Almost half a million Palestinians have fled Gaza, according to the United Nations, as an Israeli military incursion continues in the area.
Nearly 450,000 people have fled the Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip over the past week, according to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency), the UN agency that provides relief to Palestinian refugees.
“People face constant exhaustion, hunger and fear. Nowhere is safe. An immediate #ceasefire is the only hope,” UNRWA said in a Tuesday post on social media platform X.
Before the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) started plowing toward the city, at least a million Palestinians had been sheltering in Rafah.
Over the past week, no food has come in through the two major border crossings in the south of the strip, according to The Associated Press. The reported halt of food supplies comes as around 1.1 million Palestinians contend with drastic levels of hunger and the population is on the cusp of starvation, according to the UN.
The IDF has continued its fighting against Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, in northern Gaza. The IDF evacuation orders, issued on Saturday, have displaced around 100,000 people so far, according to U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.
“We remain deeply concerned about the lack of protection for civilians — and the lack of safety for humanitarian operations,” Haq said. “Civilians must be protected and have their basic needs met, whether they move or stay. Those who leave must have enough time to do so, as well as a safe route and a safe place to go.”
Israeli military operations and the bombardment of Gaza have killed around 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza Health Ministry officials. The war, now in its seventh month, started following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 Israelis and took around 250 hostages.
