The UN has been forced to suspend aid operations in Gaza after Israel ordered new evacuation orders for Deir el-Balah, a town in central Gaza, according to a senior UN official.
“We cannot achieve results today under the current circumstances,” the official said, briefing reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York on Monday.
The official noted that the United Nations moved its main command center and most of its personnel in Gaza to Deir el-Bala after Israel ordered an evacuation of Rafah in southern Gaza in May.
“Where do we go now?” the official asked, adding that UN staff had to move so quickly that equipment was left behind.
“We won’t leave [Gaza] “Because people need us. We are trying to balance the needs of the population with the needs for the safety and security of UN personnel,” the official stressed.
After the official briefing, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric clarified that UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, can continue to operate because it is located within the population, and that the problem the official described was delivering aid across the Palestinian territories.
“What we’re talking about is that UNRWA is everywhere,” Dujarric said. “So if they’re there and can help, they’ll help and they’ll distribute. [But] we [other UN agencies] “You can’t move people from point A to point B. You can’t reach people.”
Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo reports from UN headquarters that the UN is in dire straits as Israeli forces repeatedly order evacuations from central Gaza, halting UN humanitarian operations.
“The top official said they have exceeded the limits of their own risk assessment. The official said 90 staff have been moved to safe housing in al-Mawashi. … There are 140 international staff struggling to find homes. … Some are having to sleep in their cars,” Elizondo said.
“this [halt of aid] “It’s temporary, but… right now we can’t do that because of practical measures,” Elizondo added.
Palestinian migration
The Israeli military issued an updated evacuation order on Sunday for Deir el-Bala, previously classified as a safe zone, and confirmed it was expanding its ground offensive on the outskirts of Deir el-Bala.
Evacuation orders have forced Palestinians from their homes and shelters, with no idea when or if they will return.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said food distribution centers and community kitchens in the Gaza Strip are increasingly experiencing disruptions as a result of Israel’s expanded evacuation order.
“WFP operations have been severely hampered by the escalating conflict, restrictions on border crossings and damaged roads. Over the past two months, WFP has had to reduce the contents of its food parcels in Gaza as aid flows have declined and supplies have been limited amid ongoing catastrophic hunger,” the agency said.
UNRWA’s chief field officer, Sam Rose, said the agency was still providing health and other services on Monday, but noted that while UNRWA operates differently from the rest of the U.N. system, it still faces the same challenges.
“We are being pushed into tighter and tighter pockets of Gaza,” he told reporters on Monday.
“The humanitarian zone that Israel declared has shrunk. It is now about 11 percent of the entire Gaza Strip. But it is not 11 percent of the land that is fit for habitation, fit for services, fit for life.”
Al Jazeera’s Hind Koudari reports from Deir el-Bala, where the evacuation orders have made living conditions dire for everyone.
“Everyone is in a state of panic and frustration. We are talking about more than a million people in the intermediate zone and those who have flocked to Deir el-Bala,” she said.
“UN people are humanitarian workers and they have no protection at all, so they cannot continue their work,” she said, adding that if the UN withdrew its support, it would have a huge impact on the people of Gaza who need help.
Human rights groups and international monitors have condemned the evacuation orders and the mass suffering they have caused.
Palestinians are often attacked by Israel not only while en route to such “safe areas,” but also after arriving at their destination.
One Palestinian said he did not know where he and his sick son would sleep in the coming days because of the evacuation order.
“On the street! Imagine this. I’m on the street with six children,” Rasim al-Atab told Al Jazeera, sitting in the hospital yard with his son.
“We have been driven out four times – from northern Gaza, Khan Yunis and Deir el-Bala. Nobody cares about us,” he said.
“People want to live a normal life. People are looking for money, but instead they are dying on the streets.”
