Munir al-Bursh, Director General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, has declared that Israel’s ongoing attempts to forcibly displace the residents of Gaza City are doomed to fail, stressing that Palestinians remain steadfast despite relentless bombardment and unprecedented suffering.

In a press statement on Friday, al-Bursh accused Israel of committing “every form of genocide” against the people of Gaza — from indiscriminate killings to starvation and psychological warfare. He underlined that the people of Gaza City do not want to abandon their homes, even under daily assault, and that Israel’s plans to empty the city are collapsing in the face of Palestinian resilience.

Al-Bursh revealed that the Israeli occupation army is using new methods of terror against civilians, including the daily detonation of between seven and ten booby-trapped robots inside Gaza. He warned that beyond the immediate devastation, the Strip will suffer for generations from malnutrition, psychological trauma, and reproductive health crises as a result of Israel’s ongoing war.

He also criticised the silence of the international community regarding Gaza’s declared famine, noting that no serious action has been taken despite repeated appeals and mounting deaths caused by hunger, particularly among children.

Earlier, the Government Media Office (GMO) in Gaza accused Israel of spreading lies and false claims, including the publication of fabricated maps, as part of its campaign to forcibly displace residents of Gaza City and northern governorates. The GMO described these efforts as an attempt to engineer a new humanitarian catastrophe.

The statement emphasised that forced displacement is a war crime and a crime against humanity under international law, prohibited under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. It stressed that the occupation’s actions — carried out under bombardment, without guarantees of return, and with the explicit goal of emptying Gaza of its native population — amount to a documented policy of ethnic cleansing.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has waged a campaign of genocide against the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding more than 63,000 Palestinians, the vast majority women and children. More than 9,000 remain missing beneath the rubble, while hundreds of thousands have been driven from their homes. Famine, caused by deliberate deprivation, has already claimed many lives, including those of children, as entire neighborhoods lie in ruins.

Despite repeated rulings by the International Court of Justice ordering Israel to halt its campaign of extermination, the occupation has continued its war unabated. For Palestinians like those in Gaza City, however, the message remains clear: they will not be uprooted from their land. (ILKHA)