Gaza: Humanitarians assist families impacted by recent airstrike in Deir Al-Balah

Personnel from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) conducted the assessment earlier this week in the Yaffa and Al Somud makeshift sites, home to more than 190 families.

Several people there were reportedly injured by an airstrike on Friday and the team witnessed dozens of tents destroyed at both sites, with many others damaged.

Essential infrastructure, including water, sewage and solar power systems were affected, and three learning spaces were damaged.

Protect civilians at all times

Humanitarian partners provided assistance to affected families, including emergency shelter materials, non-food items as well as food aid, while another partner has mobilized to provide water and sanitation services.  

“As hostilities continue across Gaza, we stress again that civilians must be protected at all times, and that essential needs for their survival must be met,” said Mr. Dujarric, speaking during his daily media briefing from New York.  

Humanitarian efforts at ‘breaking point’

The development comes as UN Humanitarian Coordinator Tom Fletcher warns that aid efforts in Gaza, which are already struggling, face mounting obstacles.

“The reality is that despite our determination to deliver food, water, and medicine to survivors, our efforts to save lives are at breaking point,” he said in a statement issued on Monday.

He noted that there is no meaningful civil order in the Gaza Strip, and that Israeli forces are unable or unwilling to ensure the safety of humanitarian convoys.   

Mr. Fletcher reiterated his call on UN Member States to insist that all civilians, and all humanitarian operations, are protected.