Gaza: Europe and the Arabs
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that after two months of Israeli blockade, residents of the northern Gaza Strip continue to flee deadly violence and suffer deprivation in areas to the south. According to the UN News Bulletin
In its latest update issued yesterday, Friday, the office reported that on Wednesday, more than 5,500 people were displaced from northern Gaza to Gaza City after Israeli forces surrounded three schools and nearby homes in Beit Lahia, and that those displaced to Gaza City reported that Israeli forces opened fire on those fleeing on Salah al-Din Road.
The office added that the newly displaced from Beit Lahia sought safety in three shelters in Gaza City. It said that more than 12 displaced families from areas surrounding Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza arrived in Gaza City. The office explained that since November 28, about 8,000 people have been displaced towards Gaza City from areas in the northern Gaza Strip. Aid Trucks Stranded
OCHA said aid organizations on the ground were providing the newly displaced with whatever assistance was available. With winter approaching, some 545,000 people in Gaza are living in damaged buildings and makeshift shelters, underscoring the urgent need to ensure thousands of tarpaulins and repair materials are safely brought into the Strip without delay.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reported that 50 of its trucks carrying blankets, generators, medicines and surgical equipment are stuck on the Egyptian border with Gaza, many of them for more than 50 days. OCHA confirmed that it and its partners renew their calls for the safe passage of humanitarian aid into Gaza as suffering worsens across the Strip.
For its part, the UN Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory stressed the need for Israel to immediately halt the forcible transfer of Palestinians in Gaza, allow people to return to their homes and ensure the safety of civilians, including those displaced.
The office said in a press release that on 4 December, an Israeli airstrike hit a makeshift site for displaced people housing 21 families in the Mawasi area of ​​Khan Younis, “which the Israeli forces unilaterally declared a safe humanitarian area.”
The office said the strike and the accompanying explosions destroyed all the tents, killing at least 23 Palestinians, including at least four children and two women, one of whom was pregnant, and seriously wounding others.
It added that the Israeli forces claimed that they targeted Hamas leaders and that the secondary explosions may have been caused by weapons present in the area, “however, according to information available to the UN Human Rights Office, the secondary explosions appear to have been caused by the presence of gas cylinders for domestic use.”
The office said that this was the seventh attack on the displaced people’s tents in the past two weeks, killing at least 34 Palestinians, including 10 children and three women. It added that almost all of Gaza’s population has been displaced more than once due to repeated Israeli evacuation orders and continuous shelling. The UN office said the pattern of attacks on displacement sites raises concerns about Israel’s failure to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack.

“Depending on the circumstances, these strikes may amount to the deliberate targeting of civilians, a war crime, and may also constitute a crime against humanity if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population,” it said.

The UN human rights office called on the Israeli military to prioritize the protection of civilians in Gaza, and called for independent, impartial and effective investigations into all attacks on IDP camps since 7 October 2023, which have resulted in the deaths of civilians, including women and children, and for those responsible to be held accountable. It called on Palestinian armed groups to refrain from any activities that may endanger civilians.