Gaza bombardment devastates civilians: UN humanitarians

The relentless bombardment in and around Gaza City before Israel's threatened takeover of the region is having devastating consequences for civilians, UN humanitarians said on Thursday, reported Xinhua.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that their human rights colleagues reported high numbers of civilian casualties and large-scale destruction caused by intensified Israeli attacks in eastern and southern Gaza City, particularly the Az Zaytoun area.

Since Aug. 8, more than 50 residential structures have been hit, killing at least 87 Palestinians, said OCHA.

Further south, the office said an Israeli airstrike on Thursday hit a makeshift site for internally displaced people near an OCHA facility sheltering approximately 200 families in Deir al-Balah.

The makeshift site reportedly received a warning from the Israeli military at short notice and was evacuated immediately before the strike, it said, adding that no casualties were reported, but people's shelters and their belongings were damaged or destroyed.

OCHA's facility was lightly damaged, and the incident was traumatic for staff who were present at the time. OCHA personnel are safe and accounted for, said the office.

The coordinates of UN facilities in the Gaza Strip have been shared with both sides in the Gaza war, OCHA said. "Humanitarian facilities and other civilian infrastructure must not be targeted or used in an attempt to shield military objectives from attack."

The office said that its partners monitoring the movement of people in Gaza estimated that more than 16,800 civilians were newly displaced across the strip between Aug. 12 and 20, bringing the total number of the displaced since the end of the ceasefire in mid-March to more than 796,000.

It said that Gaza City accounted for 95 percent of the reported displacement, with people fleeing eastern parts of the city, primarily moving south and west.

Meanwhile, hunger and malnutrition among children are deepening. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Wednesday that July was Gaza's deadliest month for child malnutrition deaths, with 24 children under the age of 5 reportedly dying. This was already 85 percent of the total for this year.

UNICEF warned that all 320,000 children under 5 are at risk of acute malnutrition, increasing illness and long-term health risks.

OCHA said its partners are reporting a rise in child labor, with children collecting rubble and engaging in street vending and other informal work. Psychological distress is widespread among children who have been repeatedly displaced.