The IDF has been issuing evacuation orders to Palestinians in Gaza due to what they claim are significant acts of terrorism, leading to crowded conditions in safe zones, and the rapid displacement of residents from these areas. The UN has reported that 90% of Gaza’s residents have been displaced multiple times since the conflict began, with families moving frequently to avoid danger. The limited time people have to respond to evacuation orders, along with the lack of clarity between safe zones and conflict zones, has resulted in casualties, including the deaths of children and women in recent tank strikes.
The U.N. has raised concerns about the impact of the crowded conditions on basic services, sanitation, and the spread of disease in Gaza’s safe zones. A 10-month-old baby has been partially paralyzed after contracting polio, which had been largely eradicated in Gaza for 25 years. UNRWA has described the displaced population as being treated like “chess stones,” with diseases such as hepatitis C spreading widely due to the dire sanitation crisis. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned that hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza are at risk of contracting polio, and stressed the urgent need for a cease-fire and hostage release deal.
In response to the escalating conflict, President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the leaders of Qatar and Egypt, to push for a cease-fire and hostage release deal. Israeli diplomats are heading to Cairo for further negotiations, despite intensified fighting over the Lebanese-Israeli border between Israel and Hezbollah, both allies of Hamas backed by Iran. H.A. Hellyer, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, believes that cease-fire negotiations were already faltering before the latest round of strikes, suggesting that tensions are high and a resolution may be difficult to achieve.
The ongoing assault in Gaza by Israeli forces has resulted in the deaths of over 40,000 people and injuries to 90,000, according to local health officials, with no distinction made between combatants and civilians. The offensive was launched in response to a Hamas attack in October, in which over a thousand people were killed, mostly civilians. The conflict has led to widespread displacement of civilians, a dire humanitarian crisis, and concerns about the impact on the region as a whole. Efforts to reach a cease-fire and address the root causes of the conflict are ongoing, with the hope of preventing further loss of life and promoting stability in the region.
