OCHA warns south Gaza ‘bursting at seams’ after new wave of bombing, displacement

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 28th Dec. UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday that relief aid missions to reach Gaza have become increasingly difficult after reports of continued heavy bombing of the Strip overnight by the Israeli military and intense clashes “in most areas” with Hamas fighters.

UNRWA reported that locations in the north and south of Gaza were hit as Israeli ground forces also pushed into central areas, along with the firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups into Israel, prompted concerns from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees about the safety of civilians uprooted.

Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza Tom White said on X late on Tuesday that Rafah governorate in the southern Gaza is now “bursting at the seams” his video post showing a long line of cars crawling forwards tail to bumper, laden with mattresses strapped down and other belongings.

UN aid coordination office OCHA said that Israeli forces had reportedly carried out “heavy” bombardment from air, land and sea “across most of the Gaza Strip, the Middle Area” from 23 to 26 December.

OCHA added that this included “more than 50 strikes” from 24 to 25 December on three refugee camps – Al Bureij, An Nuseirat and Al Maghazi that reportedly killed dozens and hindered the work of aid teams confronted by destroyed roads connecting the camps.

The Gaza health authority has reported that  20,915 Palestinians have been killed there since 7 October – including 858 people between last Saturday and Tuesday. “About 70 per cent of those killed are said to be women and children…Many people are missing, presumably buried under the rubble, with many still waiting for rescue or recovery.”

OCHA reported that 164 Israeli soldiers have died with another 874 injured during ground operations in Gaza.

The development followed a new evacuation order issued by the Israeli Defense Forces impacting people living in Gaza’s middle area.

UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma issued a fresh warning about the dire situation impacting people sheltering in tented camps in the south.

“You have 400 people sharing one toilet,” Ms. Touma said, echoing repeated concerns about disease spread linked to the lack of basic necessities including water, sanitation and food.

UN humanitarians have described how hungry Gazans have stopped aid trucks en route to their destination to offload food, amid repeated warnings that it is becoming impossible to meet the needs of all those in the south, where population density is estimated at 12,000 people per square kilometre (about 7.5 miles).