Israeli military has stepped up operations in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis in the south.
Thousands of Palestinians have fled parts of Deir el-Balah in the Gaza Strip as the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders and its forces advanced deeper into the overcrowded central city.
Palestinian health officials said on Thursday, August 22, 2024, that Israeli strikes had killed at least 22 people across the enclave.
In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, a strike on a house killed 11 people, while another killed six, including a local journalist, in a house in Al-Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip. Five others were killed in separate strikes in the south.
The Gaza health ministry also announced in a statement that more than 40,265 Palestinians have been killed and 93,144 have been injured in Israeli military offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023.
The Deir el-Balah area was previously designated by Israel as a so-called “humanitarian safe zone” for civilians, but the Israeli army ordered residents, many of them displaced multiple times already, to leave before a new military operation there.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said certain neighbourhoods in Deir el-Balah were now deemed a “dangerous combat zone”, calling on residents to move westwards ahead of an imminent attack in the area.
The warning forced thousands of civilians to flee on foot, carrying small bags and some basic belongings such as blankets, bedding and a little food.
Last week, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said that Israel has reduced the “safe zones” in Gaza to just 11 percent of the territory, causing widespread panic and fear among displaced people.
Rights Groups Express Renewed Concerns
Also on Thursday, rights groups expressed renewed concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza after Israel’s latest evacuation orders in parts of the overcrowded central city of Deir al-Balah.
Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said that its staff are among the thousands of people who are having to flee central Gaza after Israel’s military issued new evacuation orders for Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis.
MSF Project Coordinator, Jacob Granger said in a statement, “The continuous forced displacement of people is inhumane.”
“People have no belongings left, nowhere left to go. There is no room to put tents up. The overcrowding, severe lack of water, and minimal sanitation services are fueling the spread of diseases. We are unable to keep up with the overwhelming needs.”
Jacob Granger
Also, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that Israel’s multiple evacuation orders have disrupted health services in Gaza.
“The distance of these [evacuation] orders is one kilometre or less from four key hospitals: Nasser Medical Complex, Al-Amal and Kuwaiti Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) hospitals, and Al Aqsa Hospital, hindering people’s access to healthcare,” OCHA said in its latest update on Israel’s war on Gaza.
The UN organisation added that the success of an upcoming polio vaccination campaign hinges on both sides committing to a humanitarian pause for at least seven days for each round of vaccinations.
“Without this, insecurity will prevent the campaign from being fully implemented and the risk of poliovirus spreading across the Strip and beyond remains high,” OCHA said.
Moreover, Dr. Jude Senkugu, the International Rescue Committee’s emergency health coordinator in the territory, said in the statement, “The news of polio in Gaza should be an alarm bell that more infectious diseases are on the way.”
“Without clean water, it is nearly impossible to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, as people do not have enough to drink, leaving them with no other choice but to drink contaminated water.”
Dr. Jude Senkugu
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