“Around 86% of the Gaza Strip are already in evacuation orders or are located in zones that have been preached in Israel. The rest of the area, including Gaza city and parts of the south coast, are overcrowded and unequipped to maintain human survival on a large scale,” OCHA said in a news release on Monday.
The office also warns Israel’s plans to take over Gaza city, forcing Palestinians north of the Gaza Strip to move south.
Plans to intensify Gaza’s military operations will have “terrifying humanitarian effects” on those who have already exhausted the basics necessary for survival, malnutrition, bereaved families, evacuated, displaced and taken away, OCHA said.
“Forcing hundreds of thousands of people to move south is a recipe for further disasters and could result in forced relocation,” he added.
He also said hospitals in southern Gaza are working several times more capable as they are forced to deal with patients in the northern region with “life-threatening consequences.”
Meanwhile, Stephen Dujaric, a spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the situation in Gaza is “more than catastrophic.”
Dujarric expressed concern over the announcement released simultaneously with Israel that it would ease aid restrictions while planning further military operations in the region.
The Israeli war has killed at least 62,004 people and injured 156,230 people since early October 2023, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
MNA