Hundreds of thousands of civilians remain trapped in Gaza as Israel’s latest offensive, centred on Jabaliya refugee camp, enters its fifth day, according to UN agencies and human rights groups.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa, said on social media platform X: “At least 400,000 people are trapped in the area.” He added that recent evacuation orders from Israeli authorities are forcing people to flee repeatedly, particularly from the Jabaliya camp.
The Israeli military says the large-scale raid aims to prevent Hamas fighters from staging further attacks and regrouping. However, Lazzarini reported that some Unrwa shelters and services are being forced to shut down for the first time since the conflict began, exacerbating hunger in northern Gaza.
“This recent military operation also threatens the implementation of the second phase of the #polio vaccination campaign for children,” Lazzarini warned.
Médecins Sans Frontières staff described the dire situation in northern Gaza. Sarah Vuylsteke, an MSF project coordinator, said: “The latest move to forcefully and violently push thousands of people from northern Gaza to the south is turning the north into a lifeless desert while aggravating the situation in the south.”
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and dozens of humanitarian facilities have been affected by the Israeli military’s latest forced evacuations across Gaza.
Palestinian medics reported at least 18 people, including five children and two women, were killed in overnight Israeli strikes.
The Gaza health ministry states that 42,010 Palestinians have been killed and 97,720 injured in Gaza by Israeli operations since October 2023.
