MOSCOW, August 18 Total area of the humanitarian zone in the Gaza Strip has shrunk to just 11% of the exclave's territory, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said.
“The so-called “humanitarian zone” has shrunk to just 11% (of the territory — ed.) of the Gaza Strip, causing chaos and fear among the displaced population,” reads a post on UNRWA’s social media page X.
The UN Middle East agency also expressed the plight of displaced civilians in the Gaza Strip, once again calling for a ceasefire between parties to the conflict in the region.
On October 7, 2023, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. After this, fighters from the Palestinian Hamas movement entered the border areas, opened fire on military and civilians, and took more than 200 hostages. According to authorities, about 1.2 thousand people died.
The Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords in the Gaza Strip, which includes attacks on civilian targets. Israel announced a complete blockade of the enclave: supplies of water, electricity, fuel, food and medicine were stopped. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the death toll in Israeli strikes on the enclave since October 7 has exceeded 39 thousand, and more than 90 thousand people have been injured.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to Moscow's position, a settlement is possible only on the basis of a formula approved by the UN Security Council with the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.