80% of the Gaza Strip under evacuation orders, Highlights of the noon briefing by Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General – 09 August 2024

09 August 2024

(Excerpt)

/…

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

Turning to the situation in Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says we and our partners estimate that at least 60,000 Palestinians may have moved toward western Khan Younis in the past 72 hours. This follows yesterday’s order by the Israeli military for residents in parts of central and eastern Khan Younis to immediately evacuate. On Wednesday, the Israeli military twice ordered people in parts of northern Gaza to evacuate.

OCHA says the parts of northern and southern Gaza newly placed under evacuation this week encompass nearly 43 square kilometres. Initial tracking by our partners in Gaza say these areas include some 230 displacement sites; more than three dozen water, sanitation and hygiene facilities; and five functional health facilities, including the Indonesian Hospital.

More than 80 per cent of the Gaza Strip is now assessed as having been placed under evacuation orders since October of last year.
OCHA says the entry of aid supplies into Gaza remains challenging due to active hostilities, access constraints, high levels of insecurity, the lack of public order and safety, and other factors.

As a result, the volume of aid able to be brought from the operational border crossings into Gaza has decreased by more than half since early May, when the Rafah crossing was closed. It has gone from a daily average of 169 trucks in April to fewer than 80 trucks in June and July.

At the Kerem Shalom crossing, the decrease was even steeper over the past three months, with a more than 80 per cent drop in aid cargo that was brought into Gaza from that border crossing.

Meanwhile, humanitarian assistance missions requiring coordination with Israeli authorities continue to be denied and impeded. OCHA reports that as of yesterday, just 24 of 67 planned aid missions to northern Gaza this month have been facilitated by Israeli authorities. The rest were either denied, impeded or canceled due to security, logistical or operational reasons. The same was true for southern Gaza: Out of nearly 100 planned humanitarian missions, about half were facilitated by Israeli authorities – and again, the rest were denied, impeded or canceled.

/…