'We're just waiting for our turn to die': Gaza reels as Israel approves expanded military offensive

Fears of further escalation have gripped the war-torn Gaza Strip following the Israeli government's approval of an expanded military campaign, amid stalled negotiations over the release of Israeli captives in return for ending the war.

On Sunday night, Israel's security cabinet approved plans to broaden its military operations that include the 'conquest' of Gaza and the displacement of its population. It also supported a plan to resume humanitarian aid deliveries through private international companies, a proposal that has raised concerns among international relief agencies.

Israeli sources indicated that the next stage of military operations is intended to increase pressure on Hamas to accept a framework deal, possibly paving the way for a phased captives release.

Israeli Walla News reported that a senior Israeli official said that U.S. President Donald Trump's upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates could be a turning point in mediation efforts.

"The goal is to revive a ceasefire initiative led by Egypt and the United States, under which Israeli captives would be released in exchange for a halt in fighting," the official said.

Until then, the residents of the war-torn coastal enclave continue to face deteriorating humanitarian conditions, trapped between starvation, fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. 

Day by day, the Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling have intensified, contributing to widespread displacement, psychological trauma, and a collapse in basic services.

"I don't sleep anymore. My children scream in the night," Enas Noaman, a 40-year-old mother of six, in Deir al-Balah told The New Arab. "The cabinet's decision means more bombing, more terror. We're not living, but we're waiting for our turn to die."

Enas's family has been displaced eleven times since the war began on 7 October 2023. Now packed into a school-turned-shelter with hundreds of others, she said fear has become their only constant. 

"There's no air, no space, no privacy. Only fear. Every boom shakes our bones. Every silence breaks us," she lamented. 

In Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood, Mahmoud al-Jaabari, 29, said that even silence now feels weaponised.

"When it's quiet, you fear it's quiet before another massacre," he told TNA. "The moment we heard the Israeli cabinet decision, people began to panic. My mother clutched the Quran all night. My wife held our baby like she was trying to keep her from vanishing."

Psychological collapse is a growing phenomenon in Gaza's shelters. Rawan Ghayada, a Gaza-based psychologist, told TNA that the children are among the most affected, with widespread signs of trauma, mutism, and acute anxiety.

"They don't speak, laugh, or even play," Ghayada said, adding that "when I try to let some children – at least- cope with their situation, they ask me all the time if they will survive […] unfortunately, I do not have an answer for them." 

For 40-year-old activist Ahmed al-Madhoun, the Israeli cabinet's decision represents more than military escalation; it signals strategic psychological warfare.

"It informs us: 'You're never secure. Even your hope becomes a target,'" he stated. "Israel doesn't only target buildings; it dismantles meaning, routine, and family. That's the true occupation of the mind and spirit."

Across Gaza, many interpret the cabinet's move as a rejection of diplomacy and a deepening of collective punishment.

For many, the decision to escalate comes as international diplomacy appears detached from reality on the ground. The gap between foreign statements and local suffering has bred resentment and despair.

"When we hear that Trump is flying around the Gulf while we bury children, it makes us feel invisible," Fadi Barhoum, a Khan Younis-based Palestinian man, told TNA, saying, "Israel talks about pressure on Hamas, but it's our bodies under the rubble."

In a press statement, Hamas condemned the cabinet's decision as a license for more war crimes. "This escalation threatens over two million lives and deepens the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza," Hamas said, calling on Arab and Islamic nations to intervene.

Yet for many Palestinians, words alone are not enough. "We're tired of condemnations," Mariam Abu Sultan, a Beit Lahia-based Palestinian woman, said. 
"They say 'escalation'—we hear that as a death sentence. I've already buried my husband. My house is gone. We sleep in a tent. Now they say they're sending more troops. What's left to destroy?" the 46-year-old woman added. 

In Tel Aviv, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared on Tuesday that Israel would not withdraw from any territory it has occupied in Gaza, even in exchange for hostages. 

His statement sparked outrage among Palestinians, who see it as confirmation of long-term goals to reoccupy or fragment Gaza.

"Every time they say, 'no withdrawal,' it feels like they're saying: 'no future for you,'" Ahmed Rohmi, a Gaza-based Palestinian man, said, adding that "that fear of erasure, of extinction, that's the real impact of these decisions."

"Everything is infrastructure here, homes, schools, bakeries, hospitals, so when they say they're coming for infrastructure, we know it means our lives," he added.