manned Boeing Starliner mission

The cause was a technical problem with a valve inside the upper Centaur stage on the ULA rocket designed to regulate the pressure in the liquid oxygen tank.

After NASA’s astronauts had already entered the spacecraft, crews on the pad reported unexpected sounds from the rocket.

“We found that the self-regulating valve on the (liquid oxygen) side had a bit of a buzz, so it was moving in a strange behavior,” said Steve Stich, NASA Commercial Crew Program manager. “The flight rules for this flight were set ahead of time with the crew on the launch pad. Taking the scrub was the right course of action, and the United Launch Alliance team did a great job of evaluating the data and talking through various options to get us into a scrub position.

ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno said the decision to scrub was against airline rules and the real problem.

“Our philosophy is that we don’t refuel a vehicle when it’s staffed,” he said. “You can do it differently, other people can do it, but that’s our philosophy. So we built our flight rules around that.

He noted that it’s a problem they’ve seen before with ULA rockets, and if humans aren’t on board, it’s simple to fix.

“It’s no different with a lot of valves like this, you have one in your hot water tank at home, it’s no different,” he said. “Every now and then on rare occasions, a valve like that can get to the point where it’s out of seat. Its temperature, its stiffness, everything’s just right, it’ll flutter or, in this case, ring in the cycle.

He said that forcing the valve to rotate is fine.

“Once we got the crew out, we cycled the valve and it stopped beeping,” he said. “If it’s a satellite, that’s our standard procedure, and the satellite will already be in orbit.”

But with humans on board, ULA’s rules don’t change the fueling of volatile cryogenic propellants.

“I promised Butch and Suni a boring evening,” Bruno said. “I don’t think it should be too boring. But we’re going to follow our rules and we’re going to make sure the crew is safe.

But another problem is related to valve life. Bruno said it is qualified to open and close 200,000 times at full pressure. Based on Monday night’s data, flutter on the valve is possible, and in fact, if it were to open and close fully, it would be close to that 200,000 limit.

Bruno said ULA is testing the possibility that only a partial debit against the 200,000 limit means the applied pressure is not at full capacity. Bruno said there are no instruments that actually measure the valve and data must be found from the surrounding hardware.

After looking at data overnight and throughout the day Tuesday, NASA said the decision was made to replace the valve, which meant rolling the rocket back to Boeing’s Vertical Integration Facility.

The new target launch date is Friday, May 17, at 6:16 p.m. Wednesday, so the rocket can be “stretched” to allow access to the valve, but the Starliner can remain on top of the rocket without being removed.

“We have spare valves. We know how to do it. We’ve done it before, but it takes days,” Bruno said.

The good news for NASA is that the normally busy ISS has had some time without new cargo or crew missions.

“We’re in no rush to fly from a station standpoint,” said NASA ISS Manager Dana Weigel. Our next docking vehicle is coming out in August, so there will be plenty of time.

When Starliner launches, it will mark the final qualification flight required for the spacecraft to be used for routine missions for ISS sharing duties with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.

Wilmore and Williams will test the spacecraft’s manual functions before its eight-day stay at the ISS. They will then take off and test more manual operations on the return trip by landing in the desert in the western United States.

“I talked to the crew before we got here, and they’re in good spirits,” said Mark Nappi, project manager for Boeing’s commercial group. “They fully understand these types of situations. A lot of things have to go right. And it’s not most things, everything has to go right before we start.

If all goes well, Boeing could fly its first routine mission, Starliner-1, in February 2025, the first of six contracted flights to the ISS that will fly once a year until 2030. Station.

“Today was a good dry run for the whole process,” Nappi said. “Let’s wait and see what the problem is. Let’s set the next release date. We’ll start the clock again. Hope to see you back here in a couple of days.

Denver Nuggets point guard Jamaal Murray threw a heat bag onto the court during his team’s playoff loss Monday night, opening himself up to possible discipline for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Murray was sitting at the end of Denver’s bench when Timberwolves big man and fellow Kentucky Wildcats alum Karl-Anthony Towns drove for a layup with about 4:40 left in the second quarter.

Minnesota defeated defending champion Denver 106-80. Need a 2-0 lead in the conference semifinals. Murray left the dressing room before reporters could ask him about the incident.

In addition to Downs, Denver’s Reggie Jackson also came close to stepping on the Heat pack before Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope found the object and cleared it.

“It was unforgivable and dangerous,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said of Murray’s toss.

Finch didn’t see Murray bowl it and didn’t blame the umpires for missing it.

