Israel Escalates Attacks in Gaza City, Displacing Families Amid Growing Humanitarian Crisis

Gaza City, Gaza – August 26, 2025

As Israel pushes deeper into Gaza City, the violence intensifies, with entire neighborhoods destroyed, and Palestinian families left with increasingly limited options. As Israel seeks to capture Gaza’s largest urban center, the humanitarian toll continues to rise, with displacement, destruction, and starvation sweeping through the besieged enclave.

On Tuesday, a bombing on a popular market in eastern Gaza City killed at least five Palestinians and injured dozens more. Among the dead were two women, confirmed by sources at al-Ahli Arab Hospital. The ongoing attacks have rendered Gaza’s population vulnerable, caught between Israeli bombardment and a dire humanitarian crisis.

Mass Displacement Amid Fierce Bombardment
Videos verified by Al Jazeera showed Palestinians fleeing from as-Saftawi, a neighborhood to the north of Gaza City, as Israeli forces continued their push into the urban center. Footage captured long lines of families — men, women, and children — walking along dusty, ravaged streets, many carrying their belongings on carts or in bags, while others held children by the hand, heading westward towards areas of relative safety.

Israel’s military has destroyed over 1,000 buildings in the Zeitoun and Sabra neighborhoods of Gaza City since the assault began on August 6, 2025, according to estimates from the Palestinian Civil Defence. Amid the escalating violence, Sara Awad, a Gaza City resident and writer, expressed the pain and confusion Palestinian families feel. “All the time, I’m wondering why I must flee and live in a tent, while my [home] is here,” Awad said. “It doesn’t make sense to leave my home while they are treating us not as human beings.”

Humanitarian Crisis Deepens
The situation is compounded by widespread starvation. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 303 Palestinians have died from hunger since the conflict began in October 2023, including 117 children. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has issued increasingly urgent warnings about the worsening conditions, highlighting the collapse of basic services, escalating civilian casualties, and the complete lack of food security.

Palestinian Death Toll Soars
Since dawn on August 26, Israeli attacks have killed 64 Palestinians, including 13 people who were attempting to access aid. Since the United States-backed GHF took over humanitarian operations in Gaza in May 2025, over 2,100 Palestinians have been killed while trying to seek aid, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

Accusations of Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
Mustafa Barghouti, the Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative, condemned Israel’s actions, accusing it of attempting to eliminate and annihilate the Palestinian people through a combination of genocide and ethnic cleansing. He further claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was pursuing a broader agenda to reshape the Middle East, establishing political, economic, and intelligence dominance over the region.

Attack on Nasser Hospital Sparks International Outrage
International condemnation continues following the Israeli bombing of Nasser Hospital on August 25, which resulted in at least 21 deaths, including five journalists. Israel has been accused of conducting “double-tap” attacks, a tactic where it bombs a target, then waits for emergency responders and journalists to arrive before striking again. This method, human rights groups say, is a deliberate targeting of civilians and first responders.

In a rare admission, Israeli officials called the attack on Nasser Hospital a “tragic mishap”, but did not explain how they hit the same facility twice. Geoffrey Nice, a human rights lawyer, called for a full investigation into the incident, stating, “If they can’t justify a mistake in terms of [hitting a] proper target with an assessed level of collateral damage, then they’ve committed a war crime.”

Assault on Gaza’s Journalists
The toll on Palestinian media workers has been devastating. More than 270 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023. Among those killed in the Nasser Hospital bombing was Mohammad Salama, a cameraman for Al Jazeera, underscoring the growing dangers faced by journalists in the region.

Israeli Military’s Justification and Hamas Response
In response to the attack on Nasser Hospital, the Israeli military claimed that it had targeted a Hamas surveillance camera positioned near the hospital. However, Hamas rejected this claim as “baseless”, accusing Israel of using the argument to avoid responsibility for the deaths of civilians. Israel frequently justifies its deadly attacks by saying it is targeting Hamas, but critics argue that it has provided no credible evidence to support its claims.

Israel’s actions against hospitals have continued despite mounting international scrutiny. Hospitals, including Nasser, are frequently bombed, with Israel asserting that Hamas operates within or near these medical facilities, though this remains largely unproven.