In the early hours of September 20, 2025, Gaza City was rocked by a fresh wave of Israeli airstrikes, leaving at least 14 people dead, according to Palestinian health officials. The strikes, which come as Israel intensifies its military campaign in the territory’s largest urban center, have cast a new pall over a region already battered by nearly two years of relentless conflict and humanitarian catastrophe. As the world watches, a growing number of Western countries are moving to formally recognize Palestinian statehood, signaling mounting international frustration with the ongoing war.
According to the Associated Press, the latest Israeli operation—launched earlier this week—has no set end date, but military sources indicate it could drag on for months. The Israeli military maintains its stated goal is to "destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure," but the cost to Gaza’s civilian population has been staggering. Over the past 23 months, Israeli bombardment has killed more than 65,000 people in Gaza, displaced around 90% of its population, and brought about what experts and aid agencies describe as a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, including widespread famine in Gaza City.
The human cost is deeply personal for many. Dr. Rami Mhanna, managing director of Shifa Hospital, told reporters that six members of the same family—relatives of the hospital’s director, Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya—were killed when a strike hit their home early Saturday morning. Five more people died in another strike near Shawa Square, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The Israeli military, when asked for comment, said it was "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities" and insisted it "takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm," but declined to address specific incidents.
Meanwhile, the civilian population faces a grim choice: stay amidst escalating violence, or risk a perilous journey south. The Israeli army has repeatedly urged Palestinians sheltering in Gaza City to evacuate to a so-called humanitarian zone in the south, opening a corridor for two days this week to facilitate movement. Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman, warned on Friday that the army would be deploying "unprecedented force" and advised residents to "take this opportunity and join the hundreds of thousands" moving south along the al-Rashid coastal road, now the only permitted escape route.
But for many, leaving is easier said than done. Reports from Al Jazeera describe entire blocks in Gaza City being leveled, with families trapped under the debris, particularly in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood. Nivin Ahmed, a 50-year-old woman who fled south with seven family members, recounted to AFP, "We walked more than 15 kilometers. We were crawling from exhaustion. My youngest son cried from fatigue. We took turns dragging a small cart with some of our belongings." Others, like Osama Awad, a displaced resident, spoke of "nights of horror" as shelling and airstrikes intensified, with attacks coming from land, sea, and air.
Since August, approximately 450,000 people have fled Gaza City, which had a pre-war population of about one million, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence. Yet, many remain—too weak, too poor, or simply unwilling to abandon what little they have left. The al-Mawasi area in southern Gaza, designated by Israel as a "safe zone," has itself come under attack, and is now severely overcrowded, compounding the suffering of those who make the trek.
Hospitals are at a breaking point. Amjad Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGOs Network in Gaza, warned that with no fuel having entered the Strip for more than ten days, medical facilities may run out of power within 72 hours. The situation is "dangerous on all levels," he told Al Jazeera. On Friday, a nine-year-old child died from severe malnutrition in the pediatric ward of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, bringing the official death toll from Israel’s "man-made famine" to 441, according to Gaza Health Ministry figures.
As the humanitarian crisis deepens, aid delivery has become increasingly perilous. On September 19, UNICEF reported that lifesaving therapeutic food intended for thousands of malnourished children in Gaza was stolen from four trucks outside their compound in Gaza City. "They were intended to treat malnourished children in Gaza City where famine is declared … it was a life-saving shipment amid the severe restrictions on aid delivery to Gaza City," said UNICEF spokesperson Ammar Ammar. Armed individuals reportedly held the drivers at gunpoint while the food was taken. Israel’s army blamed Hamas for the theft, accusing the group of siphoning off aid for military purposes, though the UN insists there are mechanisms in place to prevent significant diversion of humanitarian supplies.
The war’s origins trace back to October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and abducting 251 others. Since then, the violence has spiraled. Forty-eight hostages remain in Gaza, with fewer than half believed to still be alive. Families of those held captive have grown increasingly vocal in their criticism of the Israeli government. On Saturday, relatives of the hostages accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "condemning their loved ones to death by continuing to fight rather than negotiate an end to the war." In a statement read outside Netanyahu’s residence, they declared, "The blood of our loved ones is, for him, nothing more than a political tool to cling to power. As long as there is war, Netanyahu has a government."
For others, the trauma of captivity has turned into a renewed commitment to military service. Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American who was held hostage in Gaza for 584 days before his release in May, announced he would return to the Israeli military next month. "We cannot forget them," he said Friday. "We cannot stop until they are all home."
International pressure on Israel is mounting. On Friday, Portugal’s Foreign Affairs Ministry announced it would officially recognize a Palestinian state on Sunday, joining a growing list of Western nations—including the UK, France, Canada, Australia, Malta, Belgium, and Luxembourg—expected to follow suit in the coming days. The move is set to be highlighted at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly, where world leaders will gather next week. The recognition of Palestinian statehood by these countries marks a significant diplomatic shift and reflects widespread exasperation with the ongoing bloodshed.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres put it bluntly on Friday: "It is the worst level of death and destruction that I’ve seen in my time as secretary-general, probably my life—famine, total lack of effective health care, people living without adequate shelters in huge concentration areas." The suffering of Gaza’s people, he added, "cannot be described."
As the violence continues and the humanitarian situation deteriorates, the world’s attention remains fixed on Gaza. With diplomatic tides shifting and the death toll mounting, the region stands at a crossroads—its future uncertain, its people caught between war and the faint hope of peace.