Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are fleeing from escalating violence in the north and south in the seven-month-long war that has killed nearly 36,000 Palestinians, leaving behind a looming famine and trails of rubble in the besieged enclave.
Many Gazans have been displaced multiple times. Most travelled to Rafah, in southern Gaza, which Israel had declared a safe zone.
Conditions in the temporary shelters in Rafah were dire. Tightly packed into rows of tents and makeshift structures, displaced men, women and children faced shortages of food, water and basic everyday necessities, according to the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA.
People have been relocating to areas of central Gaza that are also being bombarded and lack basic necessities such as food and water. This situation is likely to result in a surge of communicable diseases, including hepatitis A, as well as malnutrition, according to OCHA.
Medical evacuees from northern Gaza included many children, like 13-year-old Ibrahim, who was seriously hurt following the collapse of a shelter in a designated safe zone where he stayed with his family. Ibrahim ultimately lost his arm during an amputation without anaesthetic.
OCHA said people displaced from Rafah are currently seeking shelter in Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza on any open land available, including access roads, agricultural land and in damaged buildings that have not been structurally assessed.