GAZA, Palestine / ISTANBUL

More than 900,000 Palestinians in Gaza City are refusing to leave their homes despite relentless Israeli bombardment aimed at forcibly displacing residents, local authorities said Wednesday.

In a statement, Gaza’s Government Media Office said residents are “holding firm to their right to remain” and categorically rejecting Israeli attempts to drive them south, even as entire neighborhoods come under heavy fire.

It accused the Israeli army of conducting a “systematic deception campaign” by advertising tents, aid, and humanitarian services that “do not exist on the ground.” Such claims, it said, are aimed at forcing civilians to abandon their homes and neighborhoods.

The office added that government teams have documented a rise in families moving south in recent weeks, attributing it to Israel’s “barbaric crimes” and intensified military operations.

Israel launched Operation “Gideon Chariots 2” earlier this month, aiming at the complete occupation of Gaza City. Nearly one million Palestinians, most of them displaced from other parts of the enclave, remain trapped under relentless bombardment.

The Israeli army has killed more than 65,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.