GazaHerald – Israel’s army has intensified its bombardment of Gaza City, striking densely populated neighborhoods as part of a new offensive aimed at seizing the last major urban center in the enclave.
The attacks have unleashed yet another wave of forced displacement, driving tens of thousands of starving Palestinians to flee under fire.
The Gaza City districts of Zeitoun, Sabra, Remal, and Tuffah have been hit hardest in recent days. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israel’s plans to forcibly transfer residents to southern Gaza will only deepen their suffering.
After days of constant artillery fire and air raids, local sources said that entire families had been forced to flee their homes. “The Zeitoun neighborhood is very densely populated, home to many families, including those who had already been sheltering there,” one source said.
“As the shelling intensified, people had no choice but to flee, hungry, devastated, and displaced yet again.”
On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike on al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City killed at least seven people, while dozens more died across the Strip under heavy bombardment.
An Upsurge in Genocide
Israel has come under fire from around the world for its announcement last week that it plans to move farther into Gaza City and drive its citizens south. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, insisted civilians would be relocated to “safe zones,” despite the fact that these areas have also been repeatedly targeted.
Nearly 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.4 million people are now displaced, and most face acute hunger. Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that at least seven Palestinians died of starvation within 24 hours, bringing the number of hunger-related deaths to 258, including 110 children.
The human toll continues to mount: on Sunday alone, Israeli forces killed at least 57 Palestinians, 38 of them while seeking aid, raising the death toll since October 2023 to nearly 62,000.
“There are no words to describe how people in Gaza feel right now,” wrote journalist Maram Humaid on X. “Fear, helplessness, and pain fill everyone as they face a new wave of displacement and an Israeli ground operation.
Family and friends’ WhatsApp groups are full of silent screams and sorrow. God knows people have suffered enough.”
Hunger and Desperation
As the bombardment escalates, Palestinians are also grappling with extreme hunger. One in five children in Gaza is now malnourished, according to the UN, while tens of thousands rely on overstretched charity kitchens.
“I came at 6am to the charity kitchen to get food for my children,” said Zeinab Nabahan, a mother displaced from Jabalia refugee camp.
“If I don’t get any now, I have to come back in the evening for another chance. My children are starving on small amounts of lentils or rice. They haven’t had bread or breakfast.”
On Sunday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned that Gaza is facing a “man-made famine” and condemned efforts to bypass the UN-led aid system.
“We are very, very close to losing our collective humanity,” said UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma, who accused Israel and the United States of pushing a politically motivated alternative system.
“This brings dehumanization, chaos, and death,” she warned. “We must return to a unified, UN-led humanitarian distribution system based on international law. The abomination must end.”
