More than 900,000 Palestinians in Gaza City are refusing to leave their homes despite relentless Israeli bombardment aimed at forcibly displacing residents, local authorities said Wednesday.
In a statement, Gaza’s Government Media Office said residents are “holding firm to their right to remain” and categorically rejecting Israeli attempts to drive them south, even as entire neighborhoods come under heavy fire.
It accused the Israeli army of conducting a “systematic deception campaign” by advertising tents, aid, and humanitarian services that “do not exist on the ground.” Such claims, it said, are aimed at forcing civilians to abandon their homes and neighborhoods.
The office added that government teams have documented a rise in families moving south in recent weeks, attributing it to Israel’s “barbaric crimes” and intensified military operations.
Israel launched Operation “Gideon Chariots 2” earlier this month, aiming at the complete occupation of Gaza City. Nearly one million Palestinians, most of them displaced from other parts of the enclave, remain trapped under relentless bombardment.
The Israeli army has killed more than 65,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases according to Anadolu.
International newspapers and research centers are openly warning that “the belief in the possibility of quickly eliminating the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is an illusion and a political and military naiveté. This is coming at a time when the international boycott of Israel is expanding and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is worsening.
Impossibility
The New York Times quotes Israeli military officers and experts as saying “the complete elimination of Hamas is unrealistic in the near term.” They note that “the movement still possesses a strong presence and combat capabilities that allow it to continue the confrontation for years.”
They maintain: “Betting on eliminating Hamas within a short period reflects an oversimplification of a complex equation.”
Great Civilian Losses
The British newspaper The Guardian states that field reports revealed that Israeli airstrikes are causing large numbers of civilian casualties in Gaza, while Hamas losses remain limited compared to what Israel officially announces.
The newspaper also notes: “The movement is resorting to unconventional tactics such as mines and ambushes, which increases the difficulty of the Israeli mission.”
International Boycott
The British newspaper The Financial Times confirms: “Boycott campaigns against Israel are growing at an unprecedented rate, encompassing the fields of sports, culture, and academia.”
The newspaper highlights a massive advertising campaign in Times Square in New York City, explicitly calling for a boycott of Israel and accusing it of committing “genocide” in Gaza.
In the same context, the Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom reveals that the Italian authorities have decided to exclude Israel from participating in a tourism exhibition in Rimini, on the grounds that its presence would be “inappropriate” given the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis.
Worsening Humanitarian Tragedy
On the humanitarian front, the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz devotes extensive space to documenting the suffering of women and the most vulnerable groups in Gaza.
It notes the rise in miscarriages, the prevalence of malnutrition among mothers and infants, and a severe shortage of basic health services whilst warning that repeated displacement and poor living conditions are exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe.
Future Scenarios
International analysts believe Hamas is still capable of reorganizing its ranks and relying on guerrilla warfare and unconventional methods, making it difficult for Israel to resolve the confrontation militarily.
It also predicted the conflict over Gaza would continue for a long time, with the increasing humanitarian and political costs for Israel and the increasing diplomatic and legal pressure on it in international forums.
Since October 7, 2023, the occupying forces, with direct support from the United States and Western countries, have continued to wage a devastating war in Gaza, resulting in the death and injury of more than 231,000 Palestinians to date, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Strip according to JO24.
Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American soldier released from imprisonment, announced he will return to Israel next month to rejoin the Israeli military as it continues its genocide in Gaza.
Alexander spent 584 days in inprisonment, which he called “the hardest period of my life.” At a press conference, he said, “My story does not end with survival, it continues in service until victory!”
He added, “Next month, God willing, I will return to Israel and once again wear the IDF uniform, and I will proudly serve alongside my brothers.”
Alexander’s release came as part of mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire, open Gaza’s crossings, and allow humanitarian aid into the besieged territory. Hamas resistance movement had described the release as a gesture of “positivity and high flexibility” and urged international actors, including the US, to build on it to secure a full agreement.
Alexander grew up in the United States and joined the Israeli military at 18. He volunteered as a colonizer and served in the Golani Brigade out of ideological commitment according to the Quds News Network.
On average, the journey south costs more than $3,000, according to UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA, making it out of reach for many.
Along the densely populated coastal al-Rashid Road, thousands of residents are lining up to escape, following Israeli military evacuation orders, in a grueling trek to the central and southern parts of the enclave.
Without urgent, radical intervention, #Gaza faces total annihilation.
