9 out of 10 people in Gaza have been forcibly displaced during war: UN
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The UN humanitarian agency OCHA highlights that more than 180,000 Palestinians have fled fierce fighting around the southern city of Khan Younis in just four days.
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Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip flee from parts of Khan Younis following an evacuation order by the Israeli army to leave the eastern part of the Gaza Strip's second largest city, Monday, July 22, 2024. (AP)
Nine out of every ten people in Gaza have been "forcibly displaced" during the ongoing war on the Strip, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA highlighted on Friday.
"Families seek shelter where they can: overcrowded schools, destroyed buildings, makeshift tents on the sand or amid piles of trash," the agency posted on X, adding that "none of these places are safe. People have nowhere left to go."
9 in every 10 people have been forcibly displaced in the #GazaStrip
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 26, 2024
Families seek shelter where they can: overcrowded schools, destroyed buildings, makeshift tents on the sand or amid piles of trash
None of these places are safe. People have nowhere left to go. #CeasefireNow pic.twitter.com/lCP18TaFDK
In later posts, UNRWA confirmed that type 2 polio has been detected in Gaza, citing "the lack of clean water, overcrowded shelters, and poor sanitation" as causes of the spread of such diseases.
"Amid war, lack of food and water, and spread of diseases, people in the Gaza Strip are in dire need of healthcare," the agency underlined.
It pointed out that "only a few hospitals are still operational and the medical system is collapsing," warning that "without safe and unimpeded access, critical medical supplies will soon run out."
Type 2 polio has been detected in #Gaza, according to @WHO
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 26, 2024
Lack of clean water, overcrowded shelters & poor sanitation lead to the spread of such diseases
Vaccination among children dropped due to the war. We urgently need more vaccines and a #CeasefireNow to reach every child. https://t.co/p3CeL81Wgx
In a related context, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA mentioned on Friday that more than 180,000 Palestinians have fled fierce fighting around the southern city of Khan Younis in four days, following a reported Israeli military operation to retrieve the bodies of captives from the area.
Recent "intensified hostilities" in the Khan Younis area have fuelled "new waves of internal displacement across Gaza," OCHA indicated, highlighting that "about 182,000 people" have been displaced from central and eastern Khan Younis between Monday and Thursday and hundreds are "stranded" in eastern Khan Younis.
The Israeli occupation military on Monday ordered the evacuation of parts of the southern city, announcing its forces would "forcefully operate" there, including in an area previously declared a "safe" humanitarian zone.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said that 73 Palestinians, including 24 children and 15 women, were killed and more than 270 were injured by Israeli strikes and massacres in Khan Younis.
The staggering figures came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as a "total disaster", attributing this to a military campaign of a "chaotic nature" that has the highest level of killing and destruction, as well as a level of humanitarian aid that is "totally out of proportion with the needs."
"With the combination of these obstacles, with the total insecurity in the country, humanitarian aid is far from being sufficient," Guterres indicated during a press briefing on Thursday.
He lamented the "total lawlessness" in Gaza, emphasizing that "law and order has completely disappeared" in the Strip.
"Nobody is in charge of security anywhere in the area of Gaza. So we see convoys looted at any moment," Guterres stressed.
The UN Secretary-General also highlighted that three of the organization's convoys were hit by Israeli military fire on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
On the 293rd day of the Israeli war on Gaza, the Health Ministry in the Strip confirmed that the number of Palestinians killed has risen to 39,175 and those injured to 90,403.
Unofficial death toll may be over 90,000: US medics in Gaza
Some 45 physicians and nurses who volunteered in Gaza have written a letter addressed to the Biden administration, stating that "Israel" claimed the lives of over 90,000 Palestinians during its ongoing genocide in the Strip.
"President Biden and Vice-President Harris, any solution to this problem must begin with an immediate and permanent ceasefire," the eight-page letter said, demanding the United States impose an arms embargo against the occupation regime, as well as withdraw its diplomatic, economic, and military support until a ceasefire is implemented.
"It is likely that the death toll from this conflict is already greater than 92,000, an astonishing 4.2% of Gaza's population," the medics wrote, highlighting that the real death toll was significantly higher than the Health Ministry's, which shows over 39,000 people have been killed.
Read more: As polio threatens to rampage Gaza, WHO calls for immediate ceasefire
