UN reports mass displacement towards southern Gaza

The United Nations stated on Sunday that Israel's directive to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip has resulted in "mass displacement" towards the southern Palestinian region. 

Since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, the Israeli state has relentlessly bombarded the besieged Gaza Strip.

Residents of Gaza living in the northern areas, approximately 1.1 million individuals out of the total population of 2.4 million, have been urged to flee to the south as quickly as possible.

The United Nations' Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office noted, "Mass displacement from northern Gaza to the south has been ongoing since Friday morning, following Israel's order to evacuate areas before military operations." 

They further added, "Humanitarian partners report a significant increase in the number of internally displaced people over the past 24 hours, but the exact figure is unknown."

As of 23:00 (20:00 GMT) on Thursday, there were 423,378 internally displaced people within the Gaza Strip, according to the Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office.

The UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) has received around 64% of them in 102 buildings used as emergency shelters.

The Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office clarified, "There are approximately 33,054 internally displaced people in 36 public schools." 

They further added, "Estimates indicate that over 153,000 internally displaced people, whose homes have been destroyed, damaged, or who left their homes due to fear, are residing with relatives and neighbors or in other public facilities."


AFP