OCHA: Hostilities in Gaza city drive further displacement

04 September 2025

OCHA reports that over the past week, areas across the Gaza Strip have come under heavy bombardment, with drastic consequences for civilians.

Military ground operations have been especially intense in Gaza city, as well as in Jabalya and surrounding neighbourhoods in North Gaza – and this is driving further waves of displacement.

Humanitarian partners warn that if conditions worsen in northern areas of Gaza, especially Gaza city, this could endanger the operation of the few remaining water and sanitation facilities serving nearly 1 million people.

Today, colleagues from UN agencies and NGOs visited two displacement sites in the Al Karama area of North Gaza governorate – Ahali an Nazla and Ad Deira – to assess people’s conditions and needs. The visit followed reports of newly displaced families arriving.

Displaced families told humanitarian teams that they had been uprooted as many as 17 times. Those from An Nazla said they fled under fire, unable to take anything beyond the clothes they wore. Teams saw as many as four families crammed into a single shelter, others living under makeshift curtains, and babies sleeping out in the open. People reported challenges in accessing water and spoke of losing their incomes, leaving them unable to afford whatever goods that are available in the market. Many described water-related illnesses such as diarrhea and skin diseases.

They said they urgently need shelter materials and basic supplies ahead of the rainy season. With hygiene items lacking, people are cleaning themselves with toothpaste or washing their belongings with sand. Parents said their children had no access to school and expressed fears about sending them far from the site. Families also said they are cooking by burning plastic, as firewood is too costly and cooking gas unavailable.

Women highlighted the need for psychosocial support for themselves and their children. Some displaced people also recounted losing loved ones who were killed while seeking aid.

OCHA, which also participated in this assessment, stresses the urgent need for unimpeded humanitarian access and an end to forced displacement. It is essential that the Israeli authorities fully facilitate the transport of essential supplies at scale through all land routes, including those leading directly to the north.

Meanwhile, OCHA reports that inside Gaza, humanitarians’ movements continue to be delayed and impeded. Although fewer missions have been outright denied by the Israeli authorities, approved movements still take hours to complete, with teams having to wait on roads that are often dangerous, congested or impassable.

Between 27 August and 2 September, out of 86 attempts to coordinate planned movements with Israeli authorities across the Gaza Strip, 50 were facilitated – about 58 per cent. More than a quarter – 22 missions – were initially approved but then impeded on the ground, while five movements were denied and nine had to be canceled by the organizers for logistical, operational or security reasons.

Facilitated movements included missions to transfer fuel, move and rotate staff, and collect medical and water, sanitation and hygiene supplies. Denied movements included missions aiming to retrieve nutrition supplies, inspect a dumpsite to expand solid waste operations, and repair roads to ensure safe passage of trucks along routes.

Amid these incredibly difficult conditions, humanitarian partners continue to provide desperately needed aid, to the extent they are able. Between 17 and 30 August, cash assistance was distributed to 6,800 households, prioritizing newly displaced families or those identified as being highly vulnerable, enabling them to purchase essential supplies. Partners also reached more than 38,000 people, including more than 2,800 children, with mine and explosive ordnance risk education.

Meanwhile, partners continue their efforts to reunite children separated from their families during displacement and hostilities. In August alone, 73 children — nearly half of them girls – were reunified with their families and caregivers through partners.

However, these combined efforts are but a fraction of what is needed – and what is possible if the restrictions imposed on humanitarian operations were lifted.