Israel’s decision to intensify its military campaign in Gaza—alongside plans to displace civilians and seize control over aid distribution—has provoked widespread fear among Gazans already exhausted by 19 months of relentless conflict, multiple forced displacements, and worsening hunger.
Since March 2, when a two-month truce with Hamas ended, Israel has blocked all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. That ceasefire had previously offered a brief reprieve, allowing some residents to return home and access limited food and medical supplies.
Aya, a 30-year-old woman from Gaza City, returned to her home during the temporary truce after months of living in the south. Monday’s announcement by Israel left her dreading what might come next.
“Are we going to die this time?” she asked in a chat message.
“Are they going to displace us again? Are we going to end up in Rafah—and will this be the last time—or are they going to force us out of Gaza after Rafah?” she added, referencing the southern area bordering Egypt.
At a funeral on Monday for several people killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza City building, Mohammed al-Seikaly reflected the despair of many.
“There is nothing left in the Gaza Strip that has not been struck by missiles and explosive barrels,” he said. “I’m asking in front of the whole world: ‘What’s left to bomb?’”
According to Gaza’s health authorities, Israeli strikes killed at least 46 people across the territory on Tuesday. Medics reported that 29 people—including women and children—died at a school sheltering displaced families in Bureij camp in central Gaza, which was struck twice in just a few hours.
Israel’s military initially stated it had targeted a command center used by militants for weapon storage and attack planning, but offered no comment following the second strike.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the newly expanded military effort as “intensive,” saying it would include holding captured areas and relocating Palestinian civilians “for their own safety.”
An Israeli official said the strategy includes moving the population southward and assuming control of humanitarian aid to prevent supplies from reaching Hamas—the group whose October 2023 attack on Israel launched the current war.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs criticized Israel’s new strategy on Tuesday, calling it “the opposite of what is needed.”
Tamer, a resident of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, expressed fears over what the new control over aid might mean.
“Will they arrest people and kill others before they let the rest into the areas they designate?” he asked.
Gaza’s population of 2.3 million is facing extreme food scarcity. Many now survive on just one meal a day. On April 25, the World Food Programme said it had exhausted its supplies inside Gaza.
Aya explained how flour has become nearly impossible to find—when available, a single sack can cost up to $500, compared to just 25 shekels (around $7) before the war.
“They are starving us so we can agree to anything,” she said. “We want an end to the war. Let them take their prisoners (Israeli hostages) and end the war. Enough.”
Some Gazans have resorted to foraging for wild plants or eating turtle meat caught by desperate fishermen.
While some Israeli officials claim that enough food remains in Gaza, Israel’s military chief has reportedly urged political leaders to allow more aid in soon, according to public broadcaster Kan.
Hamas, the governing authority in Gaza since 2007, accuses Israel of “using food as a weapon in its war against the people of Gaza.”
The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Since then, Israeli attacks have killed over 52,000 Palestinians—most of them civilians—according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, and have left much of the enclave in ruins.
