A displaced Palestinian man fleeing northern Gaza gestures atop a vehicle loaded with belongings while he heads south as the Israeli military prepares to relocate residents to the southern part of the enclave, in Gaza City, August 18, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Fearing an imminent Israeli ground offensive, thousands of Palestinians have left their homes in eastern areas of Gaza City, now under constant Israeli bombardment, for points to the west and south in the shattered territory.
Israel’s plan to seize control of Gaza City has stirred alarm abroad and at home where tens of thousands of Israelis held some of the largest protests since the war began, urging a deal to end the fighting and free the remaining 50 hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
The planned offensive has spurred Egyptian and Qatari ceasefire mediators to step up efforts in what a source familiar with the talks with Hamas militants in Cairo said could be “the last-ditch attempt.”
Displaced Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza travel in a vehicle loaded with their belongings while they head south as the Israeli military prepares to relocate residents to the southern part of the enclave, in Gaza City, August 18, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described Gaza City as Hamas’ last big urban bastion. But, with Israel already holding 75% of Gaza, the military has warned that expanding the offensive could endanger hostages still alive and draw troops into protracted and deadly guerrilla warfare.
Dani Miran, whose son Omri was taken hostage on October 7, said he fears the consequences of an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza City. “I’m scared that my son would be hurt,” he said in a Reuters interview in Tel Aviv on Monday.
In Gaza City, many Palestinians have also been calling for protests soon to demand an end to a war that has demolished much of the territory and wrought a humanitarian disaster, and for Hamas to intensify talks to avert the Israeli ground offensive.
Threat of displacements
An Israeli armoured incursion into Gaza City could displace hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have been uprooted multiple times during the war.
Ahmed Mheisen, Palestinian shelter manager in Beit Lahiya, a war-devastated suburb abutting eastern Gaza City, said 995 families had departed the area in recent days for the south.
With the Israeli offensive looming, Mheisen put the number of tents needed for emergency shelter at 1.5 million, saying Israel had allowed only 120,000 tents into the territory during a January-March ceasefire.
The U.N. humanitarian office said last week 1.35 million people were already in need of emergency shelter items in Gaza.
“The people of Gaza City are like someone who received a death sentence and is awaiting execution,” said Tamer Burai, a Gaza City businessman.
“I am moving my parents and my family to the south today or tomorrow. I can’t risk losing any of them should there be a surprising invasion,” he told Reuters via a chat app.
Protest in Gaza City
A protest by unions is scheduled for Thursday in Gaza City, and people took to social media platforms vowing to participate, which will raise pressure on Hamas.
The last round of indirect ceasefire talks ended in late July in deadlock with the sides trading blame for its collapse.
Sources close to the Cairo talks said Egyptian and Qatari mediators had met with leaders of Hamas, allied militant group Islamic Jihad and other factions with little progress reported.
Hamas told mediators it was ready to resume talks about a U.S.-proposed 60-day truce and release of half the hostages, one official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters, but also for a wider deal that would end the war.
Published – August 19, 2025 07:57 am IST
