The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) revealed that Israel forced 250,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to be forcibly displaced during August, by issuing 12 evacuation orders.
UNRWA stated in a post on its account on the X platform that the Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza during August reached 12 orders, which caused the forced displacement of about 250,000 people.
She added: There is no escape from this exhausting cycle in the Gaza Strip.
The UN agency warned that Gaza residents are trapped in a cycle of repeated forced displacement, as families continue to flee amid military operations and the scorching summer heat.
Shrinking space for Palestinians
At the beginning of the year, evacuation orders forced Palestinians fleeing the war to seek refuge in areas amounting to about 33% of the Strip, according to the United Nations; now that area has decreased to only 11% of Gaza.
The shrinking space available to Palestinians has exacerbated concerns about disease outbre
aks and deteriorating living conditions in the small pockets of shelter available.
Many parties, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), have announced that there is no safe place in the Gaza Strip, which the occupation forces have been targeting with bombing for more than 10 months, which has prompted many residents to flee time and time again, fleeing the fire of the bombing and seeking to escape the Israeli war machine that has not yet found anyone to stop it.
With every evacuation order issued by the occupation authorities, the displaced Palestinians stand in confusion, none of them knowing where to go. They have no choice but to respond to the evacuation orders instead of remaining under the bombardment that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands. But their confusion quickly increases when they think about their next destination, especially since the Gaza Strip no longer has a safe place to which they can flee and stay until this raging war ends.
Save t
he children
In the same context, Save the Children called on the British government to immediately suspend all arms sales to Israel “due to the risk of their use in committing serious violations of international humanitarian law.”
‘We are deeply saddened to learn that six children, including four 10-year-old twins, and their mother are the latest victims of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza,’ the UK-based international organization said on its X platform.
‘We simply cannot accept the violence that Palestinian children continue to face as normal,’ she added.
The organization called on: ‘The UK government to immediately suspend all arms sales to Israel, given the clear risk that they may be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law.’
The organization said in its statement: The eviction orders issued by the Israeli authorities on 13, 15, 16 and 21 August continue to hamper relief operations, affecting a number of agencies including Save the Children, Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Cou
ncil, Doctors Without Borders, Solidarity International, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Oxfam, Humanity and Inclusion, Action Against Hunger, Islamic Relief, Project Hope, DanChurchAid, Norwegian Church Aid and partners, and ActionAid’s Palestinian partners, War Child, the Danish Refugee Council, Médecins du Monde, Middle East Children’s Alliance, and We World.
She added: ‘Local communities are cut off from vital aid, with suppliers delivering essential items such as water facing challenges in accessing locations near areas people have been ordered to leave.’
She noted: Humanitarian actors must be allowed to provide aid on the basis of need and not based on the designation of safe areas by one party to the conflict.
‘Even if the Israeli authorities allow polio vaccines in, with the biggest responders in Gaza constantly on the move, how can we mount an effective campaign and reach the children who need this protection most? If you want to understand the access situation, this is the solution – not a few truc
ks allowed in on an ad hoc basis,’ said Jeremy Stoner, Save the Children’s Regional Director for the Middle East.
‘Palestinians in Gaza have been relentlessly uprooted, forced from one ‘safe’ area to another, and endured unimaginable hardship and loss. Among them are brave humanitarian workers who risk their lives every day to save others. Our ability to deliver meaningful assistance in any part of Gaza falls short of our ambitions, let alone the massive needs. Deir al-Balah, once declared a humanitarian zone, is now being attacked and bombed on our doorstep,’ said Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
‘We are a humanitarian organization trying to provide humanitarian services in an area that Israel has unilaterally declared a ‘humanitarian zone.’ These conditions not only punish us, but also affect civilians who are in desperate need of assistance,’ explained Susie van Meegen, NRC’s interim country director in Palestine.
‘The situation has become incredibly dang
erous,’ she continued. ‘There is constant fighting, and the sounds of shelling and explosions are clearly audible. Skin diseases are spreading rapidly. We are all afraid of getting infections. The physical toll is real. I had severe stomach pains, probably from the dirty water we are forced to drink. I don’t know how long we can survive like this,’ said Lina*, a Mercy Corps staff member in Gaza.
Source: Maan News Agency
