A once bustling neighbourhood in Gaza City has become Israel’s latest man-made inferno in its nearly two years’-long genocide in Gaza.
Al-Zeitoun, the largest quarter of Gaza’s Old City, has become the target of a new military campaign aimed at occupying Gaza City.
According to eyewitnesses speaking to Middle East Eye and local reports, the neighbourhood has endured more than a week of deadly shelling and bombardment, with over 400 homes demolished.
When Israel broke the ceasefire in mid-March, Sameh al-Sakani, a 32-year-old resident of al-Zeitoun, hoped the killing and displacement of civilians would not be repeated.
“But unfortunately, we are now living through the worst days we have lived since the war started,” said the father of four.
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“I was displaced to the southern Gaza Strip at the beginning of the war and remained there for 16 months. They felt like 16 years of humiliation, suffering, fear, killing and insecurity.”
After repeated displacements, Sakani is now preparing for yet another arduous move to the Sabra neighbourhood in southwestern Gaza City, where he will live with his wife, children and in-laws.
He voiced fears that if they were targeted, civil defence crews would be unable to reach them, a reality faced by much of Gaza’s population.
Killer robots, booby traps and shelling
The neighbourhood’s residents have also reported Israel’s use of killer robots capable of demolishing entire residential blocks.
“In al-Zeitoun, the army is now close to my house, and I fear they will target it or that a robot could approach, explode and kill us all,” Sakani said.
Tharwa Jawad, a 37-year-old father of three, told MEE that “all of Gaza is now exposed to bombardment”.
“I had always refused to leave my home, despite the fear, because my soul is tied to it. During an invasion last year, the army came within 100 metres, but I still didn’t leave. Now the situation is different.”
He said robots roaming the neighbourhood are “destroying everything around them” alongside the intense shelling, and that civilians – young and old – are being targeted without reason.
Jawad also cited the use of booby traps and the apparent testing of new weaponry in the neighbourhood, describing a deafening mix of bombing, robot explosions, booby-traps and building detonations.
Warda Saeed, another resident of al-Zeitoun, also noted the constant aerial and ground shelling, the targeting of high-rise buildings, “and even worse the robots”.
The 33-year-old said that last Sunday, an attack near their home filled her and her family of six – including a sister with a visual impairment – with fear.
“Throughout the past year, we stayed in the north of the Strip and refused to move south, despite the hunger, terror and constant displacement in Gaza City, because there is no safety here or in the south,” she said.
However, in late June, her father, Saeed, was killed by the Israeli army while trying to bring them food.
“My fear is that I will lose another member of my family,” she added.
Eroded hopes for a truce deal
Saeed said her family of six are now constantly following the news, hoping for updates on a ceasefire, “but the situation is getting worse”.
“Either we lose our homes or we are forced to flee. Stop the war before it’s too late.”
Meanwhile, Sakani expressed that he is beginning to lose hope that the war would end because Israel continues its genocide in Gaza with impunity.
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“What more are they waiting for to happen before they stop the war? They are waiting for all of us in Gaza to die. We don’t want mere statements, condemnations, and denunciations. We want them to take an official position to stop the war on Gaza,” he said.
“I send a message to [President Donald] Trump and [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, who are faking humanity, to stop bombing civilians and children because we are not military targets, as they claim. We are civilians who need to live, and we have children. Imagine they are your children, don’t kill them.”
Meanwhile Jawad said he and his family spend hours watching the news, adding: “We now feel hopeless, depressed, and exhausted because we don’t know where to get bad news from.
“I don’t have a message for the world because we in Gaza have spoken a lot and many pictures have come out that the whole world has seen. We are alone.”
