After the Israelis announced that they would expand their aggressive attacks on Gaza to the north and force the Palestinian residents in that area to move to southern regions, they have begun attacking shelters in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City. According to reports, since August 14, Israel has significantly increased its air strikes on Zeitoun. These attacks often target areas where displaced Palestinians are living in shelters. As a result, thousands of residents in the area have been forced to dismantle their shelters and move to southern regions. This is confirmed by satellite images taken over the past few days.
Attacking civilian homes and camps for displaced people is a tactic used by Israel to strike indiscriminately between civilians and combatants. Human rights organizations, UN experts, and legal scholars believe that the aggressive attacks Israel has been carrying out on Gaza since October 7, 2023, constitute genocide against the Palestinian people. As the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsens day by day, Western countries supporting Israel are finding it increasingly difficult to defend Israel’s pretexts for attacking Palestine in front of the international community. Many countries are calling for an end to the inhumane attacks on Gaza and warning that if northern Gaza is captured, the situation for Gaza’s residents will further deteriorate. The attacks on Zeitoun and the forced displacement of its residents to other areas fully demonstrate Israel’s brutality.
Attacks on Shelters
There are about 11 temporary shelters in Zeitoun where people are living in makeshift structures. Each of these shelters houses approximately 4,500 people. All of these people are living in an area of just 3.2 square kilometers. This is only 32 percent of the area where people were living before the aggression. At the beginning of the aggression, Israel dug trenches inside and around some areas of Zeitoun, designating them as buffer zones. The Netzarim Corridor, which divides Gaza into two zones, was also established in this area.
The current attacks on Zeitoun have forced civilians in the area to move to southern regions, while Israel continues to destroy all habitable buildings in Gaza, which could be considered genocide of Gaza’s population. There are also photos and videos showing Israel directly targeting households in Zeitoun with rocket attacks. These attacks have leveled buildings to the ground. This is believed to be an attack to ensure that no one can find shelter in these buildings again.
Israel continues to carry out similar attacks on other buildings in Zeitoun. Between August 11 and 16, they attacked Al-Falah School and a shelter camp on Al-Lababidi Street in the neighborhood. Additionally, they attacked Majida Al-Wasila School in the Nasr neighborhood and shelter camps in the Sheikh Ajleen neighborhood. While these places are protected under international humanitarian law, and are the last refuge for thousands of Gaza’s residents, attacking them could be considered a war crime and a crime against humanity.
