“Another mass movement of families and humanitarian workers from areas in Deir al-Balah - one of the only remaining areas in the occupied Gaza Strip with essential infrastructure and warehouses storing aid supplies” is underway, 27 humanitarian groups, including Save the Children, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Mercy Corps, Islamic Relief and Danish Refugee Council said in the statement.
Palestinian civilians who have been forced into displacement many times since October 2023, and workers of at least 24 non-governmental organizations are on the move once again, it stressed.
“Warehouses storing supplies are located within the blocks that have come under orders that are resulting in forcible displacement,” the joint statement said, noting that the “so-called ‘evacuation’ orders” on Aug. 13, 15, 16 and 21 hindered aid operations.
“Disruptions will also threaten the ability to administer critically needed polio vaccines once they arrive in Gaza,” the NGOs warned.
Jeremy Stoner, Save the Children regional director for the Middle East, said in the statement that it has become impossible to “deliver an effective campaign and reach the children in dire need” of vaccination.
Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, also said in the statement that “Deir al-Balah, once declared a humanitarian zone, is now under attack with bombardment at our doorstep,” and denounced a “relentless” uprooting of Palestinians in Gaza.
The statement said: “Israel as the occupying power is obligated to ensure that the humanitarian needs of the occupied population are met.”
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack last Oct. 7 by Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
The Israeli onslaught has resulted in nearly 40,300 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and more than 93,100 injuries, according to local health authorities.
The ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.
Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.