The directive was issued by the Israeli military following evacuation orders that affected many areas of the city in recent days.
“These civilians must be protected – and their basic needs must be met, whether they flee or stay,” OCHA speak.
“This is what we mean when we say that all parties must respect international humanitarian law at all times.”
Ceasefire talks resume
The situation is evolving as a new round of talks towards a ceasefire in Gaza resumed in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday.
“Obviously we are following these developments very closely. The secretary-general is being briefed,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in New York.
“Our message to all sides is to find the political courage to reach this agreement – for the sake of the people of Gaza, for the sake of the people of Israel, for the sake of the hostages, to implement this agreement.”
Relief efforts affected
Meanwhile, the United Nations and partners continue efforts to assist displaced communities across Gaza.
However, OCHA noted that the evacuation orders “also forced the humanitarian community to re-establish their relief operations multiple times.”
“Aid workers are responding, but what they can provide is still far short of what is needed,” the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhannad Hadi, said on Wednesday in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
“More urgent funding is needed – as well as a safe, enabling environment inside Gaza,” he stressed.
Mr Hadi visited Deir Al-Balah on Tuesday, where he witnessed first-hand the consequences of the loss of public order and safety as he entered and exited the Kerem Shalom border crossing, OCHA reported.
“He saw groups of people holding sticks waiting for trucks to leave the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza. All the trucks he passed were badly damaged, with broken windshields, mirrors and roofs,” the agency added.
The humanitarian coordinator also observed bags of fortified flour from the World Food Programme (World food program) and the United Nations agency assisting Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) are scattered along the road leading out of Kerem Shalom.
The senior official “also found that the city of Khan Younis had largely been reduced to sand and rubble, with not a single structure remaining intact.”
Meet Palestinian women
While in Gaza, Mr. Hadi met with groups of women who told him about the dire conditions in the refugee camps.
Many women have cut their hair because of lice, difficulty accessing shampoo and other personal hygiene products, and lack of privacy, for example. Others have expressed despair at being unable to provide for their families, especially disabled and ill relatives.
Women also reported extreme overcrowding at evacuation sites that could lead to tensions within communities. They also said overcrowding, desperation and a breakdown in public order and safety were fueling an increase in sexual and gender-based violence.
Mr. Hadi also visited the IMC Field Hospital in Deir Al-Balah together with the Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Hanan Balkhy.
“Mr. Hadi said he was heartened to see doctors and nurses providing trauma care to hundreds of critically injured patients, despite near-impossible operating conditions, including the inability to obtain basic medical supplies such as gauze,” the agency said.
Attacks in the West Bank
OCHA also reported on Wednesday that it hadrecorded more than 1,000 attacks by Israeli settlersagainst Palestinians in the West Bank since October, causing casualties and damage to property, trees and saplings.
Nearly 1,400 people, including 660 children, in more than two dozen Bedouin and pastoralist communities were displaced during the same period due to settler violence and access restrictions.
OCHA added that Israeli forces in the West Bank killed 14 Palestinians between July 2 and 8, mostly in two operations in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarm and nearby refugee camps.
