Displacement and intensive bombardment remind Gazans of the first days of war

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Nine months since the war began, Gazans say Israel's intensified bombing campaigns and new displacement orders are reminding them of the initial days of fighting.

Israeli forces launched a new military operation on Gaza city this week and demanded that more than 75 per cent of its residents flee to the south, forcing a renewed wave of displacement, reminiscent of when fighting began on October 7.

On Monday, the Israeli army published a map with instructions “to all residents and displaced persons in Sabra, Al Rimal, Tal Al Hawa and Daraj”, to “immediately evacuate” to Deir Al Balah. However, the Gaza government media office warned people not to heed the warnings.

“The occupation aims, through these false calls, to lure citizens into traps of death, murder, and field executions, similar to what happened repeatedly during numerous field executions of citizens who previously tried to flee on Al Rashid Street west of Gaza city and Salah Al Din Street east of Gaza city,” the media office said.

On Sunday and Monday, Gaza city and its suburbs were hit by an Israeli offensive, as residents described it as the strongest attack since the war began.

Towns and neighbourhoods have been heavily bombed throughout the nine-month conflict, leaving the majority of Gazans displaced more than once.

Sabri Al Zein, a 50-year-old displaced father, said he thought he was heading to a safer area when he went to Al Jalaa neighbourhood with his family of eight, including three children, after Israel's warnings.

“But the bombardment and shelling followed us as we sat in the streets, just like thousands of other refugees who no longer have a shelter after the army warned most of the city’s residents to evacuate, forcing them to leave their homes under fire,” he told The National.

“It's as if the war is starting again and the decision that I couldn't take to flee to the south from Jabalia at the beginning of the war, is being forced upon me now as I'm witnessing the unimaginable.”

Mr Al Zein said he worries about the safety of his teenage son who might face arbitrary detention by the Israeli army if the family passes a checkpoint on their way to Deir Al Balah. He says Israeli troops seem intent on “emptying” the north.

Amina Zaqout, 28, is displaced with her husband and family of four. She considered heading south or going to the Jabalia camp in the north of Gaza but has yet to make that decision.

As residents consider whether to leave and where to go, the Israeli army continued its offensive on Gaza city on Tuesday, claiming to be carrying out strikes against Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the area. Other areas are also not safe, with at least seven children killed in an Israeli drone attack on Bureij Camp in central Gaza.

“Since the beginning of the war, we haven't known where to go to save ourselves and our families. Everyone is wondering where to go, and no one knows where they can guarantee protection for themselves,” she told The National.

She, too, was forced to leave her home in Al Nasr after Israeli warnings came for people there to “evacuate”.

“We went to a school in the Safatawi area, north of Gaza city and stayed with relatives – but unfortunately, there wasn't enough space for us because the schools are already overcrowded with people. So, we decided to leave, but we're trying to find a good place to stay. Until now, we still don't know where to go or where to seek refuge.”

Ms Zaqout's faith in the remaining “safe areas” is becoming slimmer.

“There is death everywhere. The lie of 'safe areas' is now exposed and clear,” she said, as people have been killed even in areas designated by Israeli forces as combat-free.

“There is also a lot of fear over checkpoints, the entrapment and arrest of people there.”

With no fully functioning hospitals left in the Gaza Strip, the forced evacuation of Al Ahli Arab Hospital on Sunday has placed further pressure on medical teams and patients who are facing a bigger risk of death by being taken elsewhere on unsafe and destroyed roads.

“We have been forced to start transferring casualties from Gaza city to the Indonesian Hospital. This process is exhausting and requires high-level resources such as fuel and fully functioning ambulances. Additionally, these vehicles need proper road infrastructure to travel smoothly to the hospital,” civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal told The National.

Ambulances in the northern Gaza Strip are damaged partially or totally, Mr Basal said, causing teams to face challenges while taking casualties from the shuttered hospital.

“The long travel time threatens the lives of patients and worsens their health conditions. Moreover, ambulances take a long time to reach the injured and those making distress calls due to the distance, leading to the loss of some lives,” he said.