Amid war, more than 423,000 people displaced in Gaza: UN

Geneva: The number of people internally displaced in Gaza by the Israel-Hamas war has risen to more than 423,000, the United Nations said Friday — a figure that represents over 20% of the besieged coastal enclave’s population.

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said more than two thirds of those displaced are taking shelter in schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA).

Human rights organizations have “expressed concerns about incidents where civilians and civilian objects appear to have been directly targeted by Israeli airstrikes,” OCHA added.

Palestinians began a mass exodus from northern Gaza Friday after Israel’s military told some 1 million people to evacuate toward the southern part of the besieged territory, an unprecedented order ahead of an expected ground invasion against the ruling Hamas militant group.

The UN warned that so many people fleeing en masse almost half the Gaza population would be calamitous.

Hamas, which staged a shocking and brutal attack on Israel nearly a week ago and has fired thousands of rockets since, dismissed the evacuation order as a ploy and called on people to stay in their homes.

The evacuation order, which applies to Gaza City, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, sparked widespread panic among civilians and aid workers already running from Israeli airstrikes and contending with a total siege of Gaza.

Israel has cut off all food, water and supplies and caused a territory-wide blackout.

“Forget about food, forget about electricity, forget about fuel. The only concern now is just if you’ll make it, if you’re going to live,” said

Nebal Farsakh.