Crisis deepens as 400,000 people trapped in northern Gaza: UNRWA

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
9 Oct 2024 12:32

The situation has reached a critical point in northern Gaza, leading to the closure of several shelter and service centers operated by UNRWA for the first time since the war began, as per UNRWA's Commissioner-General.

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Displaced Palestinians inspect their tents destroyed by Israeli bombardment, adjunct to a UNRWA facility west of Rafah city, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. (AP)

Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), confirmed on Wednesday that "at least 400,000 people are trapped in northern Gaza" amid the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians in the besieged strip.

In a press statement, Lazzarini stated that "Israeli evacuation orders are forcing people to flee repeatedly, especially from the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza."

He explained that a large number of Palestinians refuse to "evacuate" because they recognize that there is no safe place in the Gaza Strip, noting the "widespread and worsening famine throughout the area, with essential supplies unavailable."

Lazzarini revealed that several of the agency's shelter and service centers have had to close for the first time since the onset of the war.

He also warned that the continued bombing threatens the implementation of the second phase of the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip.

'Israel' attacks hospitals in Gaza, commits new massacres

For the 369th consecutive day, the Israeli war machine relentlessly persists in its brutality, with tens of thousands of civilians killed throughout the Gaza Strip since October 7 last year.

In a related context, Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza reported that 12 people were martyred, including nine members of the same family, in Israeli airstrikes that targeted two homes in the al-Shujaiyah neighborhood of eastern Gaza City.

Additionally, the bodies of dozens of martyrs were retrieved from the streets of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, while Israeli invading forces prevented rescue teams from reaching the area.

Explosions from Israeli artillery echoed in various neighborhoods of Gaza City, coinciding with gunfire from Israeli drones in the Al-Tuwam area in the northwest and around Al-Sikka Street in the southeast.

Our correspondent also reported that three martyrs were killed in an Israeli attack on a tent sheltering forcibly displaced people west of Al-Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

In the early hours of the morning, the bodies of four martyrs, including a child, were recovered from the rubble of a house in the Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip following an airstrike.

Meanwhile, "Israel" continues to bomb Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza. This comes shortly after the Israeli occupation entity threatened three hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate all medical personnel, patients, and displaced individuals and families, as it continues its savage onslaught that particularly targets the most vulnerable.