Fearing an imminent Israeli ground offensive, thousands of Palestinians have left their homes in eastern areas of Gaza City, now under constant Israeli bombardment, for points to the west and south in the shattered territory.
Israel’s plan to seize control of Gaza City has stirred alarm abroad and at home where tens of thousands of Israelis on Sunday held some of the largest protests since the war began, urging a deal to end the fighting and free the remaining 50 hostages held by Palestinian fighters in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
The planned offensive spurred Egyptian and Qatari ceasefire mediators to step up efforts to forge a deal between Israel and Hamas fighters in Gaza.
An Israeli armoured incursion into Gaza City could displace hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have been uprooted multiple times during the war.
Ahmed Mheisen, Palestinian shelter manager in Beit Lahiya said 995 families had departed the area in recent days for the south.
With the Israeli offensive looming, Mheisen put the number of tents needed for emergency shelter at 1.5 million, saying Israel had allowed only 120,000 tents into the territory during a January-March ceasefire.
The UN humanitarian office said last week 1.35m people were already in need of emergency shelter items in Gaza.
“I am heading south because I need to ease my mental state,” Mousa Obaid, a Gaza City resident, told Reuters. “I do not want to keep moving left and right endlessly. There is no life left, and as you can see, living conditions are hard, prices are high, and we have been without work for more than a year and a half. It is very, very difficult.”
A protest by unions is scheduled for Thursday in Gaza City, and people took to social media platforms vowing to participate, which will raise pressure on Hamas.
Underscoring the gaps in talks on a ceasefire, US President Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform yesterday: “We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be.”
On Saturday, the Israeli military said it was preparing to help equip Gazans with tents and other shelter equipment ahead of relocating them from combat zones to the south of the enclave. It did not provide further details on quantities or how long it would take to get the equipment into the enclave.
“Existing tents where people are living (in the south) have worn out and won’t protect people against rainwater. There are no new tents in Gaza because of the Israeli restrictions on aid at the border crossings,” Palestinian economist Mohammad Abu Jayyab told Reuters.
He said some Gaza City families had begun renting property and shelters in the south and moved in their belongings.
“Some people learned from previous experience, and they don’t want to be taken by surprise. Also, some think it is better to move earlier to find a space,” Abu Jayyab added.
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