As some Palestinians in Gaza City sifted through the rubble of an Israeli strike that took place the night before, others reacted with cynicism to the news that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had directed the military to take more of Gaza – initially by seizing 70% of the Palestinian territory, where the population is already penned into a tiny strip of land along the coast.

"When he occupies 70%, where do we go? To the water, to the sea?" said 72-year-old Mohammed al-Shagra. "There is no space, where are we to go?"

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

'Is there anything left of Gaza?'

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.

"Is there anything left of Gaza for him to take? And then we hear that there is a ceasefire – we see no ceasefire or anything and they keep advancing beyond the yellow line," said displaced Palestinian, Mohamed al-Jundi. 

"For how long will the world stay silent over this? And what are we to do? We want the world to stand with us to keep the occupation away from us, so the occupation can leave Gaza and we can live our lives like the rest of the world."

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.

"Netanyahu wants to confine all of (the people of) Gaza in one area and take all of Gaza for himself. Honestly, one wishes to die… Death is better for us, honestly," said displaced Palestinian, Nasreen Abu Saada.

"Every day there are martyrs, there are strikes, there is destruction, there is fear, there is terror – there is no safety for us," she added.

Netanyahu's directive comes as Israel escalates its attacks in Gaza that it says target senior Hamas leaders who were involved in the 2023 attacks. 

UNICEF warns of 'dire' situation

The United Nations children's agency warned that such a move would deepen the health crisis among children in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory, already suffering from a lack of food, water and access to hygiene. 

Even before Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel triggered the war in Gaza, it was "already one of the most densely populated places in the world", UNICEF spokesman Salim Oweis told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Gaza.

Oweis described the current situation as "dire," noting the overcrowding was "creating more spread of diseases, straining the systems and of course cutting... services."

If Israel takes control of even more land, that "means that we will lose access to some of the service points, but also (to) some hard to reach places (where) children and families are living," he said.

"This will just mean that more children will suffer. Honestly, we can't afford that at the moment." 

Despite an October 10 ceasefire, Gaza remains gripped by daily violence.

Israel has killed more than 900 people in the territory since the ceasefire, according to Gaza's health ministry.