Israel orders famine-hit Gaza natives to flee as it levels more high-rises

Deir al-Balah: Israel intensified its assault on Gaza City on Saturday, issuing new evacuation orders to residents already facing famine and demolishing more high-rise buildings as it pressed toward seizing control of the city of nearly one million people.

The army urged Palestinians to flee south to Khan Younis and Muwasi, declaring them “humanitarian zones.” But aid groups say conditions there are catastrophic, with overcrowded tents and no adequate water, sanitation, or food. The United Nations warned that forced displacement without guaranteed return violates humanitarian principles, while many Palestinians insist they are too weak, exhausted, or fearful to uproot themselves yet again.

Israel struck at least one high-rise in Gaza City on Saturday, claiming Hamas operated from inside. No evidence was provided, and Hamas denied the charge. The destruction of towers has become a hallmark of Israel’s campaign, flattening civilian infrastructure under the justification of militant presence. Defence Minister Israel Katz shared video of a collapsing tower with the caption: “We continue.”

Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry said 15 civilians were killed in Friday’s bombardment, including a family of five in the Shati refugee camp. Humanitarian monitors report that more than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed while simply queuing for food aid or moving along UN relief routes, many under Israeli fire.

Families of Israeli hostages, alarmed by the mounting assault, fear their loved ones are at greater risk. They have turned to US President Donald Trump for intervention, frustrated by Netanyahu’s hardline approach that prioritises military escalation over negotiated releases.

Israel insists the war will not end until Hamas disarms and hostages are freed, while also vowing indefinite security control over Gaza, a demand Palestinians see as open-ended occupation. Hamas has signalled willingness to accept a ceasefire under Arab mediation, but Israel has yet to respond.

The war, triggered by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack that killed around 1,200 Israelis and abducted 251, has since spiralled into one of the deadliest conflicts of the century. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports over 64,000 Palestinians killed, nearly half of them women and children. Aid agencies now openly describe Gaza City as famine-stricken, its residents caught between hunger, bombs, and the impossible choice of fleeing to zones that offer neither safety nor dignity.