Humanitarian organisations warn that shelters, even in the south, are not protected from fighting. The UN reported on November 23 that since the start of the conflict, an estimated 191 people in shelters had been killed and 798 had been injured.
Many schools housing displaced people have been damaged since the war began, according to a UNICEF tracker, which relies on reports from other organisations on the ground.
At least 28 government schools functioning as shelters have sustained major damage in the north Gaza and Gaza regions, making them no longer usable, and 122 others across the territory have sustained moderate or minor damage.
The UN has estimated that most of its shelters are at four times their capacity, at minimum, and unable to accommodate more people.
“You have to wait in line for two hours, just to use the bathroom,” Hammash said. “To have a shower is kind of a dream.”
The shelter population has soared in Gaza since the start of the war, especially in the central and southern regions of Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah, areas to which Israeli forces have told Palestinians to evacuate.
Close quarters and limited access to safe water and bathrooms are contributing to the spread of disease, along with the onset of winter, according to the World Health Organisation. The agency has reported thousands of cases of acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea and skin rashes in Gaza on average each day.
During the seven-day ceasefire that ended on Friday, some people temporarily left shelters to return to their homes to investigate any damage. Some people displaced in the south even tried to go back to the north, according to the UN.
The safety of displaced people is uncertain as the fighting continues into its ninth week, and people are once again forced to move to new locations.
Tents provided by the United Nations for people who fled their homes as a result of Israeli airstrikes in the Khan Younis Training Centre in the southern Gaza Strip, pictured in October.Credit: Yousef Masoud/The New York Times
“We are going to a new level of madness and bombardment,” Hammash said. “Now, it’s the turn of the south.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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