PERSONAL STORY: Displaced Palestinian fears permanent tent life, as Israel sets sights on 70% of Gaza

The day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had directed Israel’s military to take more of Gaza, displaced Palestinian father of four Deya Al-Emrani sifted through the rubble of what was once his home in Gaza City.

It was destroyed in an Israeli strike on Thursday night (May 28). Residents said an evacuation order was given ahead of the strike.

Al-Emrani, a resident of the Al-Shati camp, said he has been displaced more than once but had hoped that one day he would return to his own home for good. After news of Israel’s intention to control 70 percent of the Gaza Strip, he said he no longer believed that would ever be possible.

“Today – we will return to the tent one more time and remain there always,” he said.

Israel effectively controls an estimated 64% of the tiny coastal Strip, bombarded to ruins by Israel's two-year military assault that followed the 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

Netanyahu has repeatedly said in public remarks that the military controls more than 60% of Gaza. Speaking to a conference in a settlement in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli leader said even more of Gaza would be taken.

“Where do you want to send people?” – let alone the financial burden of having to move one more time, said Al-Emrani.

Netanyahu describes the territory Israel has seized in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon as "buffer zones" that can stave off potential militant attacks following the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led assault that set off the Gaza war.

Palestinians view Israel's widening Gaza buffer zone as a part of a strategy to permanently displace them, pointing to remarks from senior ministers, including defense chief Israel Katz, saying they want to encourage "voluntary migration" from Gaza.

-Dawoud Abu Alkas, Fadi Shana, Mohammad Salem, Dina Selim/Reuters