Israel plans to seize Gaza City, forcing Palestinians there to decide whether to evacuate once again, or risk staying.
By Maram Humaid
Gaza City – In a sweltering tent at Gaza’s port, 45-year-old Iman al-Rahel readies her family for lunchtime.
She sends her 13-year-old son, Yazen, to fetch food from the nearby takiyya, or community kitchen.
“I think they’re serving rice today,” she whispers to her daughter, a faint smile easing across her tired face.
But that brief smile vanishes when the conversation turns to another possible wave of displacement after Israel’s latest announcement that it plans to seize Gaza City.
“God forbid,” she says, pressing her hand against her chest. “I only pray that this won’t happen, that we won’t be forced to leave for the south.”
Still, Iman says, if Israel were to officially order an evacuation, she would be among the first to go to southern Gaza, “without hesitation”.
The mother of five stayed in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza during the Israeli invasion in the early stages of the war after it began in October 2023, moving her family from one shelter to another as tanks advanced and the bombardment intensified.
