With growing expectations that Israel will soon launch a ground assault on the besieged 365km2 strip of land, fears have been growing about what it could mean for the trapped civilians. Israel has ordered civilians to move out of northern Gaza for their own safety, but Hamas insists the population should stay put.
The Guardian’s senior international reporter Peter Beaumont explains what Israel would want to achieve with the ground invasion – and the obstacles they face. He also discusses Hamas’s meticulous preparations for the conflict and highlights how any invasion could be devastating for the people of Gaza.
Some, like Afaf Al-Najjar, have heeded the Israeli warnings and moved to the south of Gaza. But the 21-year-old student and marketing manager says she does not feel any safer. Instead, she says the endless airstrikes have left her feeling that her death is close. British-Palestinian doctor Ghassan Abu-Sittah, on the other hand, tells Nosheen Iqbal he will not leave because he does not want to abandon his patients, and is determined to stay and care for them.
Photograph: Atef Safadi/EPA
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