About 1.9 million people have been forced to leave their homes in the Gaza Strip, amounting to approximately 85% of the enclave's population, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said.
"As of 10 December, according to UNRWA, almost 1.9 million people in Gaza, or nearly 85 per cent of the population, were estimated to be internally displaced," UNRWA said in a report on Sunday.
The enclave saw a significant increase in some communicable diseases due to the difficult conditions at UNRWA shelters, according to the report.
"Due to the overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions at UNRWA shelters in the south, there have been significant increases in some communicable diseases and conditions such as diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, skin infections and hygiene-related conditions like lice," the report read.
According to the UNRWA, the number of internally displaced persons sheltering in facilities of the UN agency in the Gaza Strip has reached 1.3 million people.
"As of 11 December, nearly 1.3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) were sheltering in 155 UNRWA facilities across all five governorates of the Gaza Strip, including in the North and in Gaza City," UNRWA said in a statement, adding that "more than 1.1 million IDPs are sheltering in 98 UNRWA facilities in the Middle, Khan Younis and Rafah areas."
The agency also said that the number of UNRWA personnel killed since the beginning of hostilities in Gaza has increased to 135.
UNRWA said earlier on Wednesday that 2023 has become the "deadliest year" on record for West Bank Palestinians, with 271 people, including 69 children, killed by Israeli security forces.
The latest round of escalation in the decades-long Palestine-Israel conflict started on October 7, when Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing over 1,200 people in nearby Israeli military sites and communities and abducting some 240 others.
Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. At least 18,000 Palestinian civilians, about 70% of whom are said to be women and children, have reportedly been killed so far in Gaza as a result of the conflict.
On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The truce was extended several times and expired on December 1. Hamas is still holding over 100 people hostage. Israel moved its ground operation into the southern Gaza Strip.
