Gaza: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reiterated the need to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip under international humanitarian law.
According to Qatar News Agency, the office noted that it continues to receive reports of gunfire and attacks targeting residential areas throughout Gaza, resulting in civilian casualties. It cited an incident in which an UN-run school in the Jabalia refugee camp, sheltering displaced families, was fired upon, injuring two people.
The statement further explained that sanitation workers reported that four out of every five sewage pumping stations have ceased operation. As a result, approximately 40,000 cubic meters of untreated sewage are flowing daily into the sea and into residential areas.
OCHA also stressed the urgent need to lift restrictions on the entry of essential supplies, such as generators and spare parts, to ensure the proper functioning of the sewage system and prevent further collapse of these vital infrastructure systems.
In the West Bank, OCHA reported that Israeli authorities last week delivered final eviction notices to seven additional families in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood of East Jerusalem, giving them until mid-May to vacate their homes. OCHA explained that these actions are intended to clear the way for settlers to seize the building, placing more than 40 people - half of them children - at imminent risk of displacement.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) called for the protection of civilians, warning that evictions, demolitions, and acts of violence have severe physical, social, economic, and emotional consequences, and exacerbate humanitarian needs.