Israel has ordered the entire population of Gaza City to leave, as its forces prepare to capture the north of the Gaza Strip. Israeli airstrikes have continued to destroy tower blocks, and the army says it now has operational control of 40% of the city, as ground forces prepare to fight what prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the 'last important stronghold' of Hamas.
Netanyahu this week said 100,000 people had left the city, but up to a million people are still living there – many in tents or shelters. Many of them say they will not – or cannot – leave. After a strike hit a tower block near his home today, Ammar Sukkar called on Hamas negotiators to come and negotiate from a tent, not from air-conditioned rooms in Qatar – and insisted he would stay in the city.
'Whether you like it or not, Netanyahu, we're not leaving,' he told a trusted freelancer working for the BBC. 'Go and deal with Hamas, go and kill them. We're not to blame. And even if we're buried here, we're not leaving. This is my land.'
Wael Shaban, also living near the targeted tower, said they had been given 15 minutes to flee before the strike. 'When we came back, the tents, the flour, everything has gone. Nothing is left. It's all to pressure us to go south, but we don't have the money to go. We can't even afford flour to eat. Transport to the south costs 1,500 shekels.'
Israeli forces are telling Gaza City residents that there is plenty of shelter, food and water in so-called humanitarian zones further south. However, aid organizations have reported that the areas designated are already overcrowded and lack essential food and medical resources. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has criticized the mass evacuation plan as 'unfeasible' and 'incomprehensible.'
As Israel prepares to build new aid distribution sites and infrastructure near Rafah, the situation remains dire for those still in Gaza City, where ongoing military operations pose ongoing threats to civilians. Residents are caught in a narrative of resistance, asserting their right to stay in what they consider their land, despite the rapidly deteriorating conditions around them.
Netanyahu this week said 100,000 people had left the city, but up to a million people are still living there – many in tents or shelters. Many of them say they will not – or cannot – leave. After a strike hit a tower block near his home today, Ammar Sukkar called on Hamas negotiators to come and negotiate from a tent, not from air-conditioned rooms in Qatar – and insisted he would stay in the city.
'Whether you like it or not, Netanyahu, we're not leaving,' he told a trusted freelancer working for the BBC. 'Go and deal with Hamas, go and kill them. We're not to blame. And even if we're buried here, we're not leaving. This is my land.'
Wael Shaban, also living near the targeted tower, said they had been given 15 minutes to flee before the strike. 'When we came back, the tents, the flour, everything has gone. Nothing is left. It's all to pressure us to go south, but we don't have the money to go. We can't even afford flour to eat. Transport to the south costs 1,500 shekels.'
Israeli forces are telling Gaza City residents that there is plenty of shelter, food and water in so-called humanitarian zones further south. However, aid organizations have reported that the areas designated are already overcrowded and lack essential food and medical resources. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has criticized the mass evacuation plan as 'unfeasible' and 'incomprehensible.'
As Israel prepares to build new aid distribution sites and infrastructure near Rafah, the situation remains dire for those still in Gaza City, where ongoing military operations pose ongoing threats to civilians. Residents are caught in a narrative of resistance, asserting their right to stay in what they consider their land, despite the rapidly deteriorating conditions around them.