Devastation in Gaza after “new waves” of intense Israeli bombardment reported by the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
This article is published in association with United Nations.
It has now been three and a half weeks since Israel imposed a complete blockade on all aid into Gaza, despite daily efforts by UN humanitarians to secure fresh access, they said in an update from the shattvered enclave.
And as supplies of food, medicine and other supplies run low, aid teams are increasingly concerned about growing anxiety in bread lines outside the enclave’s remaining bakeries.
“Most attempts by humanitarian organizations to coordinate access with Israeli authorities within #Gaza result in #AccessDenied,” the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said in an online post.
Five out of seven such attempts were denied on Monday and six out of nine were rejected on Tuesday, it explained.
Hospitals need protection
Medical teams in Gaza are also exhausted “and urgently need protection and reinforcement” from ongoing strikes across the Strip, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said on Wednesday.
It cited new reports of attacks against health workers, ambulances and hospitals and warned of “hundreds of casualties, a severe drop in medical stocks and a lack of equipment, blood units and personnel” since the ceasefire ended.
“No one is safe. The world must have zero tolerance for atrocities,” the UN agency insisted.
Nearly 800 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in recent days following the resumption of Israeli bombardment on 18 March, according to the health authorities. This includes a reported 38 individuals killed in the last 24 hours.
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In just the last week, eight aid workers have been killed in the enclave, bringing the total killed in Gaza to 399. That number includes at least 289 UN personnel, OCHA said, with staffers from the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) killed last Wednesday in an apparent Israeli tank strike on a United Nations compound in Deir al-Balah that also seriously wounded six others. Israel denied responsibility for the attack.
Three of those injured worked in support of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) which is involved in clearing unexploded ordnance in Gaza.
OCHA noted that on 20 March, the Israeli military re-deployed along the eastern and central part of the “Netzarim corridor” in Gaza. Movement between the north and south of Gaza was only allowed via the Al Rashid coast road.
Evacuation order misery
These military activities and new displacement orders issued by the Israeli military have triggered “new waves” of displacement across Gaza, with more than 142,000 people likely uprooted between 18 and 23 March, the UN aid office said.
“Israeli evacuation orders have covered 55 square kilometres across six areas of the #Gaza Strip – nearly the size of Manhattan,” OCHA said in an online post.
Around 15 per cent of the enclave has been impacted by evacuation orders – in addition to “no-go zones” that run along borders and in central Gaza.
The Israeli Government’s decision to ban the entry of humanitarian aid and any other supplies via all land crossings into Gaza is the longest such closure since October 2023, OCHA added, warning that gains made during the ceasefire to support survivors “have been reversed”.
To date, at least 50,000 Palestinians have been confirmed dead by local authorities with 113,828 wounded since the war erupted on 7 October 2023, in response to Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel that left more than 1,100 dead and more than 250 taken hostage.
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