Almost 2 million forcibly displaced in Gaza since Oct. 7: UNRWA

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
5 Dec 2023 09:40
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As of December 2, the number of UNRWA staffers killed since the start of the war on Gaza has reached 111.

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip gather at a tent camp, in Rafah on Dec. 4, 2023. (AP)

In its statement on Monday, the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed that almost 1.9 million people, approximately 80% of the population, have been displaced in Gaza since October 7.

The statement added that as of December 2, the number of UNRWA staffers killed since the start of the war on Gaza has reached 111.

This comes two days after the last UNRWA statement which warned that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, considering the dire situation they are subjected to, could either be killed by indiscriminate Israeli bombing or from diseases that are wildly spreading across the Strip.

As a result of the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip, UNRWA warned that "people have lost everything and they need everything," stressing that "over 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza - including over 6,000 children and 4,000 women - since the war began."

Over 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in📍#Gaza - including over 6,000 children and 4,000 women - since the war began.

People have lost everything and they need everything.

Gaza’s population will soon begin dying from diseases as well as Israeli bombardment. pic.twitter.com/nt6vebmdri
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) December 3, 2023

International humanitarian law does not apply for everyone

UNRWA head, Philippe Lazzarini, called on "Israel" last month to consider its global reputation.

"The longer this war lasts, and the more people die, there will be a very strong feeling in the region that international humanitarian law does not apply the same for everyone, the further the region will be polarised, and the further we will be from any peace prospect in the future,” he said. “We should never ever underestimate this feeling not just in Gaza, but in the region."

We have just witnessed over the last few weeks the largest displacement of Palestinians since 1948.

The scale of destruction and loss is staggering. It is an exodus under our watch.

The younger generation, forced to live through traumas of ancestors or parents. pic.twitter.com/7p2dQiBhPf
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) November 22, 2023

"My only observation here is that imposing a siege on an entire population seems to me to be a collective punishment," he said.

Alongside Lazzarini's statement, UNRWA added the presence of an "exodus" of the population from Gaza, noting that the younger generation is "forced to live through traumas of ancestors or parents".

In a separate yet related statement, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian revealed on Sunday that documents obtained by the Resistance during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood confirm the Israeli plan to forcibly displace all Gaza residents to Egypt and West Bank inhabitants to parts of Jordan.

He pointed out that Washington, which makes media statements about the necessity of preventing the annihilation of civilians, actually supports the annihilation of Gaza's population by greenlighting the occupation's aggression.