UNRWA Warns of Lack of Shelter in Gaza amid Israeli Strikes
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The UN agency for Palestinian refugees sounded the alarm over the lack of safe spaces in Gaza, as Israeli strikes continue to force thousands of families to flee.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reiterated its urgent call for a ceasefire in Gaza, highlighting the dire situation of displaced families who have nowhere safe to shelter due to ongoing Israeli evacuation orders.
In a statement posted on X, UNRWA reported that the latest Israeli evacuation orders have reduced the so-called humanitarian zone in Gaza to just 11% of its original size.
This comes after the Israeli military ordered residents sheltering in the northern Khan Yunis and eastern Deir al-Balah areas to evacuate within hours.
Further evacuation orders were issued for the Maghazi and Zawayda refugee camps in central Gaza.
UNRWA expressed deep concern, stating, "Thousands of families continue to be displaced in Gaza as Israeli authorities issue new evacuation orders. The so-called 'humanitarian zone' has shrunk to just 11% of the Gaza Strip, causing chaos and fear among the displaced. They have nowhere safe to go."
The agency renewed its call for an immediate ceasefire, stressing the urgent need to protect civilians.
UNRWA Communications Officer Louise Wateridge echoed this sentiment in a separate post, describing the repeated displacement orders as leaving people "trapped in this endless nightmare."
Gaza's rescue services have also raised concerns, estimating that the shrinking of the safe zone puts the lives of some 450,000 displaced Palestinians at risk, worsening the already severe humanitarian crisis.
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas condemned the Israeli evacuation orders, calling them "a direct continuation of the policy of collective punishment of Gazans," and accusing Israel of using dispossession as a weapon against civilians.
Residents of Gaza have reported that areas previously designated as safe have already been targeted by Israeli strikes, leaving no truly safe place in the besieged territory.
The Israeli military campaign in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, following a large-scale operation by Hamas in retaliation for what it described as Israel's intensified aggressions against Palestinians.
Since the onset of the Israeli genocidal war, at least 40,074 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and injured 92,537 others.