GAZA CITY ON EDGE AS ISRAELI OFFENSIVE PROMPTS MASS EXODUS
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – August 17, 2025:Thousands of Palestinian civilians are running from heavy Israeli military stuff in eastern and southern Gaza City, like Zeitoun. This comes after Israel’s war team said they’re going to move into the city. The Israeli military (IDF) has turned up the heat with air strikes and shelling, making things really bad according to aid workers. Sadly, at least 40 people died across Gaza on Saturday. At the same time, Israel is seeing a general strike and big protests. People, including families of the hostages still held in Gaza, are mad at the government for making the war bigger, saying it puts the hostages at risk and messes up any chance of getting them back.
Big Push in Gaza City
The IDF started a new, big offensive around Gaza City, hitting areas like Zeitoun and Sabra hard. This is happening with strikes from the air and tank fire, all as part of the IDF’s plan to take over the biggest city in Gaza.
Gaza’s civil defense folks say the bombing of where people live is very heavy. Since late May, about 1,760 Palestinians have been killed while trying to find food, mostly by Israeli forces.
The Israeli government hasn’t said exactly when they’ll go fully into the city but says the whole thing is to stop Hamas and make Israel safer. COGAT, the part of the military that deals with everyday stuff, says they’re going to start sending tents again to help people move south out of the area.
Humanitarian Crisis Gets Worse
This new fighting just makes a really bad situation even worse. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) says that over 1.9 million people—around 90% of everyone living in Gaza—have had to leave their homes. Because it’s hard to get aid in, there’s not enough food, medicine, or clean water.
A UN report says that 106 kids have died because they haven’t been getting enough food since the fighting started. It’s also super hot, over 40°C, which is making it even worse for people stuck in flimsy tents.
Aid groups are having a tough time. UNRWA hasn’t been able to get any aid in since March 2, 2025. Recently, 27 foreign ministers from places like the UK, Canada, and Australia put out a statement asking Israel to let aid groups in and let a lot more aid into Gaza.
Big Protests in Israel
At the same time, tens of thousands of Israelis are protesting the government’s war plans in Tel Aviv and other cities. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which speaks for the families of people still held by Hamas, called for a general strike across the country.
The people organizing the protests, including the families of the hostages, say that when the government decided to push further into Gaza City, it endangered the 50 or so captives still alive (though only around 20 are thought to be alive). The protesters think that the government should focus on a ceasefire and getting the hostages back.
One protester, whose son is being held, said, “If you invade Gaza and the hostages are killed, we will not forgive.” These protests are a sign that people in Israel are really split over what the government is doing.
World Reactions
The Israeli plan is getting a lot of criticism from around the world. The UN Security Council had an emergency meeting and said the plan was very dangerous. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, said he was very worried about the decision and warned it could lead to more people being forced to leave their homes, more deaths, and a lot of destruction.
Foreign ministers from countries like Germany and Spain also said they were concerned about the worsening situation for regular people and the risk to the hostages. The Palestinian Authority said the plan was a new crime and just more of what they call genocide.
This whole mess started with the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and has led to over 61,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which the UN thinks is pretty accurate. The plan to take over Gaza City and force people to leave is a new and really controversial part of this ongoing war.
