UN estimates 90% of Gaza population displaced multiple times since October
Shafaq News/ The United Nations reported that at least nine out of ten people in the Gaza Strip have been displaced at least once since October 7.
"We are again at the crossroads where the UN and its partners have to reset their operations," said Andrea De Domenico, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian Territory, at a virtual news conference.
De Domenico noted that Israel's recent evacuation order in Khan Younis has impacted a third of the enclave, further exacerbating the crisis. "At the moment, we estimate that nine out of every ten people in the Gaza Strip have been internally displaced at least once, if not up to ten times, unfortunately, since October," he said.
De Domenico stated, "People in the last nine months have been moved around like pawns in a board game, forced from one location to the next."
He highlighted the severe living conditions that residents must rebuild each time, leading to increased suffering and a greater need for humanitarian aid. Stressing that the UN will continue its efforts in the region, he underscored the daily challenges in aid distribution.
Citing the Palestinian Authority's Bureau of Statistics, De Domenico said Gaza's population is 2.3 million, estimating that 110,000 have left Gaza and 37,000 have been killed. He emphasized that behind these numbers are people with grievances, fears, and hopes.
The UN official reported that Israeli officials claimed they did not intend to evacuate hospitals in the recent "evacuation" call, adding that Israel did not provide timely information on the evacuation order. "People have memories of what happened at Al-Shifa, Nasser, and other hospitals, where doctors, patients, and nurses were arrested and interrogated. Some were found days later in mass graves. So, fear is dominant," he said.
De Domenico noted that the European Hospital in Khan Younis, one of the last essential service-providing hospitals in the region, was also evacuated and is now "gone."
He reported that OCHA has seen Israel's attacks continue in so-called "safe zones" and that 247 of his colleagues have been killed. Many of these colleagues were killed while on duty, and some were killed at home with their families.
"Nowhere and no one is safe in Gaza", which has become a place "where people cannot find a safe refuge, and can't leave the front line".
