Gaza: Thousands flee as hunger, bombs strike Zeitoun
Thousands of Palestinians have fled Gaza City’s southern Zeitoun neighbourhood following nearly a week of relentless Israeli bombardments, shelling and demolitions, which local officials describe as “catastrophic”.
The Hamas-run Gaza municipality said the neighbourhood, home to approximately 50,000 people, is facing acute shortages of food, water and medical care. Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that at least 40 people were killed across the territory on Saturday alone.
Israel has announced plans to forcibly displace one million people from Gaza City to camps in the south.
“As part of the preparations to move the population from combat zones to the southern Gaza Strip for their protection, the supply of tents and shelter equipment to Gaza will resume,” said COGAT, the Israeli military body overseeing civilian affairs in occupied territories.
Despite these assurances, residents in Zeitoun say conditions remain dire.
“Explosions… they don’t stop. We don’t know the taste of sleep,” said Ghassan Kashko, a 40-year-old father sheltering with his family in a school building.
The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. The United Nations estimates that 1.9 million people, around 90 per cent of Gaza’s population, have been displaced since the start of Israel’s offensive.
At least 251 people, including 108 children, have died from malnutrition, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Hospitals are barely functioning, with the four remaining facilities in Gaza City operating at less than 20 per cent capacity due to severe shortages of medicine and supplies.
On Friday, the UN warned that famine conditions are unfolding in Gaza, echoing concerns raised by more than 100 humanitarian organisations that say they have been unable to deliver aid since early March.
International concern mounted further after the death of 20-year-old Marah Abu Zuhri, a Gazan woman evacuated to Italy for treatment. Severely malnourished, she died of cardiac arrest less than two days after arriving at Pisa’s University Hospital.
Meanwhile, inside Israel, anger is growing over the government’s decision to seize and occupy Gaza City. A nationwide strike brought major roads, railways and businesses to a halt on Saturday, as thousands protested in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The strike, demanded by families of hostages held in Gaza, reflects growing fears that Israel’s expansion of the war could endanger the remaining captives.
The war began with Hamas’s 7 October 2023 assault on Israel, which killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Since then, more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli operations, according to Gaza’s health ministry figures cited by the UN.
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to bring Gaza City fully under Israeli occupation, no clear timetable has been given.
For now, residents of Gaza continue to endure displacement, hunger and fear as international warnings of famine intensify.
