By Ahmad Awad
Gaza City (EFE).- Hundreds of Palestinians marched Thursday through central Gaza City to protest Israel’s plans to seize the capital of the enclave, calling for an end to the war and rejecting any forced displacement.
Waving Palestinian flags and carrying signs reading “Stop the genocide,” “Gaza is ours,” and “No to displacement, yes to staying on our land,” demonstrators gathered in Saraya Square.
“We are protesting to reject the occupation of Gaza and the displacement. We don’t want to be sent to Egypt or another country,” said Mahmud Salim Abdelkarim, a 19-year-old displaced from the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, now largely under Israeli control.
Holding a photo of his 13-year-old cousin killed while searching for food two weeks ago, Abdelkarim told EFE: “Every Palestinian has the right to education, food, and healthcare. Whatever rights a Western person has, an oppressed Palestinian deserves too.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday ordered the army to speed up preparations for the takeover of Gaza City, a move that could trigger a new stage in the war.
The Israeli military says it already holds “operational control” over 75% of the Strip, where about one million people remain trapped in the city.
“We prefer to die here”
Despite growing fears of an imminent assault, many families say they will not leave. “We will not leave Gaza unless it is to heaven,” Abdelkarim declared, recalling the destruction and deaths his family suffered when they were first displaced in late 2003.
“Now we will not leave Gaza, no matter what happens. Leaving means destruction and death. Between dying there or here, we prefer to die here, in northern Gaza,” he said.
Mahmud Abu Nada, another protester, urged the international community to act: “Stop the war against Gaza, stop the war against our children, our women, and our elderly.”
He stressed that Palestinians are united in resistance.
“Today, people came out, all sectors, unions, and forces, to say: Enough! To reaffirm before the world that we are a population that deserves to live,” Abu Nada told EFE.
Meanwhile, humanitarian observers note that dozens of families are still leaving Gaza City daily toward the south of the enclave, fearing the intensified bombardments.
Escalating bombardments
Alongside Netanyahu’s order to accelerate the offensive, Israel has increased airstrikes on Gaza City.
At least 30 people are killed daily in the capital, according to health authorities, run by Hamas.
On Aug. 17, 33 Palestinians died in air raids; the following day, 27; and on Aug. 19, 36.
The bombardments continued almost hourly, with heavy Israeli troops and armored movements reported in the Zeitoun neighborhood and the northern town of Jabalia.
Amid rubble, hunger, and shortages caused by Israel’s blockade, residents insist they will not abandon their homes.
“This is a war against the Palestinian people who remain steadfast on their land, confident in their nation,” said Abu Nada. “There is no excuse for the occupation, which manufactures pretexts to commit these atrocities.” EFE
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