GAZA CITY, Palestine/ISTANBUL — On Saturday evening, November 29, 2025, the Israeli Defense Forces conducted a series of controlled demolitions targeting residential buildings in the Shejaiya neighborhood east of Gaza City, in areas still under Israeli military control within the Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses described deafening explosions that reverberated through much of the city, sending thick plumes of black smoke billowing into the night sky and scattering shrapnel across nearby districts.
An Anadolu Agency correspondent, speaking to local residents who had fled the blasts, reported that at least five multi-story apartment blocks — once home to dozens of families — were reduced to rubble in minutes. “The ground shook like an earthquake,” said one unnamed witness, a 45-year-old shopkeeper who had returned to salvage what remained of his home. “We heard the warnings earlier, but no one expected this. The explosions were so powerful, shards of concrete flew into our street, wounding two neighbors.”
The demolitions mark the latest in a wave of destructive operations that have persisted despite the fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on October 10, 2025, under U.S. mediation. Satellite imagery analyzed by BBC Verify confirms that over 1,500 structures have been demolished across Gaza since the truce began, with Shejaiya emerging as a primary focal point. Policy analysts warn that these actions not only contravene the spirit of the agreement but also risk derailing broader peace efforts by creating de facto buffer zones that permanently displace Palestinian communities.
Shejaiya, a densely populated district historically known as Gaza’s “brave neighborhood” for its resistance during past conflicts, has long been a flashpoint. Once home to more than 90,000 residents, complete with bustling markets and the iconic Midan Shuja’iyya square, the area has been scarred by repeated incursions since the war began in October 2023. Investigations have documented dozens of controlled demolitions in the neighborhood, where entire blocks were wired with explosives and methodically brought down. The Israeli military has justified such tactics as necessary to dismantle what it describes as “terror infrastructures” embedded in civilian areas, claiming Hamas uses residential zones as combat complexes. Human rights organizations, however, argue that the scale of destruction far exceeds military necessity and constitutes collective punishment.
This latest incident unfolded against a backdrop of intensified Israeli military activity across Gaza in recent days. Eyewitness accounts detail a barrage of ground, naval, and aerial bombardments striking multiple fronts: eastern Gaza City, the northern town of Beit Lahiya, the eastern fringes of Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, Rafah in the south, and the adjacent towns of Al-Qarara and Bani Suhaila east of Khan Younis.
In Bani Suhaila, the strikes took a particularly tragic toll, killing two young brothers — aged 8 and 11 — in a drone attack near Al-Farabi School, a makeshift shelter for displaced families. Medics at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis confirmed the deaths, describing shrapnel wounds that pierced the children’s bodies. “They were playing outside when the drone fired,” a relative said. “What ceasefire is this when children are targeted in broad daylight?”
The Gaza Government Media Office has recorded approximately 497 Israeli violations of the ceasefire since October 10, resulting in over 342 Palestinian deaths and hundreds more injuries. Its director described the pattern as “systematic terrorization,” with violations documented in every governorate, including incursions beyond agreed lines and restrictions on aid convoys. Independent tracking similarly reports near-daily attacks that have claimed at least 347 lives and wounded 889 people since the truce.
Israel, in turn, accuses Hamas of provocations, including firing on troops from aid routes and failing to fully disarm as required in the first phase of the U.S.-brokered plan. The Israeli military reported multiple Hamas violations in late November, including an alleged ambush using a humanitarian corridor. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has framed the demolitions and strikes as “enforcement actions” to secure the agreed boundary line, insisting they do not breach the ceasefire terms for zones still under IDF control. United Nations human rights experts have nevertheless urged international intervention, warning that forced displacements and infrastructure destruction represent grave breaches of international humanitarian law and threaten the truce’s collapse.
The broader conflict, now in its third year, has exacted a devastating toll. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports nearly 70,000 Palestinians killed since October 7, 2023 — the majority women and children — with over 170,900 injured. Peer-reviewed studies estimate the true death toll, including indirect deaths from famine, disease, and collapsed healthcare, has likely surpassed that figure. More than 28,000 of the dead are women and girls, leaving thousands of orphans and shattering family structures. Roughly 80 percent of all buildings in the enclave are damaged or destroyed, agricultural land has been scorched, and water systems lie in ruins.
Aid agencies describe a deepening humanitarian catastrophe. Despite ceasefire stipulations for unrestricted access, cooking gas has been absent for five months, forcing families to burn scrap wood and plastic amid severe health risks. Over 2,600 Palestinians have reportedly been killed while trying to access food distributions, many shot near aid sites. Recent shelling near refugee shelters in Al-Bureij has worsened overcrowding, with child-welfare organizations decrying the continuing child death toll.
Global reactions remain sharply divided. Tens of thousands demonstrated in European cities on November 29 against what protesters called continued aggression in Gaza. Several governments condemned the latest incidents and called for immediate enforcement of the truce. Mediators including Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey continue urgent diplomacy to prevent total breakdown.
As night fell over the smoldering ruins of Shejaiya, displaced families huddled in makeshift tents, their futures uncertain. “We signed for peace, but this is war by another name,” said one mother clutching her infant amid the debris. With violations mounting on both sides and international pressure growing, the fragile yellow line that was meant to separate occupation from recovery has instead become a symbol of fractured hope. For the people of Gaza, survival remains a daily act of defiance.
