The UN has been forced to evacuate its humanitarian aid centre in the Gaza Strip for the second time on orders from the Israeli military, an official said on Tuesday.
The hub, which houses warehouses and staff accommodation, had already been moved once, before the advance of Israeli soldiers in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip in early May.
The new hub with accommodation, offices and storage areas for humanitarian supplies was set up in Deir al-Balah, further north. However, an evacuation order was also issued for the area on Sunday.
Nevertheless, every effort will be made to maintain supplies, said a spokesman for the UN emergency relief agency OCHA in Geneva.
Israel calls on civilians to leave residential areas if there are suspicions of the presence of military facilities or representatives of the terrorist group Hamas and a military attack is imminent.
According to OCHA, since the devastating terrorist attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7 last year and the subsequent Israeli military action, there have been calls for the evacuation of almost 90% of the Gaza Strip.
Evacuation orders have been issued since Friday for 19 neighborhoods in the northern Gaza Strip and Deir al-Balah, the spokesman said. Fifteen buildings housing United Nations and nongovernmental organization (NGO) staff and their families were affected.
Four UN relief warehouses, a water reservoir, a desalination plant, three wells, two small hospitals and a hospital were also hit. There are also 29 emergency shelters for displaced people in the areas.
