“WAITING FOR DISPLACEMENT”
Last year’s ceasefire allowed Israeli forces to retain control of 53 per cent of Gaza initially, before eventually withdrawing. But Israel has instead expanded its control. Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Sunday that the Israeli-held area had reached 60 per cent to 70 per cent as Israeli troops search for tunnels.
Soumah Dawla, 60, said that the Israeli-held zone had recently expanded towards her home, after she woke up to find yellow bricks laid by Israeli forces to demarcate the territory had been moved closer.
“We are waiting for displacement at any moment … Our entire life is gone, our entire future is gone, our children’s future is gone,” said Dawla, whose family, like nearly all Gazans, has been displaced multiple times since the war began.
Around her, piles of rubble marked what was once a Gaza City neighbourhood. Nearby, her grandchildren played with building blocks on the floor of the tent, an improvised refuge she shares with her husband.
Dawla said she had hoped Trump’s announcement would bring change but “on the contrary, destruction increased, displacement increased”.
“We want them to implement the agreements they talked about. We don’t want talk, we want action,” Dawla said.
Israel’s recent expansion of the yellow line forced people to flee in at least five different areas across the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, Deir Al-Balah, and Khan Younis, at least seven residents told Reuters.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Jul 20 that 30 families were forced to leave an area near the yellow line in eastern Gaza city as a result of an Israeli displacement order.
Hamas has demanded Israel pull forces out of areas seized since last October’s ceasefire as one of its demands for moving ahead with the deal.
Hamas rejects the word “disarmament” but says it will hand over its weapons for storage under the control of a US-backed Palestinian administration after Israel halts operations and withdraws its forces in line with last year’s ceasefire.
A spokesperson for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told Reuters that Israel expressed concerns to Washington about the disarmament plan.
“The most important concern for Israel is that nothing can happen before Hamas completely and truly disarms,” Doron Spielman, the spokesperson, said.
At least 1,230 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israeli strikes since the Trump-backed Gaza peace plan was agreed in October, according to Gaza health authorities. Hamas does not usually disclose its fatalities.
Four Israeli soldiers were killed over the same period, according to Israeli tallies.
