OCHA warns that ground operation could push thousands ‘over the edge’

14 August 2025

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that air strikes and shelling have intensified in parts of Gaza city over the past couple of days, as attacks also continue in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. Strikes are hitting residential buildings and tents housing displaced people, resulting in a high number of deaths and injuries.

OCHA warns that if the announced Israeli ground operation in Gaza city moves ahead, thousands of families already enduring appalling humanitarian conditions could be pushed over the edge.

With 86 per cent of the Gaza Strip now in Israeli-militarized zones or under displacement orders, aid groups lack the access and supplies to address their dire needs at the scale required. Any further loss of space, more mass displacement orders, or intensified attacks in populated areas would have devastating consequences.

In this context, OCHA notes that the Israeli ban on the entry of shelter materials has been in effect for over five months. In recent days, temperatures have soared, and hundreds of thousands of people are now left without protection from the heat. Nearly everyone in Gaza has been displaced at least once since the war began, and the makeshift shelters they managed to improvise or acquire have often either worn out or been abandoned in the rush to flee.

Meanwhile, yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) supported the medical evacuation of 38 patients from Gaza, mostly children, alongside nearly 100 companions. They were taken to Italy, Belgium and Türkiye. In a social media post, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that more than 14,800 patients still need life-saving medical care that is not available in Gaza.

He called on more countries to step forward and offer support – and for referral routes to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to be restored before it is too late. WHO also reiterated the UN’s shared call for a ceasefire, stressing that peace is the best medicine.