UN Rejects Support for Forced Relocation of Gazans

UN officials discuss the critical humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, has announced that the organization will not endorse the proposed relocation of Palestinian inhabitants towards the southern Gaza Strip. This stance responds to Israel's establishment of evacuation corridors, which have been used to move Gazans from northern areas.

Griffiths has highlighted that the UN has not been involved in relocating to supposedly safe zones within Gaza and has expressed significant concerns about the civilians' safety in these areas, given the unsatisfactory conditions for providing adequate shelter, food, water, sanitation, and health.

Speaking at the Peace Forum in France, Griffiths advocated for a "humanitarian ceasefire" and described the number of civilian deaths in the conflict as "devastating." Meanwhile, Isabelle Defourny, Director of Doctors Without Borders, questioned the actual safety of the mentioned zones, reporting that a substantial percentage of fatalities occurred in southern Gaza.

UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, added that the UN has not witnessed such a high number of deaths in such a short time during a conflict and highlighted the urgency of assistance in Gaza, as well as warning about the consequences for the Palestinian population due to a potential financial collapse of UNRWA.