ATHENS 

The displacement of Palestinians by Israel in Gaza hampers aid operations, a senior UN official has warned.

“Successive mass evacuation orders issued by Israeli forces amid hostilities have displaced 90 per cent of Gaza’s residents since October 2023, often multiple times, exposing them to harm and depriving them of the essentials to survive,” Muhannad Hadi, coordinator of the occupied Palestine territory, said in a statement on Thursday.

Drawing attention to the fact that only this month, the Israeli forces issued 12 evacuation orders, and hence displaced as many as 250,000 people, he said: “If evacuation orders are meant to protect civilians, the fact is that they are leading to the exact opposite.”

Noting that the Palestinians have been pushed into already overcrowded and ever-shrinking pockets, which are polluted and unsafe, he said “people are being deprived of access to services essential for their survival, including medical facilities, shelters, water wells and humanitarian supplies.”

“International humanitarian law demands that the parties protect civilians and meet their essential needs. The way forward is as clear as it is urgent: protect civilians, release the hostages, facilitate humanitarian access, agree on a ceasefire,” Hadi added.

Separately, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said "families are repeatedly displaced, carrying what they can amid military operations and summer heat. There is no escape from this exhausting cycle in the Gaza Strip."

Israel has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion, and displaced nearly the entire population of 2.3 million people, while also generating famine-like conditions and spread of disease.