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On Monday, a new evacuation order was issued for Gaza, marking the fourth directive of its kind since July and affecting an area of about three square kilometers.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has once again highlighted the severe implications of these repeated evacuation orders, which currently impact approximately 80 percent of the Gaza Strip. The agency emphasized that these measures leave civilians vulnerable to ongoing hostilities while depriving them of essential services.
‘Tightening siege’ in the north
According to OCHA, the governorate of North Gaza has faced an increasingly tight siege for nearly two months. This has rendered between 65,000 and 75,000 individuals without consistent access to basic necessities such as food, water, and healthcare, amid alarming rates of mass casualty incidents.
Furthermore, the dire situation extends across the entire population of Gaza, with humanitarian assessments indicating that all residents require assistance. This includes more than 58,000 individuals with disabilities, who are encountering additional barriers in obtaining food.
In the southern regions, many families are resorting to severe measures such as skipping meals or scavenging through rubbish for food. Some are even forced to consider distressing alternatives like arranging early marriages for children or compelling them into labor.
Aid missions hampered
OCHA has also raised alarms regarding the continued obstruction of humanitarian aid access amidst these catastrophic conditions.
Statistics from November reveal a troubling trend: out of 578 planned aid movements throughout Gaza that required coordination with Israeli authorities, only 41 percent were successfully facilitated. One-third of these efforts faced outright denial, while others encountered impediments or were canceled due to security and logistical issues.
The organization reiterated the urgent need for civilians to receive the humanitarian aid they require, stating, “Whether they move or whether they stay, they must have assistance and they must be protected – and those who flee must be allowed to return as soon as circumstances allow.”
Source
news.un.org