Israeli forces have ramped up attacks on Gaza City, systematically levelling buildings, including United Nations schools sheltering refugees, to force 900,000 residents to make the dangerous journey south to the overcrowded “safe zone” of the al-Mawasi camp.
The Israeli military continued its scorched-earth campaign on Saturday, launching strikes in rapid succession in a bid to clear the area for takeover, and dropping leaflets warning starving and terrified Palestinians to flee for their lives.
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Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said that fighter jets were dropping bombs “every 10 to 15 minutes” on residential buildings and public facilities, often failing to give people sufficient time to evacuate to safety.
“The pace and pattern of the attacks suggest one thing: The Israeli army is deliberately putting extreme pressure on places that are densely populated with displaced families,” he said, adding that displaced people were now concentrated in the city’s western flank.
But, he added, even as the army pummels the city, many residents are staying put or even returning after attempting the journey south to the “crammed and under-resourced” al-Mawasi, where Israel has been frequently striking shelters.
Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya, the head of al-Shifa Hospital, said residents were moving from the east to the west of Gaza City, but “only a small number of people have been able to reach the south”.
“Even those who manage to flee south often find no place to stay, as the al-Mawasi area is completely full and Deir el-Balah is also overcrowded,” said Abu Salmiya, adding that many have returned to Gaza City after failing to find shelter or basic services.
The Israeli army claimed on X that more than 250,000 people had fled the enclave’s largest urban centre.
At least 49 people were killed in Gaza City on Saturday.
Reverse displacement
Reporting from the south, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary witnessed a steady stream of families arriving from the north to the al-Mawasi camp, believing that they were going to find “water, hygiene – everything that Israeli forces advertised”.
Three of the Israeli-backed GHF aid distribution sites are located in the al-Mawasi area, as part of Israel’s strategy to lure Palestinians southwards. However, human rights groups and governments have harshly criticised the GHF after more than 850 people were shot in the vicinity of distribution sites, according to United Nations figures.
Faraj Ashour, a displaced Palestinian who lost his legs in an Israeli attack, told Al Jazeera that he would be sending his 13-year-old son “to his death” if he dispatched him to find food for the family.
Al-Mawasi was already crowded before Israel’s invasion of Gaza City, filled with Palestinians displaced from the eastern parts of Rafah and Khan Younis. But now, it is at breaking point, with new arrivals unable to find space to pitch their tents.
“I went to al-Mawasi, but the costs were too high… and it was almost impossible to find a proper spot without paying extra,” said Ashour. “We stayed two days. During that time, the tent next to us was bombed even in what they call a safe zone.”
Having travelled from Gaza City, Ashour is now preparing with his family to move back, as part of an apparent trend of reverse displacement, where desperate people return to the north.
“There was no safety. It’s all lies. At first, I believed them, but I realised it was better to return to Gaza City. If they’re going to kill me, may as well be in Gaza City, rather than risk everything in al-Mawasi,” he said.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on Saturday that 86 percent of Gaza is either a militarised zone or subjected to displacement threats.
Dozens of Palestinians killed
At least 62 Palestinians have been killed across the war-battered Strip since dawn.
The bulk of attacks have been focused on Gaza City, where fighter jets bombed three UN schools in the Shati refugee camp, which were sheltering displaced Palestinians.
“People who once lived in apartments are now seeking shelter in packed schools. They are the last refuge for many families. Yet they get attacked and are forced onto the street without a clear path of where to go,” said Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud.
For the past few weeks, the Israeli military has levelled Gaza City’s high-rise towers one by one, repeatedly claiming the buildings are being used by Hamas, without providing any evidence.
On Saturday, Israeli forces continued to target high-rise towers, with Minister of Defence Israel Katz posting a video purporting to show the Burj al-Nur tower crumbling to the ground.
Al Jazeera Arabic reported that three Israeli air strikes targeted the public prosecution building, southwest of Gaza City.
Several Palestinians in Gaza City were also injured after a suicide drone attacked an outdoor dining hall, which was used as a charging point for phones, laptops and lights.
Outside Gaza City, seven of the dead were hungry Palestinians killed while seeking aid in al-Wadi, in the central Gaza Strip.
Al Jazeera Arabic reported an Israeli artillery attack on central Gaza’s Bureij camp that killed at least one person.
Hospital sources say four people were killed in a strike on a tent sheltering displaced people at Palestine Stadium in central Gaza.
Three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on the al-Amal neighborhood, northwest of Khan Younis.
The Palestine Red Crescent field hospital said that five Palestinians were wounded in an Israeli drone strike on a displaced people’s tent in Khan Younis.
