Cairo: The Israeli military has issued sweeping evacuation orders across central Gaza, signaling an imminent intensification of ground operations in areas that had until now served as fragile sanctuaries for displaced Palestinians. The directive, dropped from aircraft and circulated via mobile alerts, instructed tens of thousands of civilians in the Deir al-Balah region to flee further south many for the second or third time since the war began. These areas had become overcrowded refuges for those previously forced out of northern and southern Gaza by earlier offensives. The new warnings have created panic and despair among residents, especially as food supplies dwindle and the means of safe escape remain perilously limited.
The humanitarian toll in Gaza continues to grow at a staggering rate. Medics at Al-Shifa Hospital reported that at least 30 people were shot and killed at an aid distribution site, where thousands had gathered in hopes of receiving life-saving food and supplies. With the majority of Gaza’s population now displaced and dependent on humanitarian aid, scenes of desperate families queueing in searing heat, only to be met with gunfire or turned away due to empty stockpiles, are increasingly common. The Palestinian health ministry warns that hundreds are now at risk of starvation, with children and the elderly succumbing first to the effects of prolonged malnutrition. Hospitals, already reeling from infrastructural damage and medicine shortages, are now flooded with cases of dehydration, infection, and severe hunger.
Since the start of the war nearly two years ago, the Gaza Strip has experienced a near-total collapse of its civilian infrastructure. More than 58,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health authorities, and entire neighborhoods lie in ruins. With nowhere left to go, residents of central Gaza had been clinging to the hope that international mediation would bring at least a temporary ceasefire. That hope is now fading, as military operations expand and negotiations remain stalled. Talks mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States in Doha had proposed a 60-day truce and the release of hostages held by Hamas, but progress has been slow and confidence in a breakthrough is minimal.
Israel maintains that the evacuation orders are necessary to dismantle remaining Hamas strongholds and rescue hostages believed to be hidden in central Gaza. In a statement, the Israeli military described the forthcoming operations as a mission to eliminate what it calls “terrorist infrastructure with great force.” However, human rights groups and humanitarian agencies have condemned the escalation, arguing that repeated evacuations without proper humanitarian corridors amount to collective punishment. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has reported that access to aid remains critically restricted, with convoys frequently denied entry or blocked by damaged roads and military checkpoints.
The Israeli government has defended its handling of aid distribution, accusing Hamas of diverting relief materials for military use and blaming logistical breakdowns on the United Nations. Yet observers on the ground describe a catastrophe that transcends politics an unfolding disaster in which the civilian population has become the primary victim. Appeals from international organizations for a humanitarian pause have so far gone unheeded, and the situation threatens to spiral further as military maneuvers shift deeper into Gaza’s heartland.
As Gaza braces for another wave of violence, the consequences are not only immediate but generational. Children born during the conflict have known nothing but war, displacement, and hunger. Families who once lived in modest homes now crowd into tents or ruined buildings, struggling to survive on bread and water, if even that. Without a swift and sustained intervention both diplomatic and humanitarian Gaza risks being left as a wasteland of broken lives, where peace is not only distant but unimaginable.