October 14, 2023: More than 400,000 Palestinians have been internally displaced in the Gaza Strip amid a massive Israeli air campaign, the UN humanitarian office said, reports Anadolu Agency Saturday. “Most people have no access to clean drinking water after supply through the water network and the operation of water desalination/purification plants came to a halt,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.
“As a last resort, people are consuming brackish water from agricultural wells, triggering serious concerns about the spread of waterborne diseases,” it added.
The Israeli military warned 1.1 million residents in northern Gaza to evacuate Friday “within 24 hours” and move south.
The OCHA said tens of thousands of residents are estimated to have fled south following the order.
The UN warned it would be impossible for Palestinians in Gaza to obey the order to leave the north without “devastating humanitarian consequences.”
Israeli forces launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip in response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.
