As Israeli bombardments intensify around Gaza’s largest city ahead of a promised new offensive, Palestinians remain trapped in fear, uncertain where to flee, when to move or whether they will ever return.
Israel has declared Gaza City, in the north of the territory, to be a combat zone while the military moves forward with plans to overtake it in 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.
That has left residents – many of whom returned after fleeing the city in the initial stages of Israel's genocidal war – on edge. With Israeli bulldozers razing the ground in occupied neighborhoods and Israeli leaders supporting the mass relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, departing the city now could mean leaving for good. Moving costs thousands of dollars and finding space in the overcrowded south to pitch a tent feels impossible. But staying behind, they say, could be deadly.
"The Israeli forces, when they mark any area by red color and they request the people to leave, they really will destroy it," said Mohammed Alkurdi, who is sheltering in Gaza City along with hundreds of thousands of other Palestinians.
