Gaza will need to vaccinate 95 percent of children under 10 to prevent the spread of polio. Gaza: Evacuation orders threaten UN aid center Peace and Security
Gaza’s already dire situation is worsening amid multiple evacuation orders, while humanitarian operations “continue where possible,” a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.
OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke rejected any suggestion that humanitarian operations in the enclave would cease. UN agencies and partners would continue to provide assistance to those in need despite the challenges posed by the fighting that began after Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7.
“I want to remind you that only 11 percent of the Gaza Strip is not under evacuation orders…We are therefore trying to work within this framework and continue our aid efforts,” Laerke said.
Forced displacement
An OCHA spokesman said a total of 16 evacuation orders had been issued in August alone, including for the UN humanitarian centre in Deir al-Balah.
Since Friday, the Israeli military has issued three new evacuation orders from more than 19 areas in northern Gaza and Deir al-Balah, where more than 8,000 people are sheltering, according to OCHA.
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Sunday’s Order Is Particularly Worrisome to evacuate the Deir el-Balah area, which houses offices, warehouses and staff of U.N. humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations, Laerke told reporters in Geneva. The order also affected Al-Aqsa hospital, two clinics, three wells, a water tank and a desalination plant.
Laerke added that this would seriously impact efforts to distribute aid and provide services to those in need.
Basic Needs
Availability of water and food remains a pressing issue. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNRWA), only three of 18 wells in Deir el-Balah are functioning due to military operations.
In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) stressed the need for an urgent polio vaccination campaign. The day before, 1.2 million doses of the vaccine were delivered to the enclave in coordination with the Israeli authorities. According to WHO experts, 95 percent of children under 10 will need to be vaccinated to prevent the spread of the disease.
“The vaccines have arrived in the sector, the cold chain equipment – the technical parts – are already in place,” said WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris, adding that staff training was expected to be completed on Tuesday. However, the key issue remains ensuring that there are guarantees of safety and access, she noted.
Health system
OCHA has issued an update citing Doctors Without Borders, according to which many people have decided to flee Al-Aqsa hospital, located in close proximity to the evacuation zone in Deir el-Balah. According to Gaza health authorities, only 100 of the approximately 650 patients currently remain in hospital.
WHO’s Margaret Harris stressed that in such emergency evacuations, health facilities are often looted, which then negatively impacts the ability of these clinics to resume providing care.
OCHA also said that the delivery of fuel and medicines remains “extremely challenging” due to the evacuations. Last week, Kamal Adwan Hospital and the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza again made urgent requests for diesel fuel to power generators.
As of August 20, the WHO has recorded 505 attacks on the enclave’s health system, killing 752 people, injuring 982, and damaging 32 hospitals and 63 ambulances.