GAZA: Some 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza began 2024 in a state of displacement, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
By the end of 2023, according to UNRWA, 1.9 million people, or nearly 85 percent of the total population of Gaza, were estimated to be internally displaced, including some who have been displaced multiple times, as families are forced to move repeatedly in search of safety.
According to the aid agency, nearly 1.4 million IDPs are sheltering in 155 UNRWA facilities across all five governorates. Rafah governorate is now the main refuge for those displaced, with over one million people, squeezed into an extremely overcrowded space, following the intensification of hostilities in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, and the Israeli military’s evacuation orders.
Obtaining an accurate figure of the total number of IDPs remains challenging. The number of IDPs in the northern governorates has not been updated since 12 October, due to access constraints and the security situation preventing verification.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said that there is no safe space in Gaza. “We cannot talk about safety anywhere. People are sleeping in the streets, out in the open. Some of them have not been able to even follow the evacuation orders.”
In a flash update, OCHA said that heavy Israeli bombardments from “land, air and sea” continued across Gaza and that hostilities in Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah had added to Rafah becoming “extremely overcrowded”.
Some 1.9 million Palestinians in #Gaza have begun 2024 in a state of displacement. "We cannot talk about safety anywhere," stated @volker_turk. "People are sleeping in the streets, out in the open."
For the latest information, see Flash Update #82: https://t.co/4pn2Jzk73Z pic.twitter.com/8bhAfLPwiA
— OCHA oPt (Palestine) (@ochaopt) January 3, 2024
The UN humanitarian update also renewed warnings about the spread of disease in Gaza and the “catastrophic” food security situation with the risk of famine.
Electricity
Since 11 October, the Gaza Strip has been under an electricity blackout, after the Israeli authorities cut off the electricity supply, and fuel reserves for Gaza’s sole power plant were depleted.
The communications and fuel shutdown continues to significantly hinder the aid community’s efforts to assess the full extent of needs in Gaza and to adequately respond to the deepening humanitarian crisis, according to OCHA.