We call for an immediate end to evacuation orders used as a tool of forcible displacement, a lasting ceasefire and the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid at scale. https://t.co/FPLgpojMX7pic.twitter.com/I6xvTiYyHW
— Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (@MSF_canada) September 11, 2025
A UN News correspondent was there and documented scenes of suffering as displaced people made the journey on foot.
While some were dragging carts loaded with their belongings, others – including women and children – were trying to take a break after long hours of walking.
The Gaza Valley Bridge in the central Gaza Strip has been overcrowded due to the influx.
‘All houses and neighbourhoods were bombed’
In the midst of the crowd, an elderly man called Abu Nader Siam, walks slowly holding his cane in his right hand with his wife, Zakia Siam, at his left. He is exhausted.
“I come from the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City. They left no house or neighbourhood except to bomb it,” he said.
“The shelling continues, and they have dropped leaflets ordering us to evacuate. We walked for six hours because we couldn’t find a car or any transportation.”
Zakia Siam spoke about their non-stop journey after the shelling reduced their house to rubble.
“We went to the Shujaiya neighbourhood, and then we were displaced to the Sha’af neighbourhood in Gaza City before it was bombed,” she said.
“Afterwards, we went to the seashore west of Gaza City and my husband and I stayed there for two nights without a tent. We sat on the sidewalk next to the tents and hid next to one of them, then continued walking.”
Death, devastation and destruction
Another civilian, Mrs. Um Shadi al-Ashkar, carried a bag of belongings as she headed for southern Gaza.
“There is death, shelling, bombing and destruction of houses (in Gaza City),” she said.
“Even if they had dropped leaflets, if there had been no shelling, no one would have left Gaza City, they would have stayed in their homes. But there is death and devastation.”
UN News
Umm Shadi al-Ashqar, a displaced person from Gaza.
‘I lost 25 family members’
Ayman al-Khatib told UN News that most of his family members were killed in the Tal al-Za’atar neighbourhood of Jabalia camp in the north.
He fled alongside a few surviving relatives. His aunt held onto his arm, as if she were afraid of losing him too.
“More than 25 members of my family were killed: my children, my wife, my mother, my brothers and their wives,” he said. Only his aunt, two nephews and a son remain.
“We fled under the bombardment, and we couldn’t find any transport. They asked us for 2,000 shekels to get in a car, but we don’t have the money. We don’t have a tent or anything. I made many calls and pleas, but no one responded to me.”
UN News
From Gaza, Ayman al-Khatib during his displacement journey on foot with his aunt.
According to UNRWA, the average cost of displacement to the south is $3,180 per family. Fuel is scare in Gaza, and no shelter supplies have entered for seven months due to the Israeli blockade.
Last month, Israel announced that it would take control of Gaza City and in recent weeks has intensified bombardment of high-rise apartment buildings there.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said more than 250,000 people have been displaced from the city in the past month alone, including 60,000 in just 72 hours, as troops advanced into densely populated neighbourhoods such as Sheikh Radwan and Tal al-Hawa.
Israel has forcibly displaced 270,000 Palestinians from Gaza City toward the south under threat of bombardment and genocide, the Gaza Government Media Office said Saturday.
In a statement, the office said more than 900,000 Palestinians remain in Gaza City and northern areas, refusing to leave despite the ongoing destruction and “crimes of permanent forced displacement.”
“While thousands have fled south due to heavy Israeli airstrikes, at least 22,000 have since returned to Gaza City after moving belongings to the south,” it said, citing the absence of basic necessities there.
The office highlighted that the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis and Rafah, promoted by Israel as a “safe humanitarian zone,” has instead been bombed more than 110 times, leaving over 2,000 people dead.
It said the area lacks hospitals, infrastructure, clean water, food, housing, electricity, and education, making life “almost impossible.”
According to the office, Israel has allocated just 12% of Gaza’s total area as “shelter zones” while attempting to force over 1.7 million people into them, comparing these to “concentration camps” aimed at depopulating Gaza City and the north.
The office condemned Israel’s actions as “a full-fledged war crime and crime against humanity,” blaming “Israel, its ally the US, and other states supporting the war” for the consequences.
It called on the international community, the UN, and international courts to take “serious and effective measures” to halt the crimes, hold Israeli leaders accountable, and guarantee Palestinians’ right to remain in their land with safety and dignity according to Anadolu.
Israel has been waging a devastating genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, killing more than 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
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