The World Has Failed to Stop Israel. Our Only Choices Now: Leave or Die.

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As the Israeli army launches the first phase of its latest military operation in Gaza City — aimed at fully occupying the area and displacing its roughly 1 million residents to the south — the city has descended into unending hell. Night after night, relentless and terrifying explosions rob us of sleep. Entire neighborhoods are being invaded and demolished, forcing families to flee toward an uncertain fate, while bloody massacres have become a grim part of daily life.

For a moment, these cruel scenes harken back to the first months of the war, when Israeli forces, for the first time, compelled residents of the city to flee south under threat of ground invasion. The sky then looked the same as it does now — gray and thick with billowing smoke, signaling imminent danger. The people’s faces reflected the same unbearable anxiety and fear, only now the worry is sharper: We fear that this time we may be forced to leave Gaza City forever, without ever being allowed to return.

The Israeli forces began their operation by intensifying military pressure along multiple axes in the north, east, and south of the city, including neighborhoods such as Al-Zaitoun, Tel al-Hawa, Al-Sabra, and Sheikh Radwan, with the seeming aim of fully encircling the city and confining its residents to a specific area to compel them to move southward.

These neighborhoods have witnessed heavy shelling from artillery and airstrikes, as well as the destruction of entire residential blocks by Israeli robots carrying tons of explosives, in addition to intense gunfire from Israeli tanks and drones. This has caused a large wave of displacement of residents toward the central and western parts of the city, which are already overcrowded and still considered dangerous war zones by the Israeli military. The threat of invasion looms at any moment.

Night after night, relentless and terrifying explosions rob us of sleep. Entire neighborhoods are being invaded and demolished.

The forced displacement has further exacerbated the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, who are already drained mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially after enduring 23 months of ongoing genocide. Most families in Gaza City had been displaced to the south for more than 15 months and were only able to return during the ceasefire in January 2025. They have not forgotten what it was like to live in tents without basic necessities. They still vividly remember being displaced, bombed, and starved in areas that Israel claimed were safe. Moreover, their longing for their homes and neighborhoods remains unfulfilled.

Many of those families tried to resist by staying in their homes, but this time the Israeli forces have left them with no choice: either be killed or leave — though leaving is almost as dreadful as death. Within the past week, many have evacuated under heavy bombardment, and their focus on mere survival meant they were unable to take even the most basic necessities, such as food, clothes, and mattresses. They were later forced to repurchase these items at exorbitant prices within the informal economy. Those considered “lucky” enough to salvage a few belongings from their homes faced steep transportation costs — up to $150 for a donkey cart and $250 for a vehicle.

A single tent now costs $1,000 — an amount far beyond the reach of most families.

Adding to this suffering is the exhausting struggle of homelessness. Most families in Gaza City were forced to venture into the unknown, many ending up in the streets with nowhere to go. A single tent now costs $1,000 — an amount far beyond the reach of most families, as the war has destroyed livelihoods and driven poverty to unbearable levels. Even when a tent is secured, finding space to set it up is another challenge, since the central and western parts of Gaza City are already overcrowded with tents of displaced families from Gaza’s northern governorates, as well as from the eastern neighborhoods of Gaza City, following the start of the Israeli military operation Gideon’s Chariots, which was launched in May 2025.

Some families went directly to the south, driven by Israeli army threats and its claims of available space, tents, and aid, only to find the situation even worse. Israeli forces are now taking over two of the largest cities in the south — Khan Younis and Rafah — while people there are crammed into the Central Governorate and al-Mawasi near Khan Younis, with no sufficient space left to set up tents for the displaced from Gaza City.

Abed Abo Laban, 19, said he and his family initially refused to leave their Al-Zaitoun home despite the danger. “The artillery shelling was heavy, and shrapnel scattered across our roof. Quadcopters fired randomly and even burned neighboring tents, but we stayed because we had nowhere else to go,” he said.

Abo Laban recounted that they left only after an Israeli drone targeted their home, killing his brother and father. “We realized that if we hadn’t left, we would all have been killed like them,” he said.

Abo Laban and his family fled south to Al-Mawasi in Khan Younis but found no place to set up their tent. “The Israelis claim there is space in the south, but that is the biggest lie I have ever heard. There was absolutely no space; we just sat on the sand of Al-Mawasi Beach, helpless and exhausted, with nowhere to put our tent,” he said. “The area was cramped, with tents set up right next to each other. There was no privacy, no clean water, no sewage system, and it was infested with insects and flies.”

“The thought of leaving my home, fearing I might never return, and venturing into the unknown — without anywhere to go, not even a tent, and with winter approaching — is unbearable.”

Mohamed Alkateeb, 46, who lives in the heart of Gaza City, said he has begun packing his belongings, preparing for an evacuation order at any moment. “The thought of leaving my home, fearing I might never return, and venturing into the unknown — without anywhere to go, not even a tent, and with winter approaching — is unbearable. If it were up to me, I would stay; I would prefer death over displacement, which feels like dying slowly. But when you have children, everything changes. I am now forced to leave to protect them as best I can,” he said.

The Israeli army is moving forward with its plan, and it seems nothing can stop it from erasing Gaza City, massacring its people, and displacing us. Now, Israel wants to push us south, but no one knows what the next destination will be. We have pleaded with the world in every way possible — to intervene, to protect us, to recognize our right to live in dignity — but it seems all our efforts have failed. We are left helpless and in despair, awaiting the next chapter of torture and suffering in exile, with no end in sight.

Posted in Progressive Political News