Latest Israeli evacuation orders once again displace thousands of civilians in Gaza: NGOs

The latest Israeli evacuation orders once again displaced thousands of civilians in Gaza, said a joint statement Thursday by more than two dozen humanitarian groups.

"Another mass movement of families and humanitarian workers from areas in Deir al-Balah - one of the only remaining areas in the occupied Gaza Strip with essential infrastructure and warehouses storing aid supplies" is underway, 27 humanitarian groups, including Save the Children, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Mercy Corps, Islamic Relief and Danish Refugee Council said in the statement.

Palestinian civilians who have been forced into displacement many times since October 2023, and workers of at least 24 non-governmental organizations are on the move once again, it stressed.

"Warehouses storing supplies are located within the blocks that have come under orders that are resulting in forcible displacement," the joint statement said, noting that the "so-called 'evacuation' orders" on Aug. 13, 15, 16 and 21 hindered aid operations.

"Disruptions will also threaten the ability to administer critically needed polio vaccines once they arrive in Gaza," the NGOs warned.

Jeremy Stoner, Save the Children regional director for the Middle East, said in the statement that it has become impossible to "deliver an effective campaign and reach the children in dire need" of vaccination.

Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, also said in the statement that "Deir al-Balah, once declared a humanitarian zone, is now under attack with bombardment at our doorstep," and denounced a "relentless" uprooting of Palestinians in Gaza.

The statement said: "Israel as the occupying power is obligated to ensure that the humanitarian needs of the occupied population are met."