Palestinian elders remember how the war that coincided with the creation of Israel in 1948, uprooted their families when they were children.
Now, 75 years later, they say the war raging in Gaza is even worse.
"This one is hard, it's harder than any of the displacements" brought by previous conflict, says Liga Jabr, 89, in Rafah refugee camp where she's been staying with relatives after her home in central Gaza's Deir el-Balah was hit by a strike.
Fighting began with Hamas's unprecedented attack on southern Israel, which resulted in about 1,140 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel in response vowed to destroy Hamas and launched a relentless military campaign that the Gaza health ministry says has killed nearly 24,000 people, most of them women and children.