Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip have intensified in recent days, with homes, displacement camps , markets and public roads coming under near-daily attack, as residents and political analysts warn that the expanding military campaign is steadily shrinking the areas where Palestinians can remain.
The escalation comes as indirect ceasefire negotiations in Cairo remain deadlocked, with one of the key points of contention reportedly being Israel's demand that Hamas relinquish its weapons, a condition the movement continues to reject.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army killed seven Palestinians, including senior officers and members of Gaza's Hamas-run police force, when an Israeli drone struck a police post in the al-Falouja area west of Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza .
Local medical sources said the strike also hit a nearby market and tents sheltering displaced families, causing additional civilian casualties.
In a press statement, Gaza's Interior Ministry said those killed included Mohammed Marwan Salem, director of Jabalia police station, alongside several officers and police personnel.
Gaza's Health Ministry said around 30 Palestinians, most of them civilians, had been killed over the previous four days in attacks targeting homes, displacement tents and residential neighbourhoods.
According to the ministry, the overall Palestinian death toll since Israel launched its genocidal war in October 2023 has reached at least 73,233, with 173,707 people wounded.
Meanwhile, Israeli newspaper Maariv , citing security sources, claimed that Israel's military and Shin Bet security agency have killed around 3,000 people it alleges took part in the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israeli military sites and civilian settlements in the Gaza envelope, including roughly 300 since the launch of its latest offensive, dubbed "Operation Lion's Roar".
Israeli newspaper Maariv described the operation as "a new phase of the war" focused on expanding targeted killings, tightening military control over territory and increasing pressure on Hamas.
'No safe place'
For many Palestinians, the latest violence has reinforced the belief that nowhere in Gaza remains beyond the reach of Israeli strikes.
In al-Zawayda refugee camp in central Gaza , Jamil Abu Shawarib still recalls witnessing an Israeli strike on a civilian vehicle travelling along the coastal road on Monday evening.
"I was only a few tens of metres away when the first missile hit the car," he told The New Arab. "Seconds later, another missile struck the same vehicle. It was a civilian car. There were no clashes, no fighters, only a huge explosion that sent shrapnel flying everywhere."
He said Israeli aircraft increasingly fire multiple missiles at a single target, magnifying the destruction.
"Sometimes we hear three or four explosions one after another. The force of the missile damages nearby homes and displacement tents even if they aren't directly targeted. People no longer know where they can seek shelter," he added.
Abu Shawarib said residents live in constant fear as markets, roads and areas surrounding displacement camps continue to be bombed.
"Every time we think somewhere has become safer, the bombing begins again," he continued.
In Gaza City, Mahmoud al-Sawaf also witnessed an Israeli strike on the city's industrial area.
"It felt like an earthquake […] Within seconds, the whole area disappeared beneath smoke and dust. People ran in every direction because no one even knew where the strike had landed," he told TNA .
He said follow-up strikes often delay rescue efforts. "The planes no longer stop after one missile. More explosions follow, increasing the number of casualties and making it harder for ambulances to reach the wounded. Every day begins and ends with the sound of warplanes."
Eternal displacement
In al-Shujaiya, east of Gaza City, Hamada Ahmed, a father of three, woke on Tuesday morning to a sight that filled him with fear. Outside his home, he found yellow concrete blocks placed by the Israeli army, a marker that residents in eastern Gaza have come to recognise as an order to evacuate and move west.
"I stepped outside and found the yellow concrete blocks in front of my house. The message was clear: we have to leave. I have three children, and I don't know where we're supposed to go. There is no safe place left for us," he told TNA .
Ahmed said his family has been displaced multiple times since the war began, but their options have become increasingly limited as evacuation zones continue to expand.
"Every time they tell us to head west, the bombing follows us there," he said. "We no longer have another home, a tent, or relatives who can take us in. I feel that people are being pushed, little by little, into one area."
"The expanding military campaign mirrors Israeli proposals discussed in recent months concerning the redistribution of Gaza's population," Aahed Ferwana, a Gaza-based political analyst, told TNA .
"Israel is reducing the areas where Palestinians can live through continuous bombing and evacuation orders, gradually concentrating civilians into zones under Israeli military control," he said. "That creates a new reality that could later be translated into political arrangements."
Ferwana also pointed to a shift in the Israeli official language. Instead of speaking about "voluntary migration", terminology that drew widespread international criticism, officials have increasingly used phrases such as "freedom of movement" or "free passage" for Gaza's residents.
Israeli media, including Channel 13 , have reported that ministers were instructed to avoid using the term "voluntary migration" while discussions continued within Israel's National Security Council about facilitating Palestinians' departure from Gaza .
"Changing the wording doesn't change the policy," Ferwana said. "The objective remains creating conditions that make life impossible, leaving departure as the only realistic option."
Deadlocked ceasefire talks
Akram Atallah, another Palestinian political analyst, believes that the uptick in military violence by Israel is unfolding alongside a critical stage in indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel that have so far failed to produce a breakthrough.
"Israel is using military pressure to maximise its political and security gains," he told TNA . "It wants to impose new arrangements inside Gaza before any agreement is reached."
According to Atallah, one of the main obstacles remains Israel's insistence that Hamas surrender its weapons or dismantle its military capabilities, a demand the movement has repeatedly rejected.
"The continuation of military operations, together with expanding evacuation zones, reflects an attempt to establish facts on the ground that will strengthen Israel's position in any future settlement," he said.
The latest increase in violence comes as Israeli officials continue discussing plans to move large numbers of Palestinians into areas under Israeli military control, while also promoting proposals that would encourage Gazans to leave the territory.
Ultimately, for Gaza's civilian population, the expanding Israeli bombardment has meant repeated displacement, mounting casualties and an ever-diminishing sense of safety.