Israel threatens: Gaza invasion will cause the displacement of one million Palestinians
As the Israeli military escalation continues, fears are growing of a mass displacement wave that could affect one million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, amid Israeli warnings of a comprehensive military operation in the city.
In escalating details, hundreds of Palestinian families have begun to flee from the eastern neighborhoods of Gaza City towards the sea to escape the bombardment and Israeli incursions, while the city’s beach and port are turning into overcrowded camps for the displaced who are suffering from severe shortages of food, water, and shelter.
An official in the Israeli government's coordination unit in the Palestinian territories, "Cogat", announced that about 70,000 Palestinians have left northern Gaza. He indicated that Israel is seeking to define what it calls the "humanitarian area", which will be officially announced in the coming days. This area is expected to extend from a group of refugee camps in central Gaza to the coastal Mawasi area to the south, and will also extend eastward.
On the other hand, Israeli forces continue their military operations intensively in several areas, targeting airstrikes on a tent sheltering displaced persons in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood west of the city, resulting in the death of 5 Palestinians, including 3 children. They also bombed a house in the al-Sabra neighborhood, killing 3 Palestinians and injuring others. The forces continue their operations in the neighborhoods of al-Sabra, al-Zeitoun, Jabalia town, and Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, with intense artillery and aerial bombardment.
In the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli forces carried out a wide demolition operation in the al-Satar area north of Khan Younis.
In response to Hamas's announcement of its readiness to reach a comprehensive deal, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered the movement's announcement "just another manipulation", emphasizing that the war will end on Israel's terms, primarily the "release of all captives, disarmament of Hamas and factions in the Strip, and Israeli security control over the area, in addition to establishing an alternative civilian government in Gaza".
For his part, Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that Hamas must "either accept all of Israel's conditions to end the war, primarily the release of all prisoners and disarmament, or Gaza will become like Rafah and Beit Hanoun", referring to Israel's intention to destroy and occupy the city.
For its part, Hamas confirmed its readiness to reach a "comprehensive deal, under which all captives will be released in exchange for an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners as part of an agreement to end the war". It reiterated in a statement its "commitment to forming an independent national administration of technocrats to manage the affairs of the Gaza Strip and assume its responsibilities immediately in all areas".
In the first notable international response, U.S. President Donald Trump called on Hamas to "release all hostages to end the war in Gaza". Trump said in a post on the "Truth Social" platform: "Tell Hamas to return all twenty hostages immediately, and things will change quickly, and it will be over".
It is worth noting that the Gaza Strip is facing deteriorating humanitarian conditions after nearly 23 months of war that broke out on October 7, 2023. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the death toll has exceeded 63,000 since then, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes amid severe shortages of food, medicine, and fuel.
