According to the UN humanitarian office, more than 260,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have already been forced to leave their homes because of Israeli airstrikes.
On Tuesday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a statement:
“Over 263,934 people in Gaza are believed to have fled their homes.”
Israeli attacks and rocket fire from Hamas have not subsided for a moment, so there is growing fear that the number of displaced Palestinians in Gaza will only increase.
The situation in the Gaza Strip escalated after the Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israeli towns near the coastal territory. In response, Israel launched massive airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and subjected the region to a total blockade. Israeli authorities have cut off the gas and electricity supply to Gaza, making the already dire humanitarian situation unbearable.
According to preliminary figures, the hostilities have already claimed the lives of more than 2,100 people, including 1,200 Israelis and at least 900 Palestinians.
The Israeli blockade of the occupied Gaza Strip, in its current form, has been in place since June 2007. Israel controls Gaza’s airspace and territorial waters, as well as two of the three border crossing points; the third is controlled by Egypt.
Meanwhile, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reported late Tuesday that more than 175,000 Gazans are temporarily housed in 88 of its schools. According to the agency, their numbers are increasing due to ongoing Israeli airstrikes. The UN agency said:
“88 of our schools in the Gaza Strip have turned into shelters for more than 175,000 people.”
Gaza-based Hamas has fired a barrage of rockets at Israel, calling it Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Hamas officials say their operation was in response to the storming of the Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and increased settler violence. In response, the Israeli army launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
