As Gaza City Offensive Intensifies, Civilians Ordered to Flee Again: “This time feels as if it might be the last”

September 08, 2025

As Israel intensifies ground operations in famine-stricken Gaza City, yet another crisis is unfolding among those forced to flee the renewed fighting. Far from an act of protection, the new evacuation orders are pushing civilians south into dangerous areas with little to no humanitarian aid or desperately needed health facilities. Many are elderly, disabled, or too weak to move – overcome by severe food shortages that have led to recently confirmed and spreading famine conditions in Gaza City.  

Gaza City has endured over 60 evacuation orders in 2025 alone. These orders are notices issued by Israel to families in a given neighborhood to get out immediately, or risk coming under fire. They are often imprecise or contradictory, pushing civilians into areas already under evacuation orders. The orders are frequently issued without enough time for people to evacuate, or during the night or other hours where they are difficult to immediately act upon, or during telecommunication blackouts preventing people's awareness.  

Preventing famine from spreading further and protecting lives, particularly those of children, requires an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access. What Gaza needs now is a massive surge of aid reaching civilians where they are, not another offensive that will only deepen the crisis and push more families into catastrophe. 

In the face of this ongoing catastrophe, our staff in Gaza City continue to serve with courage and humanity – as they have done now for 23 months of violence, destruction, and desperate need. This is what they tell us: 

Osama said: “Since the beginning of the war, we have been displaced four times. Each time, we carry less with us, and each time, we lose a part of ourselves. My greatest fear now is what awaits us if we are forced to leave again: inhumane conditions where even the most basic human needs are out of reach.   

The psychological toll is crushing. After months of suffering, fear, and loss, our minds and hearts are exhausted. Just imagining another displacement fills us with despair. This time feels different, heavier; as if it might be the last.” 

Marah added: “This will be my sixth displacement, and each time the experience becomes harder than the one before. Resources are decreasing, streets are being destroyed, cars and transportation are disappearing and even shelters no longer exist. There is no place left for people. Homes are vanishing, the land is shrinking more and more, and we have nowhere to stay. It’s so hard, harder than ever before. My feeling now is that this time, we will not be able to return to Gaza City again.  

With every displacement, we lose more hope. And I feel that now, the door to hope has closed. No place, no peace, no calm. We just have to stay… and wait.” 

Hisham said: “The situation in Gaza is beyond dire, and in Gaza City it is even worse. Streets are reduced to rubble, houses lie in ruins, market prices soar beyond reach, transportation has collapsed, and families struggle to find even a sip of clean water. The hardships are countless, so many that I could write an entire newspaper and still not capture the full reality. The very thought of displacement is unbearable; it brings sleepless nights, constant anxiety, illness from fear, and paralyzing uncertainty: should I leave and regret it, or stay and risk death? No one can make a clear decision anymore. 

Before leaving, I need to be certain of a place. Otherwise, I would rather remain in my home, even if it means facing death. In truth, death feels easier than being uprooted into the unknown; into a life of chance, exploitation, humiliation, and mistreatment. 

Each displacement is harder than the last. Options shrink, resources dwindle, transportation disappears, and costs skyrocket.” 

Rami said: “I was displaced more than ten times within Gaza City, each time surviving only by a miracle. Leaving Gaza City now for the south was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made, emotionally, financially, and psychologically, but it became unavoidable. 

The hardest moment of all was leaving my home, carrying the fear that I would never see it again.” 

Since October 2023, Mercy Corps has reached over 371,000 people with emergency items — food baskets, hygiene, water and shelter kits — and over 33,355 families with emergency cash assistance. Since June 2025, Mercy Corps has provided safe drinking water to over 4,500 displaced people who don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. Mercy Corps is on standby to deliver lifesaving assistance to over 160,000 and to support millions more through humanitarian partners as soon as borders open.   

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