Ahmed Hassan, a displaced Palestinian living in Gaza City’s al-Shati refugee camp, barely had time to gather his personal belongings when he heard one of his neighbours shouting: “Evacuate… evacuate… there’s going to be a strike.”
Within moments, Hassan called his two brothers and his mother, and the family rushed out of the home they had rented in the area, leaving everything behind as they fled an imminent Israeli attack.
Hassan abandoned the rented apartment in a partially destroyed building in al-Shati camp on Wednesday, shortly before Israeli forces carried out an extremely heavy strike on an inhabited civilian home belonging to the al-Masri family. Its residents had also escaped only minutes earlier, he said.
A Choice Between Life and Death
Over recent weeks and months, Palestinians living in the remaining areas of the Gaza Strip have become accustomed to receiving threats and evacuation orders only minutes before homes and residential areas are targeted.
The impact goes beyond the fear and terror generated by the warnings. Hundreds of Palestinians are forced from their homes under threat of bombardment without enough time to collect clothes, possessions or even their most basic personal belongings, leaving them displaced once again and exposed in the open.
After the bombing, some return to find that the place sheltering them has been reduced to rubble, along with the few belongings they were unable to carry.
For those facing such warnings, evacuation has effectively become a choice between remaining and risking death, or fleeing and abandoning everything they still possess.
Punishing Palestinians
A security source in the Gaza Strip told Arabi21 that Israel’s approach to targeting homes and civilian facilities is, in many cases, retaliatory in nature and primarily directed at the population, without justification linked to military or security activity inside the targeted homes or involving their owners.
The source, who requested anonymity, said Israeli forces have targeted hundreds of homes and civilian facilities since the ceasefire came into effect, including in remaining areas of Gaza located outside what is known as the “Yellow Line”, claiming that the properties were connected to operatives or had been used to shelter them.
However, the source said conditions on the ground indicated otherwise, adding that most owners of the targeted homes had no connection to activities that could serve as a pretext for evacuation orders or bombardment.
According to the source, Israeli forces deliberately target homes in areas densely populated by displaced Palestinians in an effort to spread fear among the population and remind them that the war has not ended and that their suffering continues despite the ceasefire.
The source said the consequences extend beyond material losses, deepening the fear and instability already affecting displaced Palestinians, who remain under the constant threat of losing whatever shelter and possessions they have left.
He described the policy as retaliatory, criminal and systematic, aimed at keeping Palestinians under continuous pressure through fear and repeated displacement, including in areas that are supposed to be covered by the ceasefire.
9% More Buildings Destroyed Since the Ceasefire
A recent assessment by the United Nations Satellite Centre estimated that the number of destroyed buildings has risen by 9 per cent since the ceasefire was announced in October 2025.
Around 82 per cent of buildings across the Gaza Strip have now been damaged, amounting to more than 200,000 structures, one-third of which have been completely destroyed.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military bombed three inhabited homes, including one near al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City, after issuing an evacuation warning covering a residential block.
In central Gaza, an Israeli warplane carried out at least one strike on a home belonging to the Abu Gharqoud family in al-Bureij refugee camp after another warning ordering residents to evacuate a residential area.
In southern Gaza, Israeli forces bombed a home belonging to the al-Lahham family in the Batn al-Samin area southwest of Khan Younis, causing extensive damage to nearby homes and tents.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military bombed a home belonging to the al-Masri family in al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City after issuing evacuation orders. The attack damaged several neighbouring homes.
Another home was bombed in Nuseirat in central Gaza, causing extensive destruction to numerous surrounding houses.
