Gaza city faces Catastrophic Conditions as residents Flee Zeitoun

Thousands of residents have fled Gaza City‘s southern Zeitoun neighborhood, where days of continuous Israeli bombardment have created a “catastrophic” situation, according to the city’s Hamas-run municipality.

At least 40 people were killed by Israeli attacks across the territory on Saturday, Gaza’s civil defense agency reported.

The Israeli military announced it would resume allowing tents to be brought into Gaza by aid agencies. Israel plans to forcibly displace a million people from Gaza City to camps in the south.

In Israel, a one-day general strike is underway in protest of the government’s plan to seize Gaza City.

the strike was demanded by the families of hostages and others who believe expanding the war increases the risk to Israelis held by Hamas.

This action follows a week after Israel’s war cabinet voted to occupy Gaza City, the territory’s largest city, and displace its population, a move condemned by the UN Security Council.

“As part of the preparations to move the population from combat zones to the southern Gaza Strip for their protection, the supply of tents and shelter equipment to Gaza will resume,” stated the Israeli military body Cogat.

A spokesperson for the Gaza City municipality reported mass displacement is already occurring in Zeitoun after six days of relentless Israeli air strikes, shelling, and demolition operations.

The Zeitoun neighborhood is home to approximately 50,000 people, most of whom have limited or no access to food and water, according to the civil defense agency.

Ghassan Kashko, 40, sheltering with his family at a school building in the neighborhood, told AFP that air strikes and tank shelling are causing “explosions… that don’t stop.”

“We don’t know the taste of sleep,” he said.

Hamas stated that israeli forces are carrying out a “sustained offensive in the eastern and southern neighborhoods of Gaza City, particularly in Zeitoun.”

The Israeli government has not provided a specific timetable for when its forces will enter Gaza City. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly wants the offensive to