250,000 People in Gaza Face Displacement After New Evacuation Orders
Gaza [Palestine], July 2: Around 250,000 people in Gaza are expected to be displaced after Israeli authorities issued new evacuation orders in the Khan Younis area. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reported that ‘chaos and panic’ are spreading in southern Gaza as people are forced to leave their homes.
Many Gazans fleeing the southern city have had to set up shelters at the water’s edge because displacement camps are already full. Just weeks ago, Khan Younis was deserted after intense Israeli bombardment, but families returned there after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) moved into Rafah in early May.
UNRWA Senior Communications Officer Louise Wateridge said, ‘It’s another devastating blow to the humanitarian response here, it’s another devastating blow to the people, the families on the ground. It seems that they’ve been forcibly displaced again and again.’ She added that families now face ‘impossible’ decisions about where to go.
Wateridge noted that heavy bombardment continues in the north, middle, and south areas of the Gaza Strip, making no place safe. Despite the challenges, the UN agency continues to deliver essential supplies like water, food, and healthcare, but the Israeli-imposed siege and further displacement orders are making it nearly impossible to provide aid.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised concerns about the lack of aid reaching Gaza, which has significantly compromised healthcare. Gaza’s healthcare sector needs 80,000 liters of fuel daily, but the last shipment of 195,000-200,000 liters arrived at the end of June. Since then, no fuel has entered Gaza, affecting hospitals, water, and sanitation services.
Dr. Hanan Balkhy, WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, explained that the fuel shortage is causing delays in ambulance services and disrupting essential water and sanitation services. This has led to a rise in waterborne diseases like hepatitis A, diarrhea, and skin conditions.