Israeli assault forces new mass displacement in central Gaza city

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Israeli assault forces new mass displacement in central Gaza city

2025-07-22 17:03 Last Updated At：23:27

Israel launched air and ground offensive on Deir al-Balah in central Gaza Strip on Monday, forcing yet another mass evacuation of Palestinian civilians who had been previously displaced to the city.

Deir al-Balah had been the only city in Gaza that had not yet endured major Israeli ground operations during the more than 21 months of conflict.

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Israeli assault forces new mass displacement in central Gaza city

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Israeli assault forces new mass displacement in central Gaza city

The day before, the Israeli military reportedly ordered Palestinians to evacuate an area of nearly six square kilometers, dropping thousands of leaflets in the city. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said the military "continues to operate with great force to destroy the enemy's capabilities and terrorist infrastructure in the area."

An estimated 50,000 to 80,000 people Palestinians were in Deir al-Balah when the Israeli evacuation order was issued, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The latest displacement has unfolded amid a widespread hunger crisis, which "has reached new and astonishing levels of desperation," the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned in a statement on Monday.

Against a background of sporadic explosions and artillery fire, many fled the city on Monday carrying whatever belongings they had. Some left by car, some used donkey carts, and some simply walked, with the elderly and children in tow.

Speaking with China Global Television Network (CGTN), several fleeing Palestinians condemned the repeated Israeli evacuation orders that have deprived them of a normal sense of life.

"This is our 10th displacement, from Khan Younis to Rafah, from Rafah to the European Hospital, then here, and now from here to the coastal area. It's enough. Enough! We want to live in peace; we don't want wars, because they have only brought us destruction," said Abu Al-Sayyed, a displaced Palestinian man.

"I still don't know where I will go. Every time, displacement happens again, and we can't find water or toilets. It's extremely difficult. And aside from the war itself, we are also facing a war for food," lamented a Palestinian man named Ahmad Al-Haw.

Israel has so far restricted Palestinians' access to 70 percent of Gaza, either by declaring large areas as no-go zones or issuing forced displacement orders.

The newly designated area for evacuation includes several humanitarian warehouses, medical facilities and critical water facilities, according to OCHA, which warned that any damage to this infrastructure "will have life-threatening consequences."

With this latest order, the area of Gaza under displacement orders or within Israeli-militarized zones has risen to nearly 88 percent, leaving 2.1 million civilians - almost the entire Gazan population - squeezed into a fragmented 12 percent of the strip, where "essential services have collapsed," OCHA added.

"We fled at midnight and have been on the streets since. We have no money, and we left our belongings behind. This is the fourth time we're being displaced. They claim there are safe areas, but that's not true. They're bombing everywhere," Abdullah Rafee, an elderly Palestinian, told CGTN.

Monday's offensive comes a day after the Israeli gunfire inflicted what was believed to be the highest death toll of Palestinian aid seekers in a single day since October 2023, with 94 killed at multiple humanitarian aid distribution sites in Gaza, the local health authorities said late on Sunday.

Nationwide protests erupt in US after ICE shootings

Protests against federal immigration enforcement are spreading across the United States, with the latest demonstration unfolding directly in front of the White House.

Early Saturday, more than a hundred demonstrators gathered there, demanding changes to the Trump administration's immigration policies and accountability for recent shootings involving federal agents.

Immigrant rights and civil rights groups said this weekend's rallies mark a coordinated national response. Demonstrations are planned or already underway in major cities including Philadelphia, as well as across states such as North Carolina, Florida, Texas, and Washington, D.C., where organizers are calling for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be removed from local communities.

The nationwide protests follow a deadly week in which three people were shot by federal agents in two days.

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, a 37-year-old woman, Renee Good, was killed during an enforcement operation by the ICE. A day later in Portland, Oregon, a man and a woman were wounded during a separate federal operation.

In the aftermath, Minnesota state officials accused the Trump administration of blocking their investigation by denying access to key evidence and prematurely drawing conclusions before a full review could be completed.

On Friday, Donald Trump defended the Department of Homeland Security's actions, sharply criticizing Minnesota leaders and calling them corrupt.

Local leaders have pushed back. During a Saturday news conference, the mayor of Minneapolis described ICE agents' actions as reckless.

Officials in both Minneapolis and Portland continue urging demonstrators to remain peaceful as protests intensify nationwide.

According to a 50501 Movement statement issued Friday, at least 32 people died in ICE custody in 2025.