Nearly half a million Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza since 18 March when Israel relaunched its bombing campaign in the enclave, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In a statement today, OCHA reported that the majority of those displaced had already been forced to flee multiple times before a temporary truce that began on 19 January. The cycle of repeated displacement has drastically worsened the humanitarian situation, compounding the suffering of civilians already living under extreme conditions.
OCHA emphasised that “ongoing hostilities across the Gaza Strip continue to have devastating effects on civilians, including death, displacement and the destruction of vital infrastructure.”
The office also noted that the Israeli occupation continues to deny coordinated humanitarian missions access. “Today, only two out of six planned and coordinated humanitarian movements were facilitated by Israel,” the statement said.
“Israel rejected four other missions, including one intended to bring fuel from Rafah,” it added, without providing further details on the reasons for rejection or the nature of the other missions and their humanitarian aid.
Relief organisations have reported a severe shortage of tents across Gaza. In places like Bani Suheila, displaced families have received little more than a few blankets and strips of fabric as temporary shelter.
OCHA also drew attention to a sharp rise in acute malnutrition, noting that the number of children receiving supplemental food aid plummeted by more than two-thirds in March.
The report added that Israeli-imposed restrictions are significantly hampering efforts to deliver medical supplies to hospitals, putting more lives at risk as facilities struggle to meet growing health needs.
Since the beginning of March, the occupation forces have been preventing the entry of any medical, food or other essential supplies, exacerbating the already dire health crisis in the Gaza Strip.
UN experts and rights groups have warned that this is part of Israel’s genocidal policy and efforts to clear out Gaza of Palestinians in order to annex the enclave.
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