Amid the sounds of artillery shelling and the advance of Israeli military vehicles toward the western areas of the Shuja’iyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, Haj Abu Muhammad Mushtaha was forced to flee, despite the approaching evening, along with 20 members of his family, to escape the occupation’s fire.
As soon as Mushtaha tried to return to his home in the morning, he was surprised to find that the occupation forces had placed concrete blocks more than 500 meters west of the Yellow Line—which was part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian resistance and Israel on October 10th—further expanding the army’s presence along the devastated neighborhood, thus preventing him from reaching his home.
Hundreds of families living in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood found themselves homeless after the Yellow Line swallowed up more Palestinian homes, in a clear violation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Israeli army bulldozers gave Mohammed Marzouq no time to retrieve any of his belongings from his home, which he was forced to leave as they advanced into the area surrounding his residence.
Marzouq and his neighbors tried to return to their home to retrieve their necessities, but to no avail.
Marzouq spent only three weeks amidst the ruins of his destroyed home in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood after returning from his forced displacement in the central Gaza Strip. He and his neighbors now face the hardships of displacement once again, as the occupation forces expanded the area of the Green Line.
The Israeli army controls 60% of the Gaza Strip, yet it continues to advance with its bulldozers into additional areas, aiming to destroy more homes and buildings that remain standing.
