UNRWA: 400,000 Palestinians trapped in northern Gaza

The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has reported that over 400,000 people remain trapped in northern Gaza.

Israeli evacuation orders have forced many residents, particularly from the overcrowded Jabalia refugee camp, to flee repeatedly. However, Lazzarini noted that large numbers of Palestinians have refused to leave, recognising that no area in Gaza is truly safe amid the relentless bombardment.

He wrote on X: “Recent evacuation orders from the Israeli Authorities are forcing people to flee again and again, especially from Jabalia Camp. Many are refusing because they know too well that no place anywhere in Gaza is safe.”

Northern #Gaza: no end to hell.
At least 400,000 people are trapped in the area.

Recent evacuation orders from the Israeli Authorities are forcing people to flee again & again, especially from Jabalia Camp.

Many are refusing because they know too well that no place anywhere…

— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) October 9, 2024

On Monday, Israeli tanks advanced into Jabalia, the largest of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic urban refugee camps, after encircling it, residents said. Soon after the rocket volley, the Israeli occupation military expanded evacuation orders in Jabalia to cover areas in the northern towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.

Residents said Israeli forces pounded Jabalia from the air and the ground and medics said several Palestinians had been killed, with rescuers unable to reach some of the victims. Quadcopters were used to target civilians complying with evacuation orders and trying to leave the camp.

Lazzarini also warned: “The continued bombing threatens the implementation of the second phase of the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip.”

Israel has ordered all Palestinians to move out of northern Gaza as it declares the area a ‘military zone’ and extends the buffer zone into the Strip. Palestinians have been pushed into a narrow strip of land along the Gaza coast with a population density of 30,000 people per square kilometre.

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