Gaza War | Mass displacement in the Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip is increasingly becoming a place where eating and drinking are life-threatening . On Sunday, a convoy of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) had just passed through the Zikim border crossing in the north of the densely populated region: 25 trucks, each loaded with 20 tons of food, eagerly awaited by thousands hoping to get some.

But instead, Israeli snipers and tanks opened fire , killing at least 67 people and injuring many more. The Israeli military later said troops initially fired "warning shots" to "deter an imminent threat posed by the thousands of people." They are currently investigating the details.

Aid organizations speak of new levels of hunger

The reports from organizations trying to provide aid, however, are consistent and speak a clear language: The hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip has reached "a new level of desperation," according to a WFP statement: 90,000 children and women are now suffering from malnutrition . One-third of the population has gone without food for several days. For most people in the Gaza Strip, aid deliveries are the only way to obtain food. A kilo of flour now costs $100 in stores.

Unlike most other crisis zones in the world, there is no place in the short and narrow Gaza Strip where people can find permanent protection. The borders with Egypt and Israel are hermetically sealed, and only a few are allowed to leave. Those who do must expect not to be able to return: Many in the far-right governing coalition would prefer to expel the entire population of Gaza to the Arab states in order to rebuild the Israeli settlements.

And then the Israeli military is still trying to destroy Hamas, which means that at any moment a decision could be made to shift the fighting to areas to which tens of thousands had just fled. This happened, for example, on Sunday, when the people of Deir Al-Balah suddenly received an evacuation order from the Israeli military. The city in the center of the Gaza Strip was one of the last to have been largely spared from the fighting. Israel's intelligence services suspect that many of the at least 20 Israeli hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip could be there.

Israel's Chief of Staff wants to occupy further territories

In recent months, the town has also become a hub for the distribution of aid supplies. On Monday morning, this too was history: Deir Al-Balah was bombed, forcing tens of thousands to flee.

Meanwhile, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir suggested the government occupy larger territories, which would also mean expanding the combat zone. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz plan to build a "humanitarian city" in the southern Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands would be interned; a plan that has provoked universal condemnation outside of the Israeli right. Zamir seems to hope that it would be easier to ensure humane conditions under Israeli occupation.

However, Hamas has now resorted to guerrilla warfare; its government-like structures have almost completely collapsed. Nevertheless, ceasefire negotiations in Qatar continue: A rapprochement is extremely difficult, the news portal "Times of Israel" quotes anonymous sources as saying.

A post-war perspective for Gaza is missing

In addition, it is completely unclear what might happen to the Gaza Strip after the war ends. From an Israeli perspective, the trauma of the massacre of October 7, 2023, runs deep. It demonstrated the full extent of Hamas's armament and willingness to use violence. Since 2007, there have been several wars that ended relatively quickly with ceasefires, and with Hamas's even greater rearmament. The original aim of the war was to bring the hostages back and prevent it from happening again.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian government in Ramallah hopes that countries like Great Britain will recognize Palestine as an independent state. In the current situation, this would give it new legitimacy and, it is calculated, help it counter Hamas's claim to power in its own public eye. On Sunday evening, President Mahmoud Abbas, in an open letter, called on the international community to exert pressure on the Israeli government, using unusually harsh language. Abbas has earned a reputation in recent years as an Israeli puppet.

But his government also has no prospects for the Gaza Strip. Months ago, an agreement was reached with Hamas to establish a twelve-member council of experts to govern the Gaza Strip in Hamas's place. Nothing has been heard of this since then.