Gaza: After another deadly weekend in Gaza, where at least 67 Palestinians were reportedly killed while seeking food, UN aid teams on Monday described mayhem and starvation in the enclave as the Israeli military pushed into Deir Al-Balah for the first time.
According to United Nations, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, relayed desperate testimonies from its colleagues who are also struggling to survive in the war-torn enclave.
"We're in the death phase," one UNRWA worker said. "Everything around people at the moment is death, whether it's bombs or strikes, children wasting away in front of their eyes from malnourishment, from dehydration, and dying."
In a detailed statement after the incident, it was explained that a 25-truck lorry convoy crossed the Zikim border point in northern Gaza destined for starving communities. Shortly after passing the final checkpoint, the convoy encountered large crowds of civilians waiting to access food supplies. This was when the shooting began, leaving countless Gazans dead, WFP said, echoing reports by the health authorities.
Condemning the incident, WFP noted that the victims were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation.
A great tragedy unfolded as WFP's director of emergencies, Ross Smith, described the incident as one of the greatest tragedies witnessed for their operations in Gaza and elsewhere. The UN agency said the violence occurred despite assurances from Israeli authorities that humanitarian operational conditions would improve, including that armed forces would not engage along humanitarian convoy routes.
Without such fundamental guarantees, it will not be possible to continue providing life-saving support across the Gaza Strip, WFP stated. This reaction came a day after a reported 36 people seeking aid were killed close to a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hub.
In central Gaza's Deir Al-Balah, 50,000 to 80,000 people have been impacted by a mass displacement order issued by the Israeli military, the first since war erupted on 7 October 2023. The new order cuts through Deir Al-Balah to the Mediterranean Sea, further splintering the Strip, OCHA said. It will limit the ability of the UN and partners to move safely and effectively within Gaza, choking humanitarian access when needed most.
UN staff remain in Deir Al-Balah across dozens of premises whose coordinates have been shared with the warring parties. These locations must be protected, regardless of displacement orders, OCHA insisted, as Israeli tanks reportedly moved into southern and eastern areas of the city.
The latest evacuation order means that almost 88 percent of Gaza is impacted by displacement orders or falls within Israeli-militarized zones. Some 2.1 million civilians, who have been uprooted multiple times, are now squeezed into the little remaining space, where essential services have collapsed.
"There's nowhere for [Gazans] to escape. They are trapped," said UNRWA Senior Emergency Officer Louise Wateridge. "They cannot leave the Gaza Strip. They're trying to keep their children alive. They're trying to keep themselves alive."
In comments to UN News, Wateridge explained that no food is available and only very limited water, explaining why many desperate Gazans risk their lives to fetch aid from the few distribution centers still operational.
"Children are malnourished, they're dehydrated, they are dying in front of their [parents'] eyes," Wateridge continued. "The bombs and the strikes are continuing; there's no way to run, there's nowhere to hide. There's no way to escape there."
