The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs declared, on Thursday, that more than 338,000 individuals were forced to evacuate their homes in the Gaza Strip, with Israeli airstrikes persisting in the region.
‘Mass displacement across the Gaza Strip continues,’ the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, said in a statement sent on Thursday.
Late on Wednesday, the reported number of displaced individuals in Gaza had increased by 75,000 more people than the previous day’s count, reaching a total of 338,934, the statement indicated.
The statement was issued as Israel continued its heavy airstrikes on Hamas targets in the densely populated Gaza Strip, where 2.3 million residents reside. This response followed a surprise attack by militants on Saturday.
According to Israeli authorities, the recent offensive resulted in the tragic loss of 1,200 lives, with a majority of them being civilians. This marks the deadliest event in the nation’s history.
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Gaza authorities reported that the death toll from Israel’s relentless air and artillery strikes had surpassed 1,000 people.
OCHA disclosed that roughly 220,000 individuals, making up two-thirds of those who were displaced, have taken shelter in schools overseen by UNRWA, the UN agency providing support to Palestinian refugees.
Moreover, an additional 15,000 individuals found refuge in schools overseen by the Palestinian authority. At the same time, more than 100,000 were being accommodated by relatives, neighbors, a church, and various other facilities in Gaza City.
Before the attack on Saturday, OCHA noted that around 3,000 individuals had already been forced to leave their homes within the enclave.
Citing information from the Gaza Ministry of Public Works and Housing, OCHA revealed that the bombing campaign has resulted in the destruction or rendering uninhabitable of at least 2,540 housing units in Gaza.
It was noted that an extra 22,850 housing units suffered moderate to minor damages.
The UN agency voiced alarm over the significant devastation of civilian infrastructure resulting from the shelling.
In addition to several pressing issues, it pointed out that air strikes had targeted sewage facilities responsible for serving more than a million people, leading to solid waste on the streets and a potential health hazard.