Trapped Between Bombs and Barricades: Gaza City Civilians Face Peril as Israeli Ground Offensive Begins

 

            Displaced Palestinians flee northern Gaza after Israel’s military said it expanded operations in Gaza City.

 

Gaza City has been plunged into one of its darkest chapters as Israel launches a full-scale ground invasion, intensifying a nearly two-year war that has already devastated the enclave. Overnight airstrikes lit the sky and shook the ground, flattening residential blocks and leaving families scrambling for safety.

The Israeli military says the operation aims to dismantle Hamas’ remaining military infrastructure, but for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians still in the city, the offensive has turned escape into a deadly gamble. Long lines of cars, trucks, and even carts piled high with belongings snake along the coastal road — the only route south designated by Israel as “safe.” Yet residents report that bombardments have struck near evacuation paths, forcing many to weigh the risk of staying against the danger of fleeing.

Hospitals, already overwhelmed, are receiving a steady stream of casualties. At Shifa Hospital, dozens of bodies arrived within hours of the assault’s escalation, alongside scores of wounded. “The bombing did not stop for a single moment,” said Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, the hospital’s director.

The United Nations has condemned the destruction as “wanton” and warned that the mass displacement could amount to ethnic cleansing. A new UN inquiry has also accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza — a charge Israel rejects as “distorted and false”.

For those still in Gaza City, the choice is stark: remain in a city under siege or risk the perilous journey south. As one resident put it, “The land is ours and there’s no way we will leave it — death is death”.