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Thousands of Palestinians were on the move in Gaza on Tuesday, after a wave of Israeli airstrikes signalled the end of almost two months of calm in the devastated territory. Many were newly bereaved, and most had been displaced many times.
Like others in Gaza, Ghaitam, a 19-year-old from a village near the southern city of Khan Younis, said he was woken at about 2am by the sounds of warplanes, explosions and screaming. “It was a nightmare that came true,” he said.
Within hours, the death toll in the conflict had risen by more than 400, according to local health authorities, to almost 49,000 people, mostly civilians. Medical staff in Gaza reported many women and children among Tuesday’s casualties.
At about 5am, Ghaitam heard that a friend with whom he had played volleyball a day earlier had been killed. “I couldn’t control myself and started crying. I went to the cemetery to say goodbye to my friend, and it was crowded with people, and the scenes there were heartbreaking.”
Israel’s security services and military have said the strikes targeted only “terror targets belonging to the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organisations” including “terrorist cells, launch posts, weapons stockpiles and additional military infrastructure used by those terror organisations to plan and execute attacks against Israeli civilians and … soldiers”.
Soon Ghaitam and his family were moving again, displaced for the 10th time after evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military around noon.
“We saw the orders [from the Israeli army] and we started gathering some clothes. We do not have enough food or gas. Now, we are heading to my sister’s house in a safer area. Our feelings right now are indescribable – anger, exhaustion, anxiety, fear, terror, and grief. It feels like the weight of the world is on us,” he said.
Aid officials said about 65,000 people were affected by the evacuation orders, which cover the northern town of Beit Hanoun and villages east of Khan Younis.
The new orders may suggest ground assaults by Israeli troops are imminent, or they could be designed to pressure Hamas leaders.
Hamas and Israel blame each other for the end to the pause in hostilities, which began in mid-January with the first phase of a three-phase agreement. Hamas says Israel broke the deal by reneging on its commitment to move to a second phase, which was meant to lead to a permanent end to the war. Israel has said Hamas refused to release more hostages or to agree a new proposal extending the ceasefire by several weeks.
Tasnim, a 26-year-old student in Khan Younis, had already been displaced twice during the war. “Since early morning, the streets became crowded with displaced people, pale faces, eyes filled with fear and exhaustion, not knowing where they would go or if they would find a safe shelter this time,” she said.
Aid officials in Gaza described “hectic” efforts to deal with the needs of the newly displaced and treat hundreds of casualties even as intermittent strikes continued. Civil defence organisations and the minimal health services that survived 15 months of conflict before the ceasefire were overwhelmed.
“The casualties are being brought in on donkey carts because there is no fuel for cars. Hospitals are reeling,” said one senior humanitarian official based in the central town of Deir al Balah.
Israel has blocked all humanitarian and commercial supplies to Gaza since the first phase of the ceasefire deal agreed with Hamas in January came to an end more than two weeks ago.
Aid officials said Gaza may be plunged back into an acute humanitarian crisis as a consequence, with supplies of basic foodstuffs and other essentials expected to run low within two to three weeks if Israel does not reopen entry points, which is unlikely unless there is a new ceasefire deal.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has accused Hamas of controlling “all of the supplies of goods that are being sent to the Gaza Strip” and “turning the humanitarian aid into a budget for terrorism”.
“One lesson of the war so far is … don’t give your enemy supplies,” said Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israel’s military intelligence service. Hamas denies exploiting or stealing aid.
About 25,000 truckloads of food, medical supplies, hygiene products, tents and other supplies entered Gaza during the six weeks between the ceasefire coming into effect in mid-January and the new blockade two weeks ago.
This has given humanitarian agencies a “bit of a safety net” but “things will get pretty desperate pretty quickly”, one senior UN official told the Guardian last week.
Though some shops have stocks of staples such as lentils, pasta, flour, rice and oil that could last between four and six weeks, many in Gaza cannot afford the high prices. Aid agencies have sufficient supplies of diesel fuel to run crucial generators and vehicles for up to a month, but no petrol, which has crippled ambulance services.
“We’ve got stocks which will last for a while, but we have already cut our distributions severely, and are now targeting just those who have not got anything for months,” one official said.
The World Food Programme has shut a quarter of its bakeries in Gaza due to a lack of gas. Though medical supplies reached the territory during the ceasefire, supplies could run short very quickly if casualties continue to mount. At the same time, the health needs of a debilitated and demoralised population are acute.
Israel has cut off all remaining electricity supply to Gaza, limiting the operations of the territory’s one remaining desalination plant, and reducing the already inadequate supply of clean water.
Aid officials and others in Gaza said at the weekend that Hamas was “in control” of the territory, though the group’s military wing has been significantly weakened during the months of war. Looting that had become endemic had been curtailed and crime had dropped, they said.
“They are pretty much back in charge, mainly because there’s no one else to really challenge them. People who we were dealing with before the war are popping up again in their old jobs,” said one humanitarian official earlier this week.
The latest Israeli strikes killed several high-ranking Hamas officials, including ministers.
The war was triggered by a Hamas attack into southern Israel in October 2023, in which militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 250.
Twenty-five living hostages and the remains of eight more were returned to Israel by Hamas during the first phase of the ceasefire, in return for 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Fifty-four hostages are still held in Gaza, of whom more than half are thought to be dead. Last week, freed hostages described systematic abuse by captors, increasing domestic pressure on the Israeli government to conclude a deal.
Israeli officials have said the new offensive will continue until the hostages are released.
Hayat Taha, a 16-year-old student from Beit Lahiya, said her family had gathered to discuss the situation. “We all had questions: what will we do if we are asked to evacuate again and head south? Will we leave? I felt that every family in Gaza was having this discussion at that moment,” she said.
“We couldn’t reach a decision. We will let things take their course as God wills. As of now, we are still here, waiting, and trying to hold on to whatever is left of us.”
