The Israeli military is preparing to fully capture Gaza’s biggest city after nearly two years of war, despite growing opposition at home and warnings that the campaign will have disastrous and unbearable consequences for Palestinians in the besieged region.
In Tel Aviv, crowds of protesters demanded that the government pursue a ceasefire rather than escalate its offensive.
One hostage’s mother warned that if Netanyahu decides to conquer Gaza City and ignore the current ceasefire proposal on the table, he will be “spilling the blood of Israeli citizens.”
Speaking at the weekly anti-war protest, Einav Zangkauer vowed to ensure that Netanyahu is “charged with premeditated murder” if her son, Matan, is not returned alive from Gaza.
“Netanyahu, if Matan comes back in a bag, not only will Matan and I pay the price, but I will personally make sure you are charged with premeditated murder,” Einav Zangkauer said on Saturday.
Zangauker has become one of Netanyahu’s fiercest and most vocal critics, lambasting him publicly for not accepting ceasefire deals that she says could have brought about Matan’s release from Hamas captivity.
Civilians flee in Rafah as Israel pushes ahead with its offensive
Residents in Gaza City ‘terrorised 24 hours a day’
More than one million people are displaced in the central and western parts of Gaza City alone, a municipality spokesperson said on Saturday, warning that conditions are already “dire”.
“We expect a sharp increase in the number of casualties if the occupation expands its military operation,” said Asem Alnabih.
“We are facing a total collapse of service, as the occupation continues to prevent the entry of fuel and the machinery we need.”
A senior UN official warned this week that residents inside Gaza City – who face physical exhaustion, hunger, malnourishment and fatigue – are also under the constant shadow of bombing, weakening their ability to make life or death decisions.
“These people are facing death. Yet, they are now facing the threat of an invasion,” Sam Rose, the acting director of affairs for the UN’s agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza told CNN.
“They’re being terrorised 24 hours a day.”
The Israeli military has announced plans to stop 10-hour “tactical pauses” in hostilities, which began a month ago after severe aid restrictions, siege and bombing wrought deadly starvation in the enclave.
Further aid restrictions will likely only worsen Palestinians’ plight. Nearly 700 days of war have brought “man-made” famine to parts of Gaza, the Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Phase Classification reported last week.
Israel has rejected the IPC’s findings and called on the body to retract its report.
One young woman displaced with her family in Tal al-Hawa, western Gaza City – including six siblings aged three to 18 – told CNN she has lost 16 kilograms since the hostilities began.
“The international community watches this genocide and famine, and does nothing,” Raghad Ezzat Hamouda, a Palestinian student, said.
“We are human beings. Our children are dying of hunger in front of the cameras,” added Hamouda.
“Your silence is killing us. We need action, not just words.”
In the past 24 hours, a further 10 people died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza bringing the total to at least 332 Palestinians since October 7, 2023, the health ministry reported on Saturday.
Of those who died, 124 were children, the ministry added.
Israeli strikes in Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks have killed 63,371 Palestinians and injured another 159,835 people, according to the Ministry of Health in the enclave.
