Palestinians were gripped by fear and anxiety on Sunday after the Israeli military said it was preparing for the forcible displacement of 1 million people from Gaza City.<\/p>\n
The announcement came days after Israel said it intended to launch a new offensive <\/a>to seize control of the territory\u2019s largest urban centre, in a plan that raised international alarm, and ahead of the IDF\u2019s latest attacks in the Palestinian territory which Gaza\u2019s health officials said had killed at least 40 people on Saturday including a baby in a tent and people seeking aid.<\/p>\n \u201cBased on the directives of the political leadership, and as part of the Israel Defense Forces\u2019 preparations to transfer civilians from combat zones to the southern Gaza<\/a> Strip for their safety, starting tomorrow [Sunday], the provision of tents and shelter equipment for Gaza residents will resume,\u201d read a statement by the Israeli Coordination of Government Activities in the Palestinian Territories (COGAT).<\/p>\n \u201cThe equipment will be transferred through the Kerem Shalom crossing by the United Nations and international relief organisations, after undergoing thorough inspection by the Land Crossings Authority of the Ministry of Defense,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, new recordings broadcast by an Israeli TV station showed the Israeli general who headed military intelligence on 7 October 2023 saying that 50 Palestinians \u201cmust die\u201d for every person killed that day, and \u201cit does not matter now if they are children\u201d. The channel said the undated conversations were recorded \u201cin recent months\u201d.<\/p>\n And in the US the state department announced<\/a> that it would stop issuing visas to children from Gaza in desperate need of medical care after an online pressure campaign from Laura Loomer<\/a>, a far-right influencer close to Donald Trump who has described herself as \u201ca proud Islamophobe\u201d.<\/p>\n A Palestinian woman, displaced by the Israeli offensive, shelters in a tent camp in Gaza City. Photograph: Dawoud Abu Alkas\/Reuters<\/p>\n After Israel\u2019s announcement, Palestinians in Gaza \u2013 displaced repeatedly, forced to live in tent camps or amid the ruins of their homes, stricken by hunger and deprived of medical supplies \u2013 are bracing for another humanitarian disaster as a new offensive would force them toward the south of the territory and an uncertain future.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are already destroyed and exhausted, physically and psychologically, from repeated displacement, from the lack of food and water,\u201d Akram Shlabia, 85, told the Guardian from the Shuja\u2019iyya neighbourhood of Gaza City. \u201cAnd now they want us to go to the south. Into nothingness, into the unknown, into a place without shelter or the basic means of life, even safety.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe will face many problems in displacement,\u201d said Mazen Hasaneh, 40, from al-Tuffah neighbourhood, who has been displaced six times during the war. \u201cFirst, securing a way to transport the necessary items like a tent and other basics, and of course many drivers will exploit people\u2019s desperation and raise prices, while people have no money to pay.<\/p>\n \u201cThe second problem is finding a place to set up the tent and settle, along with the difficulty of finding and providing water and food. Everything about displacement is suffering, especially in our current conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n Some families have already begun moving south to secure shelter in anticipation of possible evacuation, while others are contacting relatives to ask about available space should the relocation plan proceed. Yet many say they will remain in Gaza City, declaring they would rather stay than face the hardships of displacement.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the plan is carried out, I will look for a safe place for myself and my children within Gaza, and I will not consider moving to the south of the Strip,\u201d said Asma Al-Barawi, 34, from al-Tuffah, the mother of seven children. \u201cI didn\u2019t leave the first time, and I won\u2019t leave this time. The experiences and suffering I heard from the displaced who went south were harsh and unbearable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI lost everything because of this war,\u201d she added. \u201cI lost two of my brothers, two of my maternal aunts with their families, my cousin, and my father-in-law. And, I lost my new home, which I only left with some clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n In recent days, heavy explosions have echoed from areas east of Gaza, where Israeli forces have intensified operations, including artillery barrages and the start of an incursion on the outskirts of the Sabra neighbourhood.<\/p>\n