Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
The Israeli military has intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, killing more than 70 people since Thursday morning as it attacks residential neighbourhoods, civilian gatherings and critical infrastructure.
Dozens more Palestinians have been injured and entire apartment blocks have been flattened by the continuing air strikes in what civilians are calling a campaign of total destruction.
The intensification comes after the US on Thursday said Israel had accepted a ceasefire proposal, which includes a 60-day truce, that is being studied by Hamas.
Aid distribution by the US-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) also began this week, with crowds of starving Palestinians gathering to receive parcels of food after almost three months of Israel's total blockade.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the death toll has reached 54,249, with 123,492 injured since the war started on October 7, 2023.
Israel issued more eviction orders to the three main hospitals in Gaza's north - Al Awdah, the Indonesian Hospital and Kamal Adwan - as well as in the areas of Al Atatara, Jabalia Al Balad, Al Shujaiya, Al Daraj and Al Zaytoun, claiming they were "dangerous combat zones". It demanded that thousands of people move westward immediately.
But for many in the north, such as Mahmoud Dmida, moving is simply not an option.
“The shelling is relentless. People want to flee, but they can’t move, the area is under constant fire,” he told The National. “Everyone is in danger.”
Desperate for peace
As Gazans wait for Hamas's response to the ceasefire proposal, the overwhelming wish on the ground is for the war to end, regardless of the cost, even though the terms of the deal reportedly fall short of the group's core demands. Survival is what matters.
“We want Hamas to accept the deal," said Montaser Hassouna, who is displaced with his family and is sheltering in Al Yarmouk playground. "This madness needs to stop. I know it’s a bad deal, Israel just wants its hostages back and offers nothing in return, but we are exhausted. We need a break. Our children are starving. We just want to survive."
Similarly, Alaa Mokhtar in Gaza City said he realises that the intensified Israeli bombardment is a tactic aimed at forcing Hamas to accept the proposal, but civilians continue to pay the price.
"The deal doesn’t guarantee anything will improve, but Hamas should take the 60-day window and use it to clean Gaza of corruption and chaos,” he said.
“We are not only dying from Israeli bombs, we’re starving because of lawlessness and theft.”
