Gaza Herald- The United Nations (UN) reports that more than 796,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced within the Gaza Strip since mid-March due to Israel’s ongoing military assaults.
UN Deputy Spokesperson Daniella Gross told reporters that nearly 17,000 new displacements occurred between August 12 and 20 alone, with 95% of them in Gaza City as families fled from the eastern neighborhoods toward the south and west to escape heavy bombardment.
Back in March, Israeli forces broke the ceasefire agreement, shutting border crossings at the start of the month to tighten the blockade and worsen food shortages. By March 18, Israel had resumed its airstrikes at an escalating pace, killing and injuring thousands of civilians.
Since August 11, Israeli forces have carried out a large-scale offensive on the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in southeastern Gaza, using artillery shelling, explosive-laden drones, demolitions, and mass displacement tactics. The attacks come after the Israeli government approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan on August 8 to reoccupy Gaza, beginning with Gaza City gradually.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has confirmed that nearly 88% of Gaza’s 360-square-kilometer territory, home to about 2.3 million people, is under Israeli evacuation orders, amounting to near-total forced displacement.
Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, at least 62,192 Palestinians, most of them women and childre,n have been killed, with another 157,114 wounded. The numbers are expected to rise as many victims remain trapped under rubble or in areas unreachable due to continued airstrikes and Israel’s obstruction of emergency crews.
