Israeli military officials revealed plans on Saturday to forcibly relocate Palestinians from Gaza City, citing safety concerns, even as reports emerged of at least 40 fatalities—including a newborn and aid seekers—in recent assaults on zones previously marked as secure.
The move follows Israel's declaration of intent to initiate a major ground operation aimed at capturing Gaza City, the strip's primary urban hub. This escalation has sparked widespread global concern, building on an ongoing campaign that has uprooted the majority of Gaza's residents, resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, and triggered severe food shortages bordering on famine.
Starting Sunday, authorities stated they would distribute tents and basic shelter supplies to those in affected areas before moving them southward out of active combat regions. No specific timeline was given for when the large-scale evacuations might commence.
However, skepticism surrounds these claims, given Israel's history of striking locations it had labeled as humanitarian safe havens. In one tragic incident on Saturday, an airstrike targeted a tent in al-Mawasi, southern Gaza—a site Israel had promoted as protected—killing a baby girl and her parents, according to witnesses and staff at Nasser Hospital.
"What wrong has a two-and-a-half-month-old done?" questioned neighbor Fathi Shubeir. "These are innocent people in a supposedly secure spot."
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) responded that they lacked sufficient details to address the specific attack.
Al-Mawasi has become one of Gaza's most densely packed regions after repeated directives pushed civilians into this barren coastal strip. Yet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated last week that the upcoming offensive would expand to encompass al-Mawasi, alongside Gaza City and central refugee camps like Nuseirat and Bureij.
Gaza's civil defense teams reported that at least 13 of Saturday's victims were gunned down by soldiers while queuing for humanitarian aid at distribution points in both northern and southern areas.
Health authorities also confirmed 11 additional deaths linked to malnutrition in the last day alone, with at least one child among them. This pushes the total fatalities from starvation and restricted aid access—blamed on Israel's blockade—to 251.
Residents in Gaza City have noted a surge in aerial bombardments over recent days, particularly hitting homes in eastern and southern districts, including Zeitoun. Hamas officials claimed on Saturday that Israeli forces were pounding the area relentlessly with fighter jets, heavy artillery, and unmanned drones.
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