A Gaza resident collects water amid the destruction. Gaza war: clean water shortages and new evacuation orders Peace and security
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the deaths of people, including women and children, in Gaza following an Israeli strike on the Al-Tabaeen school where hundreds of families were sheltering.
According to a statement from his press office, the UN chief notes with alarm that the provisions of Security Council resolution 2735 (2024) are not being implemented. He welcomes the mediation efforts of the United States, Egypt and Qatar and calls on both sides to return to negotiations and reach an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
The Threat of Polio
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns that untreated sewage has formed pools near camps for internally displaced people in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
“Sewage is everywhere,” said UNICEF representative Salim Oweis, drawing attention to the destruction of water supply networks and treatment facilities as a result of the fighting. Gazans continue to suffer from diarrhea and skin diseases, according to the UN Children’s Fund.
UN aid agencies are calling for a ceasefire to allow the delivery of oral polio vaccines after the virus was found in the enclave’s wastewater.
Evacuations continue
The Israeli military on Sunday ordered the evacuation of parts of the city of Khan Younis, citing significant terrorist activity in the “humanitarian zone” it has declared, including rockets fired into Israel from the al-Jalaa area.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has drawn attention to the impact of multiple evacuation orders issued since Thursday, with an estimated 75,000 people forced to leave areas of Khan Younis.
“One elderly man was desperately trying to push his wheelchair, which kept getting stuck in the sand,” said UNRWA spokeswoman Louise Wateridge. She said the man’s face showed signs of exhaustion.
“Children were carrying empty water cans, as they are one of their most valuable items. Now, anything you can put water in is one of your most valuable assets… People were carrying mattresses, jerry cans, empty bottles and nothing else because they can only take what they can get their hands on,” Wateridge added.
An UNRWA worker noted that families were continuing to seek shelter in Deir el-Balah and western Khan Younis. “Both areas are already severely overcrowded, with little affordable housing and services left, and can barely accommodate the additional influx of displaced people,” she said.