Israeli bombings raise fear of displacement for Gazans

Moving west of 'new border' not feasible because the area is already packed

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Tents put up by displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, amid harsh winter conditions. The vast majority of Gaza's more than two million residents have been displaced, many of them multiple times. PHOTO: REUTERS

(PHOTO: REUTERS)

When her children, trembling with fear, ask where the family can go to escape Israel’s continued bombardment in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis area, Ms Umm Ahmed has no answer.

In her small, devastated village near Khan Younis city, recent Israeli strikes have shattered the tenuous sense of peace delivered by a ceasefire that has largely held since Oct 10.

Residents say the attacks have targeted neighbourhoods east of the so-called Israeli-controlled Yellow Line - a demarcation established under the truce between Israel and Hamas.

More than two years after a devastating war, tens of thousands of Gazans still live in tents or damaged homes in these areas, where the Israeli army maintains control and operates checkpoints.

Now, many fear being forced from their homes, compelled to move west of the Yellow Line.