The Israeli military’s evacuation order, which covers a third of the Gaza Strip, came this week after nearly nine months of war that has killed and wounded tens of thousands of people and left fewer and fewer people there to handle the forced displacement. A region at risk of famine.
The United Nations estimates that about 250,000 people will be affected, the largest since October, when about a million residents of northern Gaza were told to flee their homes, the organization said. said On Tuesday.
“This is an endless cycle of death and displacement,” UNRWA, the main UN agency helping Palestinians, said in a voice message from central Gaza on Wednesday. said Louis Wateridge, a spokesman for the agency. “People are losing hope, they are losing morale, they are facing another forced displacement and people are expressing here that there is no certainty in security.”
On Monday the Israeli army issued a warning to evacuate large areas of the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, and thousands of people began leaving on Tuesday. The order was followed by a night of heavy bombing in parts of southern and central Gaza. The order came after the Israeli military said Palestinian armed groups had fired about 20 rockets at Israeli towns from Gaza on Monday.
Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said on Tuesday that his colleagues were “deeply concerned” about the impact of the order.
“People are left with the impossible choice of having to relocate – a second or third time – to areas that rarely have places or services, or to stay in areas where they know there will be heavy fighting,” he said. said.
The order covers more than 90 school buildings, many of which, including four medical facilities, have turned into overcrowded shelters as people run out of places to stay, Mr. Dujarric said.
Among them is the European Hospital in Khan Younis, where many were housed and hundreds of patients were treated. After medical staff, patients and displaced people left the hospital, the Israeli army said on Tuesday that there was no need for people to leave it.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Wednesday that the hospital was no longer operational after many staff had left.
Although many in the evacuation zone have made the decision to flee the conflict again, relocation is becoming harder and harder as the war drags on.
“In terms of people being able to move, it’s been eight months of war, people are so tired, they’re exhausted, they’re malnourished,” Ms Wateridge said. In terms of health, he said, “People are very weak, there are more injuries, less medicine is available, less fresh fruit, less water.”
More people run on foot, so they carry less stuff with them.
Heba Usroff, 29, a singer who lives in Khan Younis, said she only became aware of the evacuation order when she saw hundreds of people leaving. Some were carrying mattresses, while others had only backpacks, he said.
“They’re not carrying much stuff at the moment,” Ms Usroff said. “I believe they were too tired to carry things from one place to another, and they didn’t have money to pay for the trucks.”
Mrs. Usroff said he remained with his family of five in their two-story home in a part of the city that was not subject to an evacuation order. He said he could only take his ID, cell phone and a change of clothes in case the tanks approached their home and they had to flee again.
According to the United Nations, the dangers people face when fleeing include unexploded bombs and other explosives. These are a particular danger to children.
An unexploded bomb killed a 9-year-old girl and wounded three others south of Khan Yunis, the organization said. And six children were injured in a similar blast in the city last month.
Abu Bakr Bashir Contributed reporting from London.
