U.S. special envoy David Satterfield told reporters in the Jordanian