“I firmly believe it was a mistake and an oversight (by the authorities),” Finch said. “I’m sure there’s nothing intentional (missing it) by powering it. But of course it can’t be allowed to happen.”

Shortly after the heat bag was thrown, the public address announcer warned fans not to throw any objects on the ground. But Finch, even though he didn’t see Murray’s throw, knew it couldn’t have come from a fan.

“We tried to impress upon them (officials) that there wasn’t much heat back in the building,” Finch said. “So, it probably has to come from the bench, which they saw as logical.”

Murray’s frustration came as Minnesota was pulling away to an early double-digit lead that the Timberwolves would not relinquish.

“I was the lead officer and I didn’t even notice it was on the ground or where it came from until Downs hit.” said team leader Mark Davies.

Had the umpires seen Murray throw it, he might have been called for a technical foul.

“We didn’t know it coming off the bench,” Davis said. “Had we known it was coming from the bench, we could have reviewed it under a hostile action trigger. The penalty would have been a technical foul.”

Asked after the game if he feared Murray might face league discipline, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he didn’t know how the Heat pack ended up on the floor.

“I knew there was a heating pack on the floor, but it wasn’t in my field of vision,” the coach said.

Murray may have regretted not making the call earlier in the game. No foul was called.

While Murray’s temper tantrums are unprecedented in NBA years, players and coaches losing their cool are nothing new.

• Last month, the Minnesota Wild went ahead Ryan Hartman was suspended for three games Then through the NHL Throwing a stick toward the ice in frustration during a March 30 game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
• The late Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight was best known for his bad behavior. The incident happened in 1985 When he threw a Chair across the hardwood.
• Southern California high school basketball coach Banned for six games In January he threw his boots on the ground in anger with the referees. Jacera Catholic High School coach Keith Wilkinson The Orange County Register reported He shed his footwear as a protest to save money: “I threw away my shoes because they didn’t cost me as much as a chair.”

While the NBA did not immediately respond to NBC News requests for comment on possible penalties for Murray, analysts say a suspension is not only possible — but warranted.

“He (Murray) should be suspended for one game,” former NBA point guard Jay Williams said Tuesday on the ESPN morning show “Get Up.”

“It was an inch away from Karl-Anthony Towns, putting his right foot on that thing. It could have hurt him. He could have been out of the game. I understand it’s not exemplary, but I think it was an immature move by Jamaal Murray and it could have been a very offensive and bad thing.

Williams is not alone in his view.

“I’d be shocked if he wasn’t (suspended),” said fellow ESPN analyst Tim Lechler. “I don’t see how the league can’t suspend a player for throwing an object.”

The upcoming launch of the Atlas 5 rocket carries astronauts Scrubbed less than two hours before lift-off for the first time. It was primed to boost Monday night’s blast Boeing’s long-delayed Starliner Crew shuttle into orbit for its first pilot test flight to the International Space Station.

The reason for the delay was a fault in the valve in the top position of the rocket.

Years behind schedule and more than a billion dollars spent, Starliner is Boeing’s answer to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, an already operational shuttle that carried 50 astronauts, astronauts and civilians into orbit on 13 flights, 12 of them to the space station.

NASA funded the development of both shuttles to ensure the agency could send personnel to the outpost even if a company’s shuttle was grounded for any reason.

Astronauts for planned flight

When a launch is rescheduled, the Mission Commander remains at the controls Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita WilliamsBoth experienced Navy test pilots and active-duty NASA astronauts have combined for four previous space missions, 11 spacewalks between them and 500 days in orbit.

Although the first flights are slightly more dangerous than operational missions, the Starliner, like SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, is equipped with a “full envelope” abort system to launch the launch pad into orbit.

Atlas 5’s Centaur Upper Station was designed to launch the Starliner into preliminary orbit 15 minutes later. Astronauts will monitor two quick thrust firings to fine-tune the ship’s orbit before testing the spacecraft’s computer-aided manual control system.

As with other space station rendezvous, Starliner will approach the laboratory from behind and below, circle to a point directly at the outpost, and then move to dock in the forward port of the Harmony module.

During final approach, Wilmore and Williams will again test the capsule’s manual controls to ensure that future crews will be able to alter the trajectory or orientation of the spacecraft at will if necessary.

The Starliner is equipped with a fully manual backup system that bypasses the spacecraft’s flight computers and allows the crew to directly command the ship’s thrusters using a joystick-like hand controller. Wilmore and Williams will test the system after departing the station on May 15 before returning to Earth.

“Absolutely Important Milestone”

Jim Free, NASA’s associate administrator for space operations, called the Starliner crew flight test, or CFT, “an absolutely critical milestone.”

“I remind everyone again, this is a new spacecraft,” he told reporters last week. “There are definitely things we don’t know about this mission, and we might encounter things we don’t expect. But our job right now is to be vigilant and look for problems.”

While he said he believed the Starliner would accomplish the mission, Frei said he didn’t want to “get too far ahead” because the crew had yet to complete a successful mission. But “when we do,” he added, “when we certify Starliner, the United States will have two unique human space shuttles that will provide critical redundancy for ISS access.”

But it wasn’t easy.

After the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, NASA awarded two commercial group project contracts to spur development of an independent spacecraft capable of carrying astronauts. International Space Station.

The target date for the first piloted CCP flights is 2017. Congressional funding shortfalls and technical glitches have delayed development, including an explosion during a ground test that destroyed the SpaceX Crew Dragon.

But the California rocket builder finally began pilot flights in May 2020, successfully launching two NASA astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon test flight to the space station.

Since then, SpaceX has launched eight mission crew orbiters to the station, three research missions to the Houston-based lab. Axiom Space and A Purely commercial, a two-man, two-woman trip to low-Earth orbit piloted by billionaire aviator and entrepreneur Jared Isaacman. In total, 50 people have flown into orbit in Crew Dragons.

It’s a different story for Boeing’s Starliner.

During an unmanned test flight in December 2019, a software error prevented the ship’s flight computer from loading the correct launch time from the Atlas 5 ship.

As a result, the required orbital insertion burn did not happen on time and due to unrelated communication problems, flight controllers were unable to regain control in time.

The software problems were resolved after the Starliner landed, along with various issues that came to light in the post-flight review. Boeing chose to conduct a second test flight at its own expense, but the company found the propulsion system valves in the Starliner’s service block stuck. Engineers were unable to resolve the problem and the capsule was removed from its Atlas 5 and transported back to its processing facility for repairs.

Engineers eventually identified a moisture problem, presumably high humidity and rain after the pad was rolled, which chemically reacted with the thruster propellant and created corrosion. Corrosion prevented the valves from opening on command.

To clear the way for a launch next May, valves in the new service module were replaced and the system modified to prevent water from entering the launch pad. A second Starliner test flight in May 2022 was successful, docking with the space station as planned and returning to Earth with a precision landing.

But after the flight, engineers discovered new problems: trouble with the parachute harness connectors and concern about the protective tape wrapped around the wiring that could catch fire on short circuits.

Work to fix those problems pushed the first flight from 2023 to 2024. After all was said and done, Boeing spent more than $1 billion of its own money to pay for additional test flights and corrective actions.

The new Superman costume has officially debuted. James Gunn’s “Superman” (formerly “Superman: Legacy”) film sequel, writer-director Shared on his Threads account First look at star David Kornsvet as Man of Steel. The first thing fans will notice is that the suit is very dirty and weathered, suggesting that Superman will be doing a lot of fighting and dirty fighting in the movie.

The first look photo was “taken by Jess Miglio and was entirely in-camera,” Gunn told Threads.

Korensvedt is getting the big break of a lifetime as the “Superman” star, leading a major Hollywood tentpole movie for the first time. The 30-year-old actor is best known for his supporting roles in two Ryan Murphy-created Netflix series, “The Politician” and “Hollywood.” His most notable film role before “Superman” was the De West-directed horror film “The Pearl” starring Mia Goth.

“Superman” stars “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Emmy winner Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane opposite Kornswet. Nicholas Hoult stars as Superman’s iconic villain Lex Luthor, while Gunn’s cast includes Skyler Gizondo (Jimmy Olsen), Anthony Carrigan (Metamorpho), Eddie Katheki (Mr. Terrific), Nathan Fillion (Guy Gardner), and Isabella Merkergirl. ) still more.

Originally titled “Superman: Legacy,” Gunn said in February that he had changed the title to “Superman.” Around the same time, Gunn released the first cast photo from the film’s first script read table. speaks Variety Brosnahan said it was thrilling to hear Gunn’s words out loud at this year’s SAG Awards.

“It was pretty amazing,” Brosnahan said of the schedule. “Some of us met for the first time. Some of us need to see each other again. It was amazing to hear the script out loud. Like all these films, there’s a lot of action scenes and stuff. So it’s really fun to hear the pacing of the film and hear the actors playing these characters. And that’s a big group. When you do this, you can’t ask for more.”

“I’ve always loved Lois Lane,” the actor added. “She’s smart, ambitious and funny. She knows she’s the smartest person in the room. When the opportunity comes… I’m a fan of James Gunn. We haven’t started shooting yet. You’ll see the final version of them.

Warner Bros.’ “Superman” is slated to open in theaters on July 11, 2025.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military ordered tens of thousands of people to flee the southern city on Monday. Rafah in the Gaza Strip on the border with EgyptBeginning to withdraw from the area, signaling that the long-promised ground invasion was imminent.

The announcement complicated last-ditch efforts by international mediators, including the director of the CIA, to broker a ceasefire. The militant group Hamas and Qatar, the main mediator, have warned that an invasion of Rafah could derail the talks. The US has repeatedly urged Israel against invading Rafah.

However, Israel described Rafa as the last significant Hamas stronghold after seven months of warAnd its leaders have repeatedly called for a ground invasion to defeat the Islamic militant group.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesman, said about 100,000 people were being ordered to the nearby Israeli-declared humanitarian zone of Muazi. He said Israel was preparing for a “limited-purpose operation” and could not say whether it was the start of a wider invasion of the city. But last October 7 and th Hamas Unprecedented Attack on Southern IsraelIsrael has not formally announced the ground invasion, which continues to this day.

Overnight, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Israel had no choice but to act in Rafah. On Sunday, Hamas launched a deadly rocket attack from the Rafah area that killed three Israeli soldiers.

Shoshani said Israel had published a map of the evacuation zone and orders were being issued through windblown leaflets, text messages and radio broadcasts. He said Israel has extended humanitarian aid to Muwasi, including field hospitals, tents, food and water.

Israel’s military said it was acting “with extreme force” against the militants on social site X, and urged people to leave immediately for their own safety.

Israel plans to occupy Rafah Raised global alarm Because it has the potential to harm more than a million people Palestinian civilians have taken refuge there.

About 1.4 million Palestinians – more than half of Gaza’s population – are trapped inside the city and its environs. Most of them fled their homes elsewhere in the territory to escape Israeli attacks. They live in densely packed tent camps, overflowing UN shelters or overcrowded apartments, and rely on international aid for food, with crippled health systems and medical infrastructure.

UNRWA, the UN agency that has helped millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank for decades, warned on Monday of the devastating consequences of the Rafah offensive, including more civilian suffering and deaths. The agency said it could not remain in Rafah for as long as possible to continue providing life-saving aid.

However, while the United States, Egypt and Qatar have pressed for a ceasefire agreement, the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu It repeated last week that it would move toward the city “with or without a deal” to achieve its goal of destroying the army. Hamas militant group.

On Monday, Netanyahu accused Hamas of “torpedoing” the hostage deal and not backing down from its “serious demands” while preventing the militants from regaining control of Gaza. In a fiery speech Sunday evening marking the country’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, Netanyahu rejected international pressure to end the war, saying “if Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.”

Shoshani would not say whether the upcoming Rafah operation would be a response to Sunday’s attack by Hamas that forced a key border crossing for aid. He said it will not affect aid flows into Gaza as other crossing points are operational.

However, it was not clear on Monday whether he would comment on US warnings not to invade. The evacuation order was coordinated with Egypt.

Egypt, Israel’s strategic partner, has said it would threaten an Israeli military takeover of the Gaza-Egypt border – which must be demilitarized – or any move to push Palestinians into Egypt. A four-decade peace treaty with Israel.

In Rafah, people on Monday morning received flyers in Arabic detailing which neighborhoods had to leave and where humanitarian zones had expanded. Aid services will extend from Deir al-Balah in the north to the heart of Khan Younis city in the middle of the Gaza Strip, the fliers said.

After Palestinians in Rafah received flyers, people gathered to discuss their options. Most said they did not want to travel alone and preferred traveling in groups.

“Many people have been displaced here and now they have to go back, but no one stays here and it’s not safe,” Nidal Aljanin told The Associated Press by phone.

Alsanin, a father of five, works for an international aid group and moved to Rafah from Beit Hanoun in the north at the start of the war. He said people were worried because Israeli troops had fired on Palestinians during previous evacuation orders.

Alzanin said he had packed his documents and bags but would wait 24 hours before transferring to others. He said he had a friend in Khan Yunis who he hoped could set up a tent for his family.

But some say they are too tired and unable to escape again after months of destruction.

Sahar Abu Nahel moved to Rafah with 20 members of her family, her husband has been detained by Israel and her son-in-law has disappeared, she said.

“Where shall I go? I don’t have money or anything. I am very tired like (my) children,” she said, wiping tears from her cheeks. “Perhaps it is more honorable for us to die. We are humiliated,” he said.

___

Mroue reports from Beirut.