Israel has ordered additional evacuations in Gaza, intensifying the already dire humanitarian crisis in the region. The United Nations reports that civilians in the Al-Bureij area of Deir al Balah governorate have been instructed to move west due to impending military actions.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expressed concern over Israel’s continued denial of UN attempts to coordinate safe movement for humanitarian workers. “Today, six out of ten coordination attempts were outright rejected,” OCHA stated. “Our plan to deliver supplies to the besieged areas of North Gaza was among those rejected.”
Displaced Gazans are often forced to flee multiple times, carrying almost nothing, into areas lacking basic necessities. Despite the challenges, humanitarian organizations are striving to support people wherever they are.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 55 patients and 72 companions were evacuated from Gaza for medical treatment in the United Arab Emirates. Since October, over 5,300 patients have been evacuated abroad, but more than 12,000 critically ill patients, including thousands of children, are still awaiting evacuation.
“It would take 5 to 10 years to evacuate all these patients,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “In the meantime, their conditions worsen, and some die.”
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), affirmed the agency’s commitment to continue its operations despite an Israeli bill aiming to ban it from the occupied territories. Since the conflict escalated in October, UNRWA has provided 6.7 million medical consultations, mental health support to 730,000 people, vaccinated 560,000 children against polio, and offered food assistance to nearly 2 million people.
“UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian response and is irreplaceable,” OCHA emphasized. “A collapse of its operations would lead to immense suffering for people already enduring extreme hardship.”
When questioned about the potential cessation of UNRWA’s operations, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that under international law, Israel, as the occupying power, would have to assume those responsibilities if UNRWA cannot fulfill its mandate.
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Israel orders more evacuations in Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens
cgtn.com
