Fire from the air and sea echoed across the Gaza Strip on Saturday as Israeli forces pressed on with actions that residents say hollowed out an already fragile ceasefire. Low-flying helicopters swept over neighbourhoods, raking streets with heavy gunfire, while ground forces intensified the levelling of homes in eastern districts. For families sheltering nearby, the sense was not of respite but of a genocidal war continuing by other means.

In the south, eastern Khan Younis bore the brunt. Artillery rounds struck residential quarters and, according to people on the ground, entire blocks were reduced to rubble in a methodical push that erased what remained of civilian life. Helicopters hovered at close range, firing repeatedly into built-up areas, as naval vessels offshore added machine-gun fire along the coastline. The pattern, witnesses said, was one of sustained pressure rather than isolated incidents.

Gaza City saw similar scenes. Shelling hit eastern areas as residents described nights punctured by explosions and the whine of aircraft overhead. The cumulative effect, they said, has been displacement layered upon displacement, with little confidence that the ceasefire announced last autumn has any force on the ground. What persists, in their telling, is a genocidal war marked by demolition, intimidation and the steady narrowing of places considered safe.

Local voices insist these actions represent ongoing breaches of the truce that took effect in early October last year. With infrastructure already shattered and humanitarian conditions worsening, each new round of fire deepens the sense that commitments on paper have failed to translate into protection for civilians.