Residential areas are under attack, hospitals have been ordered to evacuate and electricity remains cut off, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday, citing reports from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.OCHA).
“While heavy bombing and ground operations continue in the north, medical facilities and other essential services are at risk of closure. Bakeries are already closing and workers and their families have been displaced,” he told reporters at the regular briefing in New York.
“No fuel or commercial goods are allowedand aid workers are only able to bring in a trickle of humanitarian aid through Israeli checkpoints in parts of the north.”
South Gaza was completely overwhelmed
People fleeing northern Gaza have limited options because southern Gaza is already overpopulated, polluted and completely lacking basic services.
“South Gaza is completely overwhelmed and cannot accommodate more people”, said Mr Dujarric.
As of Monday morning, more than 50,000 Palestinians, including women and children, have been displaced in northern Gaza, with some patients evacuated from hospitals in the affected areas.
“Many others in the north, especially in the Jabalya camp, are trapped in their homes and cannot leave safely. So far, few families have crossed Wadi Gaza towards the south,” he added.
Mr Dujarric noted that UN agencies, together with humanitarian partners, are closely monitoring people’s movements and providing essential assistance to displaced families where possible.
However, OCHA emphasizes that evacuation orders will not benefit citizens if they do not have a safe place or access to shelter, food, medicine or water, he said.
Aid workers are also forced to rely on a single, unsafe road designated by Israeli authorities to bring supplies from the Kerem Shalom border crossing, while facing hostilities and violent, armed looting fueled by the collapse of public order and security, he added.
© UNICEF
Buildings reduced to rubble in a neighborhood in southern Beirut.
Situation in Lebanon
Meanwhile, health care services in Lebanon have been hit hard since tensions escalated following October 7 attacks last year by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on communities in southern Israel.
Between October 8, 2023 and October 4, 2024, at least 96 primary health care centers and three hospitals were forced to close due to hostilities, with at least 77 health workers reportedly killed in the line of duty.
“Our health partners are supporting the Lebanese health authorities and delivering additional trauma and emergency packages to hospitals. They also supply medicines,” Mr Dujarric told journalists at the same briefing.
Water infrastructure has also been affected: at least 25 water supplies have been damaged, affecting 300,000 people.
“We and our partners are providing hundreds of thousands of liters of drinking water to people in collective shelters,” he added.
The move continues
He also noted that displacement orders continue, especially from southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut.
More than 540,000 people have been displaced since October 8 last year, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.
In response, UN agencies and partners continue to assist those in need. Since September 23, they have delivered more than 500,000 hot meals, as well as other crucial supplies.
“We and our partners, in close cooperation with the Government of Lebanon, continue to lead and coordinate relief efforts for displaced and affected people.”, said Mr Dujarric.
He also highlighted the Flash Appeal launched last week, which aims to provide life-saving supplies and protection to a million people. However, As of Monday, the appeal is only 12 percent funded, having received just $53 million.
“We call on donors to give. Give cash and give quickly.”