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The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights warned Monday that Israel is attempting to systematically destroy and erase Gaza's Zeitoun neighborhood from the map, part of what the organization described as a broader campaign to force mass displacement of Palestinians throughout the city.
The Gaza-based PCHR said in a written statement that Israeli forces have conducted continuous destructive attacks on Zeitoun, located in northern Gaza Strip, for eight consecutive days. The organization identified this as the ninth large-scale assault on the neighborhood since October 7, 2023.
"Hundreds of homes and structures have been razed to the ground in the ongoing attacks," the statement said. "Zeitoun neighborhood residents have been subjected to mass displacement, leaving behind a landscape where living conditions no longer exist as systematic destruction will gradually spread throughout Gaza city."
Zeitoun, Gaza City's largest neighborhood covering 9,156 acres, has previously endured eight ground operations alongside aerial bombardments and artillery strikes. The PCHR said Israel is now attempting to completely erase the neighborhood as part of efforts to wipe the entire city from the map.
The statement noted that Israeli forces have already razed other areas of Gaza Strip to the ground, describing the current campaign as preparation for military occupation of the city.
PCHR Director Raji al-Sourani characterized the destruction in Zeitoun as part of Israel's comprehensive demolition policy aimed at dehumanizing Gaza City.
"The barbarism, violence and destruction in Zeitoun neighborhood has led to mass displacement," al-Sourani said. "Our great fear is that this will continue in a narrow area in the southern Gaza Strip to force Palestinians into displacement."
Al-Sourani called on the international community to take urgent steps against the destruction and displacement plans in Gaza, requesting prevention of a new Nakba (catastrophe) for the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip.
The Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor reported on August 16 that Zeitoun neighborhood had been virtually leveled during six days of Israeli attacks, with approximately 400 homes destroyed through remote-controlled explosives, airstrikes and artillery fire.
Israel's Security Cabinet approved a plan on August 8 to occupy Gaza City in northern Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News before the cabinet meeting that they aimed to occupy the entire Gaza Strip.
Media reports prior to the cabinet meeting indicated the attacks would be carried out in phases, beginning with Gaza City before extending to refugee camps in the central area where Palestinian refugees reside.
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