Israel pushes deeper into north Gaza City, displacing 1000s ahead of planned ‘capture’

After reaching the perimeter of northern Gaza City earlier this week, Israeli forces operating under the cover of heavy fire conducted temporary maneuvers on Tuesday and Wednesday, pushing deeper into the city’s northern neighborhoods and into parts of the neighboring governorate, eyewitnesses told Mada Masr.

Thousands of displaced people were without shelter in the streets on Wednesday after Israel conducted a heavy bombardment campaign on the neighborhoods on Tuesday night.

The invading forces neared on Sunday the northern end of Jalaa Street — which separates eastern Gaza City from its west — just days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he had approved the military’s operational plan to “capture” the metropolis where around 1 million people are currently living. A simultaneous advance is also underway from the city’s southeast.

On Tuesday morning, Israeli aircraft dropped thousands of leaflets over parts of northern Gaza City and Jabalia al-Nazla, a neighborhood in the North Governorate bordering the city, ordering residents to evacuate south.

The evacuation orders covered neighborhoods stretching from the Sheikh Radwan pond, Sala al-Yazji, Nafaq Street, Mashahra and Zarqa areas to Yafa Street — areas spanning from North Gaza into the northern edges of Gaza City.

The forces later conducted maneuvers advancing to the city’s north and northeastern boundary under the cover of heavy aerial fire, before later retreating, eyewitnesses said.

“Drones swarmed overhead, with quadcopters firing at civilians near the end of Jalaa Street. Several people were killed,” said Ahmed al-Madhoun, who was close to the area at the time. He described seeing a bulldozer and two tanks move toward the Jabalia al-Nazla club and the Saftawy cemetery before pulling back. The temporary advance also targeted the Abu Sharakh neighborhood.

People fled to escape amid the heavy fire. “Many collapsed in the street and bled to death as the vehicles advanced,” Madhoun said. “Civil defense teams couldn’t retrieve their bodies until the vehicles pulled back.”

The forces also surrounded the area west of Jabalia al-Nazla during the temporary incursion, shelling it with artillery fire while families remained trapped inside, eyewitness Yasser Aziz said. Though the vehicles eventually retreated, they stayed positioned nearby, posing an ongoing threat to those still inside and anyone attempting to approach.

The maneuvers were followed by a heavy aerial bombardment campaign over the course of Tuesday night on the Jabalia al-Balad, Nazla and Saftawy neighborhoods, resulting in many deaths and injuries. Drone fire struck civilian homes and displacement shelters, forcing many households to flee once again.

On Wednesday morning, new evacuation orders were issued for an entire residential block in the Abu Eskandar area in northern Gaza City, which was then targeted minutes later, with dozens of homes destroyed, eyewitness Ibrahim Labad told Mada Masr.

Panic and terror spread following the evacuation order, with dozens of families displaced westward without enough time to gather their belongings before the block was destroyed minutes after, Labad said.

Meanwhile, in southeastern Gaza City — where the Israeli military has been operating for over two weeks already, carrying out widespread demolitions and killing dozens — fresh strikes targeted the Zeitoun and Sabra neighborhoods. On Monday night, a missile hit the home of the Dahshan family in Sabra, killing seven people and wounding several others. Families there remain trapped under Israeli fire.

Several more residential blocks in Zeitoun and Sabra were demolished using remote-controlled explosives, a method repeatedly deployed during the Occupation military’s recent ground incursions. 

On Wednesday, during a relative lull in the area’s bombardment, civil defense crews managed to recover several bodies of those killed over recent days, although many families remain trapped in areas still under attack.