UN’s halt to aid operations in Gaza will ‘affect the people deeply’
It’s miserable for everyone: Humanitarians, UN workers, people, journalists, everyone is in a state of panic and frustration. There has been zero protection for [UN aid workers] and that is why they have been unable to continue their operations.
Their warehouses are in the red zone and not only their warehouses, but also their guest houses and operations offices were based in Deir el-Balah. We’re talking about different organisations like the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, UNRWA and a lot of other UN agencies.
This is going to affect the people deeply. Not only were they displaced a couple of times – or for some people seven or eight times – but also they were completely relying on [UN] food aid.
Uncertainty over when UN can resume aid operations in Gaza
We are seeing troubling scenes in Deir el-Balah as desperate Palestinians are once again forcibly displaced after the most recent evacuation orders by the Israeli military over the weekend. For most, this is one of the numerous times they have been displaced. The sick and tired have not been spared.
According to a senior UN official, Israel has also ordered UN personnel running an operations centre in Deir el-Balah to evacuate immediately. Some UN staff have now moved to a safe house in al-Mawasi. Because of the evacuation orders, the UN aid operations on Monday were brought to a halt and it’s unclear when they might be able to resume.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees – UNRWA – on Monday continued to keep their shelters and health clinics open, albeit under difficult circumstances, while the rest of the UN system in Gaza is paused. It all comes as the UN was planning to roll out its polio vaccine in Gaza later this week.
The vaccines are in Gaza. But given the new evacuation orders and uncertainty on when the UN can again resume normal operations in Gaza, it’s unclear when or if the UN will be able to distribute them.
Palestinian children gather to receive food rations cooked by a charity kitchen near the ruins of houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, on August 26
Israeli forces order 5 mass displacements of civilians in 6 days: UN
Israel’s military issued five mass evacuation orders in six days last week – the largest number of orders for the forced displacement of Palestinian civilians issued in a single week since the start of the war on Gaza, the UN reports.
The five orders issued by the Israeli military between Monday and Saturday bring the total number of forced evacuations issued so far in August to 16, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says in its latest situation report.
Almost 90 percent of the entire area of the Gaza Strip has now been placed under orders to evacuate by Israel, OCHA reports, and the latest round of orders is “further worsening the humanitarian crisis affecting hundreds of thousands of people”.
Palestinian children and adults carry their belongings as they flee Deir el-Balah in central Gaza on Monday
Civil defence blames Israel for violent displacement tactics
Gaza’s civil defence has accused Israel of systematically displacing civilians through violent means, including firing guns as people flee newly declared red zones. The policy, the civil defence says, has killed or wounded hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach safety and blocked emergency responders from reaching victims.
Gaza residents endure long waits for food parcels amid worsening shortages
At an aid distribution point in northern Gaza, Palestinians endure long waits for food parcels from the World Food Programme. While these parcels are crucial, they often fail to meet nutritional needs, leading to health issues, especially among children. The scarcity of fresh produce and the reliance on canned goods have worsened the situation.
‘All that is left for us is the sea’
Louise Wateridge, a spokesperson for UNRWA, says that Palestinians in Gaza are being “forced from place to place… while surrounded by tanks and bombs”. In a post on X, Wateridge who is in Gaza, shared photographs showing rows of tents set up along Gaza’s coast and said, “All that is left for us is the sea”.
"All that is left for us is the sea"
Weeks of repeated displacement orders across south & middle #Gaza
The situation is catastrophic. Day in, day out, thousands of families are forced from place to place, most on foot with few belongings. All while surrounded by tanks & bombs. pic.twitter.com/UVmJhKfLrh
— Louise Wateridge (@UNWateridge) August 26, 2024
