Displaced Gazans 'sleeping amid trash and debris': UN

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The UN on Tuesday reported at least 250,000 people were displaced in the Gaza Strip since July 22 due to Israel's "evacuation orders," with some "sleeping amid trash and debris."

The number “is more than 11% of Gaza's population," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference.

Citing information obtained from colleagues on the ground, Dujarric said thousands returned to parts of Khan Younis on Tuesday as he expressed concern about the "repeated evacuation orders."

"Many displaced families are staying in overcrowded makeshift shelters or tents in urgent need of repair. Others have returned to destroyed buildings, where they are sleeping amid trash and debris," he said.

Dujarric, sharing data from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), reported that Gaza's solid waste management system has collapsed. He said there are no solid waste sites and waste is being piled up in 140 different areas, which poses severe "environmental and health risks, including a spike in diarrheal illness and acute respiratory infections."

In Libya, Dujarric noted that a large number of refugees have moved from Sudan to Libya since April 2023. He announced that $5.3 million in aid would be provided to Libya from the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

Dujarric further stated that the aid will support approximately 195,000 Sudanese refugees and host communities in Libya, and emphasized that the assistance will be used to provide "urgent life-saving assistance and kick-start humanitarian response while further resources are being mobilized."

"More than 15 months of conflict has forced one-fifth of Sudan’s population to flee. This includes more than 2.1 million people who have crossed into neighboring countries," he said.