'Nothing we have endured.compares to what's coming'

Gaza City residents fear a ‘new Nakba’ amid plans that will lead to unprecedented carnage

- Ezz Al Din Abu Eisha

Shaimaa believes it is too early to think about the Israeli plan to take over Gaza City.

But she quickly changes her mind.

“Since the start of the war, the [Israeli] army has made no secret of its plans for Gaza, and it has unfortunately been implementing those plans with firepower. It's not too early to prepare for a catastrophe.”

Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan by the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to occupy Gaza City. According to Israel's Channel 14, the plan will play out in three phases: firstly, allowing increased humanitarian aid to enter Gaza City, followed by the relocation of its residents to centralised camps in the south of the Gaza Strip, and finally, a full blockade of the city, which will be placed under the control of the military.

As soon as the cabinet approved the plan, the general mood in Gaza shifted, and the population became more pessimistic than ever. Residents anxiously keep up with the details of the planned takeover of the city, filled with dread for what they believe lies ahead: immense destruction, innumerable deaths and injuries, and devastating physical and human costs.

Sitting outside her tent in Gaza City, Shaimaa is thinking about the occupation's plans. She tells Independent Arabia: “I am trying to prepare myself for a bleak future, but my brain isn't working right now. I don't know what to do. All I can think about now is making plans for how my family will live if the military operation begins.”