Assault on eastern Gaza City ahead of occupation

Following annoucement by the Israeli cabinet of a plan to occupy Gaza City, Israel started a campaign of violent bombing and shelling of Gaza City around 10 pm on August 10, 2025.

While the bombing covered all of areas of the governorate, ground reports indicated more intensity at the eastern areas, namely Shujaiya, Tuffah, Zaytoun.

Shortly after the start of the bombardment, Israel perpetrated a targeted assassination of renowned journalist Anas Al-Sharif along with the rest of Al-Jazeera crew in Gaza City.

As of August 14, the bombardment and shelling destroyed 320 buildings in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood alone, leading to even more displacement in the governorate that was already sheltering over half of the displaced Gaza population.

• Local journalists reported that Israel employed remotely-operated tanks laden with explosives to destroy homes around the Ali Mosque and the Al-Maslaba area, causing massive explosions of buildings that reverberate throughout the length of the Gaza Strip.
• In addition, Israeli has been carrying out excavation and bulldozing work in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood the area starting from the Al-Baraasi area extending to the vicinity of the Hassan al-Banna Mosque, Ali Mosque, and Al-Musallaba area.
• Airstrikes targeted houses and residential buildings in Al-Sabra and Al-Zaytoun neighborhoods, focusing on tall buildings.

On August 14, the IDF dropped leaflets on the Al-Sabra neighborhood ordering all people to displace to Al-Mawasi.

On August 16, after an intense week of bombardment, the IDF announced launching an offensive on the area carried out by the 99th Division with the Nahal Infantry Brigade and 7th Armored Brigade.

The IDF also announced allowing the entry of tents to southern Gaza in a bid to encourage the ethnic cleansing of northern Gaza.

On the night of August 18, Israeli troops advanced in Al-Sabra neighborhood under a barrage of artillery, gunfire and airstrikes. This led to further displacement multiple people being killed including

1. Islam Al-Koumi (journalist)
2. Islam Al-Koumi's son
3. Maryam Al-Ghazi
4. Hala Nabil Abu Ajwa
5. Adam Al-Madhoun

On August 19, Israel's assault extended north to Jabalia Al-Nazla and Jabalia al-Balad where families remained besieged and unable to move out of fear of the intense bombing and shelling. The extension allowed the IDF to exert more "pressure" on civilians in Gaza City from the north and south as troops continued advancing and being only a few kilometeres apart from the center of Gaza City.

On August 21, the IDF issued evacuation orders to hospitals in Gaza City, ordering the staff to transfer to the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Younis, which Israel carpet bombed two months prior. The Director General of the Ministry of Health publicly denounced and challenged the threats: "* What is being proposed is not merely a request to evacuate hospitals, but rather a field execution order against patients and the wounded who cannot be transferred outside Gaza City amid the collapse of the healthcare system and a hospital bed occupancy rate of 300%. We will not kill our patients and wounded, nor will we accept depriving more than one million people of their right to treatment. We hold the international community and UN institutions fully responsible for protecting patients and ensuring the continuation of medical services as an inherent human right.*"

The eve of August 24 was particularly violent as, in addition to airstrikes and artillery shelling, a series of four detonations at midnight purported to utilize explosive armored vehicles shook the Gaza Strip with reverberations felt in Central Gaza and Khan Younis. Some of the detonations were reportedly carried out between Jabalia camp and Jabalia al-Balad in North Gaza. In the immediate aftermath, journalists and civilians on the ground reported a strong, foul odor spreading across the northern aeas of Gaza City, namely Sheikh Radwan area, Jabalia al-Nazla, and the al-Jalaa roundabout. The odors were causing residents to experiencie a burning sensation in the nose and difficulty breathing. Medical sources reported a significant increase in patients with chest and respiratory system issues in the aftermath.

At least 11 houses were struck in Jabalia al-Nazla.

The violent nightly bombing became a daiy occurence. In addition, footage shot by locals indicated that the IDF intensified the use of drones to drop explosive charges on homes and schools, in a bid to terrorize the population and force their displacement.

On August 26, people in Jabalia Al-Nazla found the remains of an Israeli APC similar to those used previously in Rafah and the North Gaza invasion as explosive-laden tanks. This led further credence to locals' reports of those weapons being employed in the large scale detonations in Gaza City and the areas at its northern edge.

By the end of August, most of the areas at the northern edge of Gaza City (Jabalia al-Nazla, Jabalia al-Balad, Saftawi, Abu Iskandar) were ethnically cleansed due to the constant shelling and drone terror. Locals reported that the assault was relentless that people were killed and maimed even during their displacement, as evidenced by footage.

The displacement from Jabalia al-Balad, Jabalia al-Nazla, and the Saftawi areas of North Gaza led to the closure of the main source of drinking water (Yassin Company – ETA) for one milliong people in northern Gaza.

On September 2, 2025, around 12:30pm the IDF issued a forced displacement order to all 1 million people displaced in Gaza City to go to the "humanitarian zone" of Al-Mawasi. Less than an 10 minutes later, the IDF struck a tent in Al-Mawasi killing at least 5 children.