Khan Younis, Gaza – In a makeshift tent pitched inside a crowded UNRWA school near Khan Younis, Wurood Asfour, a 26-year-old Palestinian mother, attempts to recreate some semblance of home. The school, originally turned into a shelter during Israel’s relentless 15-month siege, had seen its numbers drop during the 42-day truce between Israel and Hamas. Now, as Israel’s military orders the forced displacement of Palestinians, the shelter swells once again, welcoming terrified families from eastern Khan Younis and northern Beit Hanoun.  

Her husband, Ahmed, quickly assembles their worn tent, salvaged from their last displacement in Abasan, where Israeli strikes demolished their home. He then leaves immediately, joining desperate crowds searching for food and water, while Asfour sweeps the tent’s bare dirt floor, carefully arranging their few remaining possessions.

Tears cloud her vision as she grapples with yet another displacement—the eighth since December 2023. The fragile peace established by January’s ceasefire briefly allowed her family to hope. But the resumption of Israeli bombardment shattered that illusion.

"I wanted to bring some joy to my children for Eid—maybe buy them new clothes or sweets," she says, holding her two youngest daughters, three-year-old Sana and two-year-old Amira. "But Israel took that from us too, along with our home and our sense of security."

Her three sons—Adam (8), Abdullah (7), and Hassan (6)—are with their father, navigating long queues at bakeries and water stations. "Instead of playing and celebrating Eid like children everywhere else, mine will be standing in lines for food and water," she says bitterly. "We have been deprived of every holiday, even Ramadan. We thought the war was winding down, but now all we can do is fight to keep our children alive."

Talks between Hamas and Israel to enter a second phase of the ceasefire stalled earlier this month, with Israel demanding the unconditional return of hostages held since October 2023. It’s Gazans who bear the brutal cost as bombardments intensify, again. 

War resumes, civilians suffer

Israeli warplanes and artillery have relentlessly pounded Gaza since breaking the ceasefire in the early hours of Tuesday. Over 450 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 73 children and women, according to local health authorities. Hundreds more have been wounded.

The offensive has crushed everyday living. Markets and shops, tentatively reopened during the ceasefire, lie abandoned. Any promise of normalcy has vanished into smoke and rubble.

Nearby, Amal Ahmed, 52, comforts her grandson Mohammed as he sits atop a pile of salvaged belongings from their bombed-out home. Her family is dispersed, seeking safety yet remaining close to their ruined neighbourhood in eastern Khan Younis. "We thought we could start rebuilding our lives," she says. "We even prepared to bake Eid cookies, just to feel normal again. But Israel’s war destroyed that hope."

Her six children and seven grandchildren are scattered. Her son Mohammed, mourning a child killed in an Israeli air strike months ago, now fears for his pregnant wife’s uncertain future. Amal’s youngest children—Nesma (22), Mahmoud (19), and Moataz (15)—remain by her side, their fate precarious.

"Even my husband, who is unemployed, borrowed money to buy something small for the kids before Eid," she says. "Now, our priority once again is to survive this genocide."

She shakes her head in anger. "Are we destined to live in endless suffering? Don’t our children deserve joy like others across the Muslim world? Israel wants us either dead or exiled."

Economic collapse, humanitarian crisis

The war has devastated Gaza’s already fragile economy. Merchants who had stocked up for Eid now watch as their shops sit empty. Food prices that have slumped in past weeks have not multiplied and supplies are running low once again.

In Khan Younis’ bustling Jala Street, where Eid shoppers once crowded clothing stores, the scene is unrecognisable. Nasar al-Masri, a 32-year-old shop owner, stands in his store, which was packed with customers just two days ago. Now, racks of new clothes remain untouched.

"People stopped shopping when the air strikes resumed," he says. "They know things will only get worse."

Israel intensified its blockade even before resuming attacks, sealing Gaza’s borders and choking off essential supplies since March 2. Flour shortages shutter bakeries; hospitals barely functioning, daily survival has become a desperate struggle.

Dr. Muwaffaq al-Kafarna, a political science professor in Gaza, warn that the offensive may extend for weeks, potentially escalating into an even deadlier phase.

"Israel’s goal is to make Gaza unliveable," he says. "This war is not just about Hamas—it’s about breaking Palestinian resilience, pushing civilians toward despair, and forcing them to consider leaving."

The possibility of mass displacement has long been feared. "Ethnic cleansing has always been part of Israel’s colonial strategy," he argues. "Whether through direct expulsion or by making life unbearable, the aim is to erase Palestinian presence."

Although US President Donald Trump retracted an earlier plan to forcefully displace all of Gaza’s population, the ongoing escalation in violence is seen by Gazans as nothing else but achieving that same goal.

"Israel is refusing any deal that guarantees an end to this war or its withdrawal from Gaza," al-Kafarna adds. "Instead, it is using overwhelming force to bring Palestinians to their knees."

For displaced families like Asfour’s and Ahmed’s, political debates are distant abstractions. Their daily battle is survival, their prayer an end to incessant suffering. 

"We don’t know when this will end," Asfour says, hugging her daughters tightly. "But what we do know is that Gaza is bleeding, and the world is still watching in silence."

This piece was published in collaboration with Egab.