DIER AL-BALAH, Sep 3: Gaza City, the largest city in Gaza, has been declared a combat zone by Israel as part of a campaign to push Hamas into submission.
Parts of the city are already considered “red zones,” where Palestinians have been ordered to evacuate ahead of expected heavy fighting. This has left residents on edge, with Israeli bulldozers razing the ground in occupied neighbourhoods and Israeli leaders supporting the mass relocation of Palestinians from Gaza.
A small fraction of Palestinians, around 14,840, have left their homes in the city as of Monday, most to flee south.
A fraction of them, about 2,200, have moved to new places within Gaza City after being displaced by Israeli attacks. Many of the people in the city moved back to the north during a ceasefire in January, hoping to find their homes intact.
Leaving Gaza City is nearly impossible for some, including medical workers, older and sick people, who have been displaced five times since the war began. They have been displaced five times within the city and twice to the south, in Rafah and Khan Younis.
Dire conditions persist throughout Gaza, with overflowing tent camps and increased prices of basic goods. For example, Iman El-Naya, from Khan Younis, fled Gaza City three months ago, describing the beach, everywhere, and lack of hygiene as crowded and difficult to access.
Shorouk Abu Eid, a pregnant woman from Gaza City, said that the arrival of more people from the north is creating an even more tragic situation, with no privacy or peace of mind. (AP)
