OCHA: Hostilities, displacement orders strain Gaza’s fragile lifelines

21 July 2025

OCHA reports that amid ongoing shelling, displacement and destruction in Gaza, OCHA continues to receive deeply concerning reports of severely malnourished people who are arriving at medical points and hospitals in extremely poor health.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Health reported that more than a dozen people, including children, have reportedly died from hunger in the last 24 hours.

On Sunday, a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy carrying vital food assistance crossed from Israel into Gaza and encountered large crowds of desperate and hungry civilians. In a statement, WFP said that as the convoy approached, the surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire. The agency said it is deeply concerned and saddened by this tragic incident resulting in the loss of countless lives. Many more suffered life-threatening injuries. These people were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation.

Nasser Medical Complex was overwhelmed with dozens of cases and is stretched well beyond capacity at 300 percent, with the facility referring dozens of injured patients to field hospitals.

UN agencies warn that conditions in Gaza are near impossible on the ground. Civilians must be protected, and the consistent and safe delivery of aid at scale must be facilitated to reach more than 2 million people on the brink of famine.

Over the weekend, the Israeli military issued another displacement order in Deir al Balah spanning four neighbourhoods. OCHA warns that this mass displacement order has dealt yet another devastating blow to the already fragile lifelines keeping people alive across the Gaza Strip. The directive cuts through Deir al Balah all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, further fragmenting the Strip and pushing people into overcrowded, unsafe areas with no shelter or essential supplies.

Initial estimates indicate that between 50,000 and 80,000 people were in the area at the time the order was issued, including some 30,000 people sheltering in 57 displacement sites. Several primary health clinics and medical points were within the newly designated area, as is the Southern Gaza Desalination Plant, and other vital water infrastructure.

The plant is a main source of drinking water for internally displaced people in Al Mawasi, as it serves hundreds of thousands of people, producing about 2,500 cubic metres per day. The loss of this facility would be catastrophic.

OCHA notes that as of early July, 80 per cent of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities fall within the Israeli-militarized zone or in areas that have been placed under displacement orders. In June, it was estimated that 93 per cent of households have no water.

UN staff are remaining in Deir al Balah, spread across dozens of premises. Their coordinates have been shared with the relevant parties. These locations – as with all civilian sites – must be protected, regardless of the issuance of displacement orders.

Meanwhile, the UN’s humanitarian partners have relocated to the northern part of Deir al Balah or Al Mawasi.

OCHA says that 87.7 per cent of Gaza is now under displacement orders or within Israeli-militarized zones, squeezing 2.1 million people into a fragmented area of the Strip, where hardly any services are available.

UN agencies note that about 1.35 million people need shelter and household items. Harsh weather, humidity, overcrowding, as well as frequent disassembly and reassembly of tents and tarpaulins, lead to a shorter lifespan of shelter items, further exacerbating the dire situation. No shelter supplies have been allowed to enter Gaza for more than four months – 140 days.

Meanwhile, the fuel crisis continues. The limited quantities that have been allowed to enter Gaza in recent days are hardly sufficient. UN agencies and partners are prioritizing this fuel for the most critical operations. The Israeli authorities must facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed humanitarian assistance – including fuel, food, aid and shelter items – into and throughout the Strip, to enable humanitarians to provide life-saving services for the deprived population.

The new Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, today met the Prime Minister of the State of Palestine, Dr. Mohamed Mustafa, in Ramallah. In a press conference, Dr. Alakbarov called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages, and the lifting of all restrictions on access to people in Gaza. To address immediate needs, he said humanitarian organizations must be able to use traditional systems of aid delivery, noting that these are currently undermined by violence, including armed looting and recurrent shootings at civilians seeking aid – which he said must be independently investigated.

Dr. Alakbarov further warned that the West Bank is on a dangerous trajectory that – if not reversed – will further complicate the two-state solution.