War-weary Palestinians react to Israel's plans to take Gaza City

Описание: (8 Aug 2025)

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4595706

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gaza City, Gaza Strip - 8 August 2025
1. Mid of girl seated on debris, next to the tents
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud Zaqout, displaced from northern Gaza:
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
"Today, they are calling for more occupation. To where should we be displaced? There is no place left. In Gaza, or in the north, there are roughly one million people. Where should we be displaced to?"
3. Various of tents
4. Children under shadow of tent
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Doaa al-Tanani, displaced from Jabaliya:
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
"They want to occupy Gaza. What is left? They killed children. They killed youth. They killed women. They killed everything. The homes that are gone are enough. Now we live in tents. From one displacement to the other, to the sea. There are no areas for us to stay in. One is scared, scared for one's children, the mess and disarray that we are in."
6. Tight of children
7. Various of tents
8. Man riding bike
9. Various of tents
10. Various of Asaad Aql Moustafa with friends and family
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Asaad Aql Moustafa, displaced from Beit Hanoun:
++PARTIALLY COVERED++
"(Do you want to kill) the rest, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu? Kill all you want. You have been at it for two years, what have you done? What have you done other than destroy homes, bring ordeals and catastrophes to people? You've killed people, children, you've killed their elderly, you've killed all of Gaza. Did you benefit in any way? You haven't benefited."
12. Various of destroyed mosque near the tents
STORYLINE:
Israel's decision to take over Gaza City was met with both resignation and defiance by Palestinians who have survived two years of war, displacement and repeated raids.

Meanwhile, many Israelis responded with fear and anger, worried it could be a death sentence for hostages held by Hamas militants.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday that Israel would intensify its 22-month war with Hamas by taking over Gaza City, large parts of which have been destroyed by past bombardment and ground incursions.

A major ground operation is almost sure to cause more mass displacement and worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

“What does (Israel) want from us? ... There is nothing here to occupy,” said a woman in Gaza City who identified herself as Umm Youssef.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled Gaza City in the opening weeks of the war, the first of several mass displacements.

Many returned during a ceasefire earlier this year.

"To where should we be displaced? There is no place left," said Mahmoud Zaqout, who was displaced from northern Gaza.

Now, residents say they are too busy searching for food and trying to survive amid the city's bombed-out buildings and tent camps to think about another exodus.

Israel already controls and has largely destroyed around 75% of the Gaza Strip, with most of the population of some 2 million Palestinians now sheltering in Gaza City, the central city of Deir al-Balah and the sprawling displacement camps in the Muwasi area along the coast.

The offensive has killed over 61,300 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians. It says women and children make up around half the dead.

It is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and other experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of casualties, while Israel disputes them.







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