Statement from Deir el-Balah Municipality
Deir al-Balah Municipality, in a written statement regarding the latest developments, announced that 250,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced from the eastern parts of the city in the last two days due to Israel’s demands and threats of evacuation and increasing bombings. The statement included the following statements: “The new displacement decisions imposed by the occupying Israeli government on the Palestinian people are resulting in new suffering, a new tragedy and a deepening disaster for the people.”
It was also stated that 4 water wells have been out of service in the last two days. It was emphasized that with the number of out of service wells that feed approximately 70% of the city’s population increasing to 14, it will become increasingly difficult for people to access water and this will further aggravate living conditions.
The statement noted that a large water tank that remained behind also faces the possibility of being out of service. The evacuation decisions are expected to further threaten the city’s water resources. It also warned that the departure of some international organizations that help the Palestinians will deepen the food crisis that has been ongoing since Israel closed the Rafah border crossing with Egypt about four months ago.
Deir al-Balah Municipality called on the international community to “urgently intervene so that humanitarian teams, including municipalities, hospitals and aid organizations, can fulfill their humanitarian duty to provide essential services to citizens.”
Israel has been forcing Palestinians in Gaza to move from one place to another by frequently threatening evictions since the attacks it launched on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. According to United Nations data, 9 out of every 10 people in the Gaza Strip have been displaced due to Israeli attacks. Displaced Palestinians who fled the attacks of the occupying Israeli government are struggling to survive in primitive tents under difficult conditions in the areas where they have taken refugee.
