Many Palestinians, in fact, in the early hours of this morning, said the Israeli decision to occupy Gaza City is not seen as a strategic or tactical manoeuvre, but is seen as the institutionalisation of domination … that people have been enduring more than 22 months of displacement, fear and relentless bombardment.

Now their misery is about to be complicated further by Israel’s potential step to expand its ground operations to focus primarily on Gaza City, which right now holds hundreds of thousands of people who are living in makeshift tents and partially destroyed buildings and schools, UN-run clinics and shelters.

Many of those who were given the chance to return to northern Gaza did so after the former ceasefire agreement that was brokered between Hamas and Israel.

Now they are facing the same threat, which is to be forcibly displaced from their homes and towns to other parts of the Strip under the pretext of fighting Hamas and armed factions in these areas.

People say that this has been the fear … and right now it has become a looming reality that Israel will control Gaza City.

Former US intelligence officer Glenn Carle spoke to Al Jazeera earlier about Israel’s plan to occupy Gaza City and how the Israeli military should know “better than anybody” what happened during their previous occupation of Gaza.

“It was a terrible dilemma and almost impossible to do, so I think that’s what the military is confronted with now,” Carle said, adding that some Israeli military officials have reportedly assessed that it could take up to five years to completely defeat Hamas in Gaza.

While Carle said he was surprised at such a timeline, he said that Israel’s military occupation could face an “infinite number of problems”.

“Humanitarian, civil, political, and military. Because there will be probably endless disaffected young men who – whether organised or not – will lash out,” he said.