As the Israeli government moves forward with a sweeping plan to occupy Gaza City, the world is witnessing a surge of anxiety, outrage, and activism, from the tent cities of Gaza to the streets of Australia and the diplomatic halls of Jeddah. The Israeli security cabinet’s approval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s three-phase plan—first increasing humanitarian aid, then relocating the city’s 1.2 million residents to centralized camps in southern Gaza, and finally imposing a full military blockade—has sent shockwaves through the besieged enclave and far beyond.
According to Independent Arabia, the mood in Gaza City turned palpably darker following the cabinet’s decision. Many residents, already battered by months of war and displacement, now face the agonizing prospect of further upheaval. Shaimaa, a resident of Gaza City, summed up the prevailing dread: “I am trying to prepare myself for a bleak future, but my brain isn’t working right now. I don’t know what to do. All I can think about now is making plans for how my family will live if the military operation begins.” Her words echo the sentiments of countless Gazans, torn between the terror of staying and the trauma of fleeing.
The Israeli plan, as reported by Israel’s Channel 14, will unfold in stages. First, humanitarian aid will be allowed into Gaza City, ostensibly to ease the suffering of civilians. Next, residents will be relocated to camps in the southern Gaza Strip—most likely to the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone, where many, like Shaimaa, have already endured harrowing conditions. The final phase will see Gaza City placed under full military control, sealed off as a fortress under siege.
For those who have already experienced displacement, the thought of reliving it is unbearable. “We lost our shelter and lived in humiliating conditions inside the tent. We had no water, no power, no food and no life—only terror and fear,” Shaimaa recalled of her previous move to al-Mawasi. Now, she refuses to go through it again, declaring that she would rather stay in Gaza City, even under occupation, than face another forced exodus.
Others, like Waseem, are making painful preparations to comply with Israeli orders, hoping to spare their families from the worst. “Israel is going ahead with its war plans for Gaza, and as the sole provider of a family of 13, I have to protect them,” he told Independent Arabia. Waseem has already set up tents in southern Gaza, reasoning that “complying with Israeli orders might save my family’s life.” But he knows the cost will be steep; his children are suffering from acute malnutrition, and he fears famine will return if the city is besieged.
The looming deadline—October 7, 2025—marks a grim anniversary. Netanyahu has set this date for the complete evacuation of Gaza City. Afterward, the Israeli military is expected to impose a siege on remaining Hamas operatives. The operation, according to Yedioth Ahronoth, will last four to five months and involve six military units. For many Palestinians, this date threatens to become a new Nakba, a day synonymous with catastrophe and loss.
Hanadi, another resident, described the deepening despair: “Many negative emotions began closing in on me. This was a shocking decision, especially after waiting so long for a ceasefire. The failure to reach a truce has brought an unfathomable catastrophe upon us.” She, like others, believes that staying put is the only way to resist what she calls “planned extermination.”
Sharif, also in Gaza, warned, “The world should act before the soldiers exterminate us. We are living in fear and anguish every day.” His words are a plea for international intervention, a sentiment echoed by officials and activists across the globe.
At the 21st extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers in Jeddah on August 25, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan called for immediate international action to halt Israeli attacks on Gaza. According to Saudi state media, Prince Faisal described the situation as “horrific oppression and genocide,” insisting that such actions violate international law and threaten global peace and stability. He demanded an end to Israel’s plans for Gaza City, the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid, and renewed support for a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha went further, listing a litany of Israeli actions—military aggression, ethnic cleansing, forced displacement, the illegal blockade, and the use of starvation as a weapon—that, in his words, “demand prosecution under international criminal law.” Taha called for breaking the blockade and ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance, condemning not only the occupation but also the expansion of settlements and attacks on journalists in Gaza.
The scale of the humanitarian disaster is staggering. The International Palestinian Committee confirmed on August 22 that famine has already struck northern Gaza and is expected to spread. Since the war began on October 7, 2023, Israeli military operations have killed more than 62,600 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, with over 157,000 injured and hundreds of thousands displaced. Gaza’s infrastructure lies in ruins, and the population faces severe hunger, disease, and the collapse of remaining health facilities.
The crisis has reverberated around the world, sparking some of the largest pro-Palestinian demonstrations in recent memory. On August 25, approximately 250,000 people marched in every Australian capital and dozens of towns, according to the World Socialist Web Site. Major turnouts included at least 100,000 in Melbourne, 50,000 in Brisbane, and 40,000 in Sydney. Protesters voiced not only outrage at the Israeli offensive but also fury at the Australian Labor government’s continued support for Israel, including the export of F-35 warplane parts. Handmade placards read, “There’s nothing non-lethal about F35s” and “Stop arming Israel,” reflecting widespread skepticism about official assurances that such exports are harmless.
Demonstrations also targeted the US-Australia Pine Gap satellite surveillance base near Alice Springs, which protesters allege is being used to assist Israeli targeting efforts. The rallies, among the largest since the conflict began, are part of a broader surge in global activism demanding an end to the violence in Gaza and meaningful action from governments that have, in the eyes of many, enabled the crisis through arms sales and diplomatic cover.
Back in Gaza, the sense of abandonment is profound. As Tayseer told Independent Arabia, “The idea of Gaza City being destroyed before our eyes is terrifying. Nothing that we have endured can compare to what is coming. We are facing the planned extermination, elimination and burial of our very existence, history and future.” For Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the Government Media Office in Gaza, the occupation plan “endangers the lives of hundreds of thousands of its residents, who will face hunger, disease and the collapse of remaining health facilities. This means we are facing the most gruesome humanitarian and human rights disaster.”
As October 7 approaches, the world faces a stark choice: heed the calls for urgent intervention and humanitarian relief, or bear witness to yet another chapter of destruction and displacement in Gaza. The consequences—for Gaza’s people, for the region, and for the international community—will be felt for generations.
