Displacement in Gaza City – Highlights of the noon briefing by Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General (excerpt on Occupied Palestinian Territory) 09 July 2024

09 July 2024

(Excerpt)

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OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

Our colleagues from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs describe the displacement of thousands of people in Gaza City as dangerously chaotic. This follows recent Israeli evacuation orders instructing people to leave into or through neighbourhoods where [active] fighting is taking place – or areas where separate evacuation orders were later issued.

People have been observed fleeing in multiple directions, not knowing which way may be the safest. Many have been displaced under fire and bombardment, with very few being able to take their possessions.

Civilians in Gaza must be protected and have their basic needs met, whether they move or stay. Those who leave must have enough time to do so, as well as a safe route and a safe place to go.

OCHA has warned that active hostilities in these areas are preventing aid organizations from accessing warehouses. They’ve also been unable to restock, resupply or assess people’s needs. The largest bakery supported by the United Nations in Gaza was among those forced to shut down following the latest evacuation orders – with significant amounts of flour, sugar and yeast now expected to be lost. And you had asked yesterday for an update on fuel supplies into Gaza: yesterday afternoon, humanitarian colleagues managed to provide fuel to multiple bakeries to run backup generators in the absence of electricity across the Gaza Strip. As a result, the number of operational bakeries increased to 10, including seven in Deir al Balah and three in northern Gaza. This is out of 18 bakeries that are supported by the UN in Gaza.

However, this fuel is only enough to keep these bakeries operating for another day or two.

Overall, humanitarian colleagues could bring just over half a million litres of fuel into Gaza during the first week of July – and over 2 million litres for the month of June. In both cases, this was less than a fifth of the estimated 400,000 litres required every day to sustain humanitarian, medical and related operations.

Efforts to bring fuel and critical humanitarian assistance into Gaza continue to be impeded by active hostilities, damaged roads, access limitations, and the lack of public order and safety. These factors hamper movements along the main humanitarian cargo route from the Kerem Shalom crossing to Khan Younis and Deir al Balah.

And also, just to flag that the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhannad Hadi, visited Deir al Balah in Gaza. He met with UN and NGO colleagues, including representatives of women-led organizations, who spoke about the dire conditions for women in the Gaza Strip.

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