Gaza City, once a bustling urban hub on the Mediterranean, has become the epicenter of devastation as Israeli military operations intensify, leaving the city described as a "lifeless wasteland" by observers and relief workers. On September 18, 2025, Israeli forces pressed forward with a campaign that has already displaced tens of thousands and killed scores more, while the broader region feels the ripple effects of escalating violence and diplomatic fallout.
According to reports from Drop Site Daily and Al Jazeera, Israeli attacks killed at least 42 Palestinians across Gaza on Thursday, with the majority of casualties occurring in Gaza City. The offensive, marked by tank advances and relentless shelling, has forced almost 40,000 people to flee the city in just the past week. The United Nations estimates that since the offensive began in mid-August, the total number of displaced from Gaza City alone has reached 200,000, many of them women, children, and the elderly.
The scale of the humanitarian crisis is staggering. Gaza’s Health Ministry recorded 79 dead and 228 injured arriving at hospitals in the 24 hours before September 18. Among the dead were at least nine people seeking humanitarian aid, with 33 others wounded. The cumulative death toll in Gaza has now surpassed 65,000, with the injured numbering more than 165,000. The war’s indirect toll is also mounting: four more deaths from starvation and malnutrition were reported in the last day, bringing the total to 435, including 147 children.
Hospitals, once sanctuaries in times of conflict, have themselves become targets. Israeli strikes near Gaza City’s Al-Shifa and Al-Sahaba Hospitals around 6 p.m. on September 17 killed at least 16 people—13 near Al-Shifa and three near Al-Sahaba. According to Drop Site Daily, the attack on Al-Shifa appeared to target a family attempting to evacuate southward, and at least one journalist lost their life in the incident. The strikes have compounded the already dire situation for Gaza’s health sector, which is overwhelmed and crippled by shortages of medicine, fuel, and staff.
The United Nations paints a grim picture for the most vulnerable: over 23,000 pregnant women in Gaza lack access to adequate healthcare and are forced to give birth in the streets, often without doctors or clean water. The UN estimates that fifteen babies are born each week in Gaza without medical help, underscoring the collapse of basic services amid the chaos.
Journalist Mohammed Haniya, reporting from inside Gaza City, issued what he described as a “final call,” detailing the scale of destruction and loss. “Violent shelling, residential demolitions, massacres, and a near-total loss of communications” now define daily life, he said, as Israeli tanks advanced toward the roundabout at the end of Al-Jalaa, a main artery in the city. Haniya warned that Gaza City is facing “extermination on an unprecedented scale” and characterized the current period as the most dangerous phase of the war.
The Israeli government’s rhetoric has added fuel to the fire. Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, described the Gaza Strip as a “real estate bonanza” and revealed that a business plan for the territory is “on President Trump’s desk,” with negotiations already underway with the United States. Smotrich framed the ongoing demolitions as part of “urban renewal,” stating, “The demolition phase is always the first phase of urban renewal. We did that, now we need to start building.” His comments have drawn sharp criticism from Palestinian leaders and international observers, who see them as evidence of an intent to permanently alter the character and ownership of Gaza.
Meanwhile, the broader conflict continues to reverberate. Israeli attacks have extended into Lebanon, and the West Bank remains tense. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club reported a scabies outbreak in Negev and Ofer prisons, with over 11,000 Palestinian detainees now held—the highest number since the Second Intifada. The group also documented escalating repression, including the use of electric shock batons and rubber bullets, as well as denial of hygiene supplies and basic medical care.
Diplomatic efforts to halt the violence appear stalled. Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas leader and member of its negotiating team, recounted a recent Israeli airstrike in Doha that targeted their meeting as they reviewed an American proposal. “We immediately left the scene, because we knew from the start that the explosions were Israeli shelling. We’ve lived in Gaza and experienced Israeli shelling before,” Hamad told Al Jazeera. He expressed deep skepticism of the United States’ role as a mediator, accusing Washington of changing proposals “180 degrees” after consulting Israel and alleging that former President Trump “supports genocide.” Hamad also called on Arab governments to move beyond condemnation and to unite in opposition to Israel’s campaign, which he said aims to “change the face of the Middle East.”
On the Israeli side, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement on September 18 denying any involvement in the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a high-profile conservative activist. This was his second public denial, as speculation continues to swirl amidst a political scandal involving alleged Qatari payments to some of Netanyahu’s top advisers. The controversy has only added to the charged atmosphere, with Netanyahu suggesting that rumors may be spread by individuals “paid by Qatar.”
Internationally, the crisis in Gaza has prompted a range of responses. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement this week, deepening their security partnership amid growing uncertainty over U.S. protection in the region. The European Union is preparing a new sanctions package against Russia, expected to be announced as early as September 19, as the bloc seeks to increase pressure over the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 points to 4–4.25%, citing slowing job gains and economic uncertainty.
Amid the devastation, stories of resilience and loss abound. Sara Awad, a contributor to Drop Site Daily, described her family’s harrowing journey out of northwest Gaza City: “This phase of living in a tent will never define me. My home will remain forever in my mind and in my heart.” For hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, displacement has become a recurring nightmare, with no real safe haven in sight.
As the war grinds on, Gaza’s fate hangs in the balance, caught between bombs, political maneuvering, and the hopes of those who refuse to let their homeland’s memory fade. The world watches, waiting to see whether diplomacy, outrage, or sheer exhaustion will finally bring the violence to an end.
