Only 11% of Gaza Strip spared from evacuation orders: UN official

By Nur Asena Erturk

Only 11% of the Gaza Strip is not under evacuation orders, a UN official said Tuesday.

Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office, said at a UN briefing in Geneva that since Friday, the Israeli army issued three new evacuation orders “for over 19 neighborhoods in northern Gaza and in Deir al-Balah with more than 8,000 people staying in these areas, many sheltering in displacement sites.”

The number of massive evacuation orders in August alone rose to 16, Laerke said, adding that it affected UN and humanitarian staff, non-governmental organizations as well as service providers “along with their families.”

“These relocations took place at very short notice and in dangerous conditions. Our humanitarian colleagues on the ground are particularly worried about the order issued Sunday,” he said.

Laerke also said that the Kerem Shalom border crossing was “technically open for entry, but it is too dangerous for aid organizations to actually go there and pick up whatever aid is being dropped off just across the border.”

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in nearly 40,500 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 93,600 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.