For many Palestinians, fleeing Gaza’s most important population centre means they may never return
Among the many uncertainties in the aftermath of Israel’s attack strike on Hamas’s leadership in Qatar, none looms larger than the future of its invasion of Gaza City.
Israel’s government claims capturing the city is essential to defeating the remnants of Hamas, where many of its remaining fighters are believed to be holding out.
But for Palestinians and their supporters around the world, Israel’s offensive amounts to an appalling exercise in ethnic cleansing.
With Israel refusing to say if or when people can return, the order to leave — via airdropped leaflets on Tuesday — is being viewed as an expulsion rather than a safety measure, as Israel says it is.
The group warned: “Further entanglement in a military operation to capture Gaza City, without any mediation channel” carries unnecessary risks.
Israel airdrops leaflets ordering Gaza City evacuation, triggering panic among residents
Qatar had been acting as the primary mediator between Israel’s government and the militant group, but Israel’s surprise attack on a Hamas building in the country’s capital has upended that dynamic. While Hamas has indicated it is still open to a diplomatic settlement, it’s unclear now who would mediate it.
The INSS says without such a political process to lock in any military advantages Israel gains from its invasion, the offensive should stop and wait until there is a diplomatic path forward.
IDF says it’s ‘expanding activities’
But in the hours since the attempted decapitation strike in Doha, the Netanyahu government’s response has been to push ahead even harder.
In a statement Wednesday, the IDF announced it was “expanding its activities in Gaza City.”
“The IDF will increase the pace of targeted strikes, based on precise intelligence, with the aim of dismantling Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure, disrupting its operational readiness, and reducing the threat to IDF troops as part of the preparations for the next stages of the operation,” said the statement.
Canada has joined other European countries in condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza and also proclaiming its intention to recognize a Palestinian state. While such recognition would be unlikely to lead to much immediate improvement in the lives of Palestinians, it could increase the diplomatic pressure on Israel.
Crucially for Israel, however, U.S. President Donald Trump has voiced very little opposition to either its Gaza City invasion nor its efforts to drive the territory’s population into tiny enclaves in the south.
And so with continued U.S. backing and in the absence of any meaningful political or economic sanctions from elsewhere, the Netanyahu government has largely brushed off the scathing criticisms and instead continued to blame Hamas for Palestinian suffering.
According to Israel, it’s Hamas that’s hiding among civilians; it’s Hamas that’s stealing food; it’s Hamas that refuses to surrender — common refrains that are often presented without evidence even if, in some cases, there is an aspect of truth to them.
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Chris Brown is a foreign correspondent based in the CBC’s London bureau. Previously in Moscow, Chris has a passion for great stories and has travelled all over Canada and the world to find them.
