Israeli air strikes 'wiping out' Gaza city neighbourhood in prelude to invasion

The National

2 days ago

Residents of Gaza city say Israel has launched fierce strikes on a busy neighbourhood, in what they fear is the prelude to a full-scale invasion of the city.
Intensified air strikes on the Al Zaytoun neighbourhood – one of the largest and most densely populated in Gaza city – killed at least eight Palestinians and wounded dozens on Thursday, Palestinian news agency Wafa said.
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces have destroyed more than 300 homes in the neighbourhood in just three days. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's government last week approved plans to seize control of the city.
'This is no longer a military operation – it's a campaign to erase Al Zaytoun,' said Mahmoud Arhim, a resident who fled with his family after four days under siege. 'We saw death with our own eyes. The neighbourhood has been wiped out completely.'
According to journalist Bilal Al-Nabih, the Israeli army has invaded Al Zaytoun at least five times since the war escalated in March, but the current operation is by far the most destructive.
Israeli equipment has been used to detonate buildings deep within the neighbourhood, leaving entire residential blocks in ruins. Residents found themselves trapped inside their homes, completely cut off from the outside world.
While a few managed to escape during brief lulls in the bombardment, many others remain unreachable- their fate still unknown. Rescue efforts have been severely hindered.
Mahmoud Basal, a civil defence spokesman, said crews are unable to reach many trapped residents due to the intensity of the continuing bombardments. 'What is happening in Al Zaytoun is a grave and complex crime,' he said. 'It aims to destroy what remains of Gaza city and its centre.'
Hospitals across Gaza are overwhelmed. The Ministry of Health reported that in the past 24 hours, 54 Palestinians were confirmed dead and 831 others wounded.
For Mr Arhim, 43, the attacks on his neighbourhood are deeply scarring. 'We were besieged for four days and got out by a miracle, me and my family of six," he said. We saw death with our own eyes more than once."
"It seems the occupation has decided to take over Gaza city, starting with Al-Zaytoun, to reach the centre and destroy it completely, just like in the northern neighbourhoods and Rafah.'
Mr Arhim chose not to evacuate to the south during the war, holding on to his lifelong connection to the neighbourhood. 'I was born here, I grew up here, and I raised my children here,' he says
He described scenes of devastation. 'No one could reach them because of the destruction, the shelling that never stopped, and the danger everywhere,' he says, referring to the bodies in the streets and the wounded left without aid.
Starvation is also claiming lives across Gaza. Four more people – including children – died from malnutrition in the last day, raising the total to 239 such deaths, 106 of whom were children, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed in the strip since Tuesday, including tens who were seeking aid, Wafa said.
As the destruction of Al Zaytoun accelerates, calls are growing for urgent international intervention. Survivors describe a neighbourhood turned into a war zone – its homes completely flattened, its residents scattered or dead, and its streets filled with rubble.
'This must be stopped,' said Mr Arhim. 'There has to be a solution to protect people before Gaza city is erased entirely.'