Bombardment in southern Gaza increases mass displacement
UNRWA
4 Dec 2023
AID DELIVERIES FURTHER STRANGLED
AMMAN, 4 December 2023 -- "The resumption of the military operation and its expansion further in southern Gaza is repeating horrors from past weeks.
"The number of civilians killed is rapidly increasing. Civilians, including men, women, children, older persons, the sick and people with disabilities are the most to suffer.
"Israeli forces' bombardment is ongoing following another evacuation order to move people from Khan Younis into Rafah. The order created panic, fear and anxiety. At least an additional 60,000 people were forced to move to already overcrowded UNRWA shelters, with more asking to be sheltered. Many have already been displaced more than once fleeing the war in other parts of Gaza.
"The evacuation order pushes people to concentrate into what is less than one-third of the Gaza Strip. They need everything: food, water, shelter, and mostly safety. Roads to the south are clogged.
"Access to water is limited, as the Israeli operation has prevented access to the largest desalination plant in Gaza that previously provided drinking water for 350,000 people. The largest hospital in southern Gaza with over 1,000 in-patients and sheltering 17,000 displaced people may cease to operate due to lack of supplies and insufficient personnel.
Notes to Editors
-
More than 1.8 million people, or 80 per cent of the total population of Gaza, have been forced to flee their homes.
-
UNRWA is currently hosting more than 1.2 million people in shelters, including in the south.
-
This is the largest displacement of the Palestinian people since 1948.
-
The nearly 70 already overcrowded UNRWA shelters in the south cannot take more people.
-
UNRWA shelters in the south were already hosting around 600,000 people.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
