Israel’s plan to seize Gaza City and move almost a million residents to overcrowded southern areas has triggered defiance among Palestinians, fears of mass casualties, and condemnation from the UN, China, and European nations as the death toll and hunger crisis deepen.
Palestinians in Gaza City are bracing for what could be the largest forced displacement since Israel’s war on the enclave began, after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to take military control of the city, home to nearly a million people, most already displaced multiple times.
Under the plan, residents would be moved to what critics describe as “concentration zones” in the south, where humanitarian groups warn conditions are already catastrophic.
Despite the looming threat, many are refusing to leave. “I swear to God that I have faced death like 100 times, so for me, it’s better to die here,” said Ahmed Hirz, who has been displaced with his family at least eight times since the war began. “Our final decision is to die here.”
Rajab Khader said he would not move to southern Gaza “to stay in the streets with dogs and other animals.” Another resident, Maghzouza Saada, displaced earlier from Beit Hanoon, asked: “The south is not safe. Gaza City is not safe, and the north is not safe. Where should we go? Do we throw ourselves into the sea?”
Panic and Desperation
Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said residents have been in a “state of panic” since early Friday. Some have begun packing whatever belongings they have left, not because they know where to go, but to avoid being caught unprepared if Israeli forces arrive.
“The fear, the concern, the desperation are all on the rise,” Mahmoud said. “The Israeli military promises evacuation zones, but people end up being killed in these areas.”
Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGO Network, said evacuating would be especially dangerous given the destruction of hospitals, water facilities, and infrastructure. “We have elders who cannot walk, patients, and injured people who cannot move. We cannot leave them behind, and we cannot give them services,” he said.
Rising Death Toll
Gaza’s Health Ministry said 11 people had died of starvation in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of hunger-related deaths to 212. Since October 2023, at least 61,369 Palestinians have been killed and 152,850 wounded in Israel’s war, according to local health officials.
In the same period, Israel says 1,139 people were killed and more than 200 taken captive during the October 7 Hamas-led attacks.
On Friday alone, Israeli attacks killed at least 36 Palestinians, including 21 people seeking aid, according to medical sources. Two were killed in Bani Suheila by an Israeli drone, while at least two others died at an aid site run by the controversial US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The organisation, criticised for failing to improve conditions, is set to expand its operations from four to 12 sites despite over 1,300 people being killed near its facilities, mostly by Israeli forces, the UN says.
International Condemnation
The United Nations, the European Union, China, and several European states have condemned Israel’s Gaza City takeover plan, warning it will worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis.
The US has not explicitly endorsed the move. Vice President JD Vance declined to say whether Washington was informed in advance, but reiterated opposition to recognising a Palestinian state and stressed that “Hamas can’t attack innocent people.”
Hamas has called the plan a “war crime,” accusing the US and international community of complicity and linking Israel’s sudden withdrawal from ceasefire talks to its military preparations.
The UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency session this weekend to discuss Israel’s escalation, as up to 900,000 Palestinians face the prospect of being forcibly displaced yet again.
