According to the United Nations, 86% of the besieged Gaza Strip is now under evacuation orders from Israel, while 33 Palestinians have been killed in yet another day of attacks and displacements. Thousands of Palestinians fled from the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in central Gaza after the Israeli army issued new evacuation orders. “We have been displaced from the north. They told us: ‘Leave for central Gaza, then to Rafah.’ We went to Rafah and then returned to Nuseirat. We got stuck. Then we received word to move further south towards al-Mawasi,” said Mohammed Naserallah, a displaced Palestinian.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), confirmed that a large part of the besieged area is under evacuation orders. A blind Palestinian, Kahder Baroud, reported receiving a call from the Israeli army asking him to leave his home in Nuseirat. “We are already struggling with our situation because my daughters and sons are also blind. … We live in fear, in frightening circumstances. We left home today, but we do not know where we can go now,” he stated.
From Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reported that repeated large-scale displacements have become the norm amidst the Israeli military operations. “The largest part of the displaced population is flowing to Deir el-Balah, which is already packed with displaced families and does not have enough space or resources to accommodate people,” he mentioned.
Schools converted into shelters for the displaced have also come under attack. “The attacks on the schools in the last two days have destroyed any remaining sense of security for those staying in evacuation centers and have pushed people into further internal displacements. There is literally not a safe place in Gaza,” he said.
Additionally, at least three people have been killed, and others injured, as the Israeli military again bombed al-Mawasi, an area in southern Gaza that had previously been declared a “safe zone” by Israel. According to officials in Gaza, 33 Palestinians were killed across the enclave on Monday, with the total death toll since October reported to be 39,363, along with over 90,000 others injured.
The Israeli offensive has also exacerbated the health emergency in Gaza as the Gaza Health Ministry declared the area a “polio-endemic zone” on Monday. In a statement on Telegram, the ministry said the situation “poses a health threat to the residents of Gaza and neighboring areas.” The World Health Organization (WHO) has also confirmed the spread of the poliovirus, which has been detected in wastewater samples. The already scarce supplies of drinking water in the densely populated Gaza Strip are at risk of being contaminated by the virus.
“This is just the beginning of the wave of diseases that the Gaza Strip will face,” said Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary. “Palestinians have been living in temporary tents without bathrooms, without hygiene, without access to water and sanitation. Sewage is everywhere,” she added.
On November 3, the WHO announced that it would send more than one million polio vaccines to Gaza, intended to be administered in the coming weeks to prevent children from contracting the disease. The Israeli military also stated that they would begin offering the polio vaccine to soldiers in Gaza.
At the same time, Israel and Hamas have exchanged accusations regarding the lack of progress in reaching a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in the Gaza Strip, despite international mediation efforts. Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of adding new conditions and demands to a faltering proposal backed by the USA, while Netanyahu denied making any changes and stated that it was Hamas insisting on multiple alterations to the original proposal.