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The number of displaced Palestinians in Deir Al Balah, located in central Gaza, has reached unprecedented levels, approaching nearly one million people, distributed across approximately 200 shelters, the most overcrowded areas of displaced persons in the world relative to size.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Deir Al Balah municipality stated that the Israeli occupations decision to forcibly relocate residents and evacuate several neighborhoods in the city along with some areas in central and southern Gaza have led to numerous humanitarian crises.
The statement added that the reduction of the so-called humanitarian zone in the south from 30 kilometers to 20 kilometers has caused severe overcrowding and congestion in a narrow strip amidst intense heat. This congestion has led to the spread of diseases and epidemics, with no available places for the displaced to go, forcing them to roam the streets and roads.
The municipality confirmed its inability to provide basic services to residents and the displaced due to the shutdown of several water wells and tanks located in the areas the occupation has ordered to be evacuated.
These facilities used to supply about 60 percent of the water to the residents, making it extremely difficult to access water in the severe heat.
Additionally, trash has accumulated in the streets, roads, and shelters due to the municipalitys inability to reach the landfill because it is located in the area designated for evacuation by the occupation. This could lead to the spread of epidemics and diseases, especially with the discovery of the first case of polio.
Yesterday, the Deir Al Balah municipality announced that more than 300,000 people have been deprived of water from 10 wells and two tanks following the Israeli occupations decisions to forcibly relocate residents and the displaced from the eastern part of the city. The ten wells used to produce about 60 percent of the water, equating to 9,000 cubic meters daily supplied to the residents and the displaced.
The Mawasi area in western Khan Younis in southern Gaza and the eastern areas of Deir Al Balah are witnessing a new wave of displacement after the occupation issued new orders for forced relocation that threaten the lives of thousands of displaced Palestinians residing in these areas.
By issuing these orders for forced displacement and evacuation of residents and the displaced in central and southern Gaza, the Israeli occupation is reducing what it claims to be a safe humanitarian zone, which includes hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced from across the devastated sector. (QNA)
