Over 75,000 Palestinians displaced in southwest Gaza in past few days: UN official

Palestinians living in the area migrate to the west part of the city with their belongings. following the Israeli army’s evacuation warning at Hamad City in Khan Yunis, Gaza on August 11, 2024. [Doaa Albaz – Anadolu Agency]

More than 75,000 Palestinians have been displaced in southwest Gaza in the past few days, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Sunday, Anadolu reports.

“Over the decades, Palestinian civilians have been caught up in wars and conflicts, far too many times,” Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA commissioner-general, said on X.

“Just in the past few days, more than 75,000 people have been displaced in south west Gaza,” he added.

Lazzarini noted that the Israeli authorities issued additional orders overnight forcing more people to flee, “again and again.”

Some of the fleeing Palestinians are only able to carry their children with them, “some carry their whole lives in one small bag,” he added.

“They are going to overcrowded places where shelters are already overflowing with families. They have lost everything and need everything,” Lazzarini said.

“Unlike in other wars, the people of Gaza are trapped and have nowhere to go,” he added

The Israeli army issued late Saturday and early Sunday evacuation orders for residents in the Gaza Strip the latest of which was issued for the “humanitarian safe zone” in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza Strip.

This marks the third time in about a week that the Israeli army has expanded its evacuation orders in Khan Yunis, where it announced the start of an offensive military operation on Friday.

Despite appeals Thursday from mediators, including Egypt, the US and Qatar, to stop hostilities and reach a ceasefire and a hostage exchange agreement, Israel persists with its deadly onslaught against Gaza.

The Israeli onslaught has killed nearly 39,800 victims since October.

More than 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice.

Read: Palestine presidency holds US government accountable for Israel’s killing of over 100 in Gaza strike

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.