GAZA CITY, Palestine/ISTANBUL

Dozens of Palestinian families were displaced on Friday from the Al-Tuffah and Shejaiya neighborhoods in eastern Gaza City due to an Israeli military incursion that expanded into areas it had previously withdrawn from under the ceasefire agreement.

Israeli forces advanced about 300 meters into the two neighborhoods on Wednesday, continuing to detonate booby-trapped vehicles and carry out artillery shelling, eyewitnesses told Anadolu.

The escalation forced Palestinians to leave their tents and damaged homes, with displacement ongoing for the past three days.

Families moved through narrow alleys under the sound of shelling and tank movements, carrying whatever belongings they could on small carts or their shoulders, while children hurried behind them in fear.

Since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, families who returned to their destroyed homes have lived in a state of instability and fear due to persistent artillery fire and gunfire from Israeli military vehicles in the city’s eastern areas.

Over the past few days, the Israeli army detonated booby-trapped vehicles in the eastern parts of Al-Tuffah and Shejaiya, destroying wide areas it still occupies east of the “yellow line” and turning adjacent zones into extremely hazardous areas.

Israel continues to occupy more than 50% of the Gaza Strip under the ceasefire agreement, with the “yellow line” separating areas under army deployment from those inhabited by Palestinians.

“We lived terrifying moments over the past two days due to the constant shelling and demolition of homes in areas where the Israeli army is deployed,” Raed Shamali, a Palestinian resident, told Anadolu.

Shamali, who fled with his six-member family, said shrapnel from Israeli bombardment and explosions reached distant areas.

“It nearly killed one of our family members after it pierced through the tent we were living in, forcing us to flee,” he added.

Another resident, Saed Mushtaha, attempted to return to his destroyed home in Al-Tuffah on Friday morning but said he was unable to do so because Israeli forces fired at anything that moved.

Israeli bulldozers advanced into the expanded area, leveling and destroying what remained of homes in full view of residents in the adjacent neighborhood,” Mushtaha told Anadolu.

He added with deep sorrow: “We had returned after the ceasefire and repaired some heavily damaged rooms, but the (Israeli) occupation quickly displaced us again and took control of the area.”

Ceasefire violation

Husni Muhanna, spokesperson for Gaza Municipality, said dozens of families fled Al-Tuffah and Shejaiya after Israeli armored vehicles advanced about 300 meters into both neighborhoods, expanding what is known as the “yellow zone” by pushing concrete blocks westward.

He said this expansion was preceded by gunfire and artillery shelling, forcing families to leave both their tents and partially damaged homes.

The latest military expansion, Muhanna said, constitutes “a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement, which stipulated that Israeli forces withdraw east of the line.”

“What is happening in Al-Tuffah and Shejaiya is not a temporary displacement but a deliberate tightening on civilians by expanding the military zone known as the yellow line, increasing the suffering of families who believed they were in a safe area,” he went on to say.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed nearly 70,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, injured over 170,800, and reduced the enclave to rubble.