UN agency: Israeli evacuation order in central Gaza ‘devastating’ to aid efforts

An Israeli military order for residents and displaced people in Gaza’s Deir el-Balah area to move south dealt “another devastating blow” to humanitarian efforts in the war-ravaged territory, the UN’s OCHA aid agency says.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs “warns that today’s mass displacement order issued by the Israeli military has dealt yet another devastating blow to the already fragile lifelines keeping people alive across the Gaza Strip,” it says in a statement.

On Sunday morning, the Israeli military ordered those in the central Gaza area to leave immediately due to imminent operations, with whole families seen lugging their few belongings and heading south.

OCHA says UN staff are “remaining” in the territory and their coordinates have been shared with “relevant parties.”

“These locations — as with all civilian sites — must be protected, regardless of displacement orders,” OCHA says, warning that any damage to health clinics, water infrastructure, and aid warehouses in the area “will have life-threatening consequences.”

Between 50,000 and 80,000 people were in the area when the evacuation order was issued, according to OCHA’s initial estimates.