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<h1>Israel attacks displacement shelters to force Palestinians to southern Gaza</h1><p class="gmail-article__subhead"><em>Israel is ethnically cleansing the central neighborhood of Zeitoun in Gaza by bombing homes and displacement centres.</em></p><div class="gmail-responsive-image"><img src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AP25228533385490-1755496009.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80" alt="A Palestinian man carries the body of a child." width="394" height="262" style="margin-right: 25px;"></div>A
Palestinian man carries the body of his seven-year-old nephew killed in
an Israeli air attack, according to the family, at al-Shifa Hospital in
Gaza City, on August 16, 2025 [Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo]<div class="gmail-article-info-block gmail-opinion-info-block"><div class="gmail-article-b-l"><div class="gmail-article-dates"><div class="gmail-date-simple"><span class="gmail-screen-reader-text">Published On 19 Aug 2025 - </span><font size="1"><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/8/19/israel-targets-displacement-shelters-in-central-gaza">https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/8/19/israel-targets-displacement-shelters-in-central-gaza</a></font></div></div></div><div class="gmail-social-share-buttons"><div class="gmail-update-reading-list"></div></div></div><div class="gmail-update-reading-list"><span class="gmail-update-reading-list__tooltip" role="tooltip"></span></div><a class="gmail-social-share-button" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share on Facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Faje.io%2Fl2x03v"></a><a class="gmail-social-share-button" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Israel%20attacks%20displacement%20shelters%20to%20force%20Palestinians%20to%20southern%20Gaza&source=sharethiscom&related=sharethis&via=AJEnglish&url=https%3A%2F%2Faje.io%2Fl2x03v"></a><a class="gmail-social-share-button gmail-copylink" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Copy link" href="https://aje.io/l2x03v"></a><p>Since
announcing plans to invade northern Gaza and expel Palestinians again
to the south, Israel has attacked displacement shelters in the Gaza City
neighbourhood of Zeitoun, according to an investigation by Sanad, Al
Jazeera\u2019s verification unit.</p><p>Since August 13, Sanad has found that
Israel stepped up the bombardment and shelling of Zeitoun, and often
directly hit displacement shelters.</p><p>The
siege and ongoing violence have compelled thousands of Palestinians to
close their tents in the camps and flee further south, according to
satellite imagery obtained by Sanad.</p><img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3896905" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/INTERACTIVE-Israel-pushing-people-south-1755592754.png?quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE - Israel pushing people south-1755592754" width="315" height="394" style="margin-right: 0px;">Israel is deliberately pushing people south as part of its invasion of northern Gaza (Al Jazeera)<p>The
indiscriminate bombardment of civilian homes and displacement shelters
is part of a broad pattern of Israeli war tactics that make no
distinction between civilians and fighters.</p><p>Human rights groups,
United Nations experts and numerous legal scholars believe Israel\u2019s
nearly two-year war on Gaza amounts to genocide.</p><p>Israel\u2019s Western
allies \u2013 who have long defended it from criticism by claiming it has the
\u201cright to defend itself\u201d \u2013 are becoming increasingly alarmed at the
humanitarian crisis unfolding in the enclave.</p><p>Many are calling on
Israel to end the war and warning that its plan to seize northern Gaza
could further exacerbate the suffering of civilians. The mass
displacement and bombardment of Zeitoun encapsulate the atrocities
resulting from Israel\u2019s invasion.</p><img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3896903" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/INTERACTIVE-Destruction-of-Zeitoun-neighbourhood-1755592745.png?quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE - Destruction of Zeitoun neighbourhood-1755592745" width="315" height="394" style="margin-right: 0px;">Israel attacking displacement camps in Zeitoun (Al Jazeera)<h2 id="gmail-targeting-shelters">Attacking shelters</h2><p>There are about 11 displacement shelters in Zeitoun, each sheltering 4,000 to 4,500 besieged and hungry Palestinians.</p><p>Most live on just 3.2sq km (1.2sq miles), which makes up just 32 percent of the pre-war size of Zeitoun.</p><p>At
the start of the war, Israel dug trenches in and around the
neighbourhood, claiming it was creating a \u2018buffer zone\u201d, and built the
Netzarim Corridor, which has split Gaza into two zones.</p><img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3896909" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/INTERACTIVE-Shelters-in-Zeitoun-neighbourhood-1755592771.png?quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE - Shelters in Zeitoun neighbourhood-1755592771" width="315" height="394" style="margin-right: 0px;">[Al Jazeera]<p>Israel\u2019s
recent bombardment of the neighbourhood is terrifying civilians into
fleeing south, leading to another cycle of forced displacement that may
amount to ethnic cleansing due to Israel\u2019s attempt to destroy all
livable facilities and structures.</p><p></p><p>An Al Jazeera journalist on the ground recently captured footage of Israel firing a missile directly at a home in Zeitoun.</p><div style="display:block;min-width:0px;max-width:770px"><div class="gmail-video-player-facade-container"><div class="gmail-aj-video-player gmail-in-article-bc-video-player gmail-aj-parsed-component"><span class="gmail-video-js gmail-vjs-paused gmail-vjs-controls-enabled gmail-vjs-workinghover gmail-vjs-v8 gmail-vjs-user-active gmail-vjs-layout-medium gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default-index-0 gmail-vjs-mouse gmail-vjs-ad-controls gmail-vjs-ima3-html5 gmail-vjs-plugins-ready gmail-pause-controller gmail-vjs-player-info gmail-vjs-contextmenu-ui gmail-vjs-viewability gmail-vjs-errors gmail-vjs-quality-menu gmail-vjs-hide-controls" id="gmail-vjs_video_3" tabindex="-1" lang="en" role="region" aria-label="Video Player"><br><div class="gmail-vjs-poster" aria-disabled="false"><span class="gmail-vjs-poster" tabindex="-1"><img alt="" src="https://cf-images.eu-west-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/665003303001/0ce59146-9c4b-423a-974e-06eee27d94f9/2946b3b2-d1fd-4165-a77d-d94ac898f97e/1920x1080/match/image.jpg" width="394" height="222" style="margin-right: 0px;"></span></div><div class="gmail-vjs-text-track-display"><div style="margin:1.5%"></div></div></span></div></div></div><div class="gmail-aj-video-player gmail-in-article-bc-video-player gmail-aj-parsed-component"><span class="gmail-video-js gmail-vjs-paused gmail-vjs-controls-enabled gmail-vjs-workinghover gmail-vjs-v8 gmail-vjs-user-active gmail-vjs-layout-medium gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default-index-0 gmail-vjs-mouse gmail-vjs-ad-controls gmail-vjs-ima3-html5 gmail-vjs-plugins-ready gmail-pause-controller gmail-vjs-player-info gmail-vjs-contextmenu-ui gmail-vjs-viewability gmail-vjs-errors gmail-vjs-quality-menu gmail-vjs-hide-controls" id="gmail-vjs_video_3" tabindex="-1" lang="en" role="region" aria-label="Video Player"></span></div><div class="gmail-post-icon-parent"><div class="gmail-post-icon__container gmail-post-icon--large"></div></div><p> </p><p>While it is unclear whether anyone was inside, it
is clear that all structures are being levelled, possibly to make it
more difficult for any survivors to try to relocate to the area.</p><p>According
to Sanad, there is clear evidence that Israel is pursuing that policy
in and around Zeitoun. Between August 11 and 16, sources documented
Israel\u2019s attack on al-Falah School in Zeitoun and a tent camp on
al-Lababidi Street.</p><p>Both the Majida al-Wasila school in the Nassr neighbourhood and tents in the Sheikh Ajilin neighbourhood were also hit.</p><p>This
pattern of direct attacks on tents and school shelters \u2013 the last
refuge for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians \u2013 may amount to war
crimes and crimes against humanity, since these structures are protected
under international humanitarian law.</p><img class="gmail-size-arc-image-770 gmail-wp-image-3896907" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/INTERACTIVE-Schools-sheltering-displaced-people-1755592762.png?quality=80" alt="INTERACTIVE - Schools sheltering displaced people-1755592762" width="315" height="394" style="margin-right: 0px;">INTERACTIVE \u2013 Schools sheltering displaced people-1755592762 (Al Jazeera)<br></div>