The Gaza Government Media Office (GMO) reported on Saturday that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have demolished 1,600 residential buildings and over 13,000 tents sheltering displaced families, forcibly uprooting more than 350,000 residents from eastern neighborhoods to central and western parts of Gaza City since the start of the assault on August 11.

In a statement, the GMO described the IOF campaign as “brutal,” calling it a systematic effort of destruction, ethnic cleansing, and forced displacement targeting Gaza’s civilian population. The statement rejected claims by Israeli war minister Yisrael Katz, who asserted that “the gates of hell in Gaza have been opened on the resistance,” noting that in reality, the occupation is systematically targeting unarmed civilians, destroying homes, hospitals, schools, mosques, and tents rather than legitimate military sites.

“The truth is clear: Gaza’s neighborhoods are being deliberately targeted, causing untold suffering among women, children, and the elderly,” the GMO said, emphasizing that these actions constitute a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, serving as justification for genocide, ethnic cleansing, and forced displacement.”

Since the onset of the offensive, over 1,600 multi-story residential towers have been completely destroyed, with another 2,000 buildings heavily damaged. More than 13,000 tents housing displaced families have also been demolished. In September alone, Israeli forces destroyed 70 buildings, severely damaged 120 more, and razed over 3,500 tents, exacerbating the crisis for already displaced residents.

The destroyed buildings contained over 10,000 housing units, home to more than 50,000 people, while the targeted tents sheltered over 52,000 displaced individuals. In total, more than 100,000 people have lost their homes, with over 350,000 residents forced to flee eastern neighborhoods toward central and western Gaza. The GMO described this as “clear evidence of war crimes through systematic ethnic cleansing and genocide.”

The main affected neighborhoods and displacement sites include Shuja’iyya, Zeitoun, Tuffah, Daraj, Northern and Southern Rimal, Tel al-Hawa, Sheikh Radwan, Sabra, Al-Nasr, Al-Shati Camp, Sheikh Ajleen, and sub-divisions such as Harazin, Turkman, and Al-Muntar in Shuja’iyya.

The IOF continues to issue leaflets instructing residents of western neighborhoods to evacuate while ongoing airstrikes target civilian areas. The majority of Gaza’s population—over two million people—has been forced to relocate multiple times since the escalation of the war.

The GMO condemned the occupation’s deliberate targeting of civilians and called on the international community to act immediately to protect unarmed residents from further atrocities. Humanitarian organizations and the United Nations have repeatedly warned of a looming catastrophe should Israeli forces continue their campaign in Gaza City. (ILKHA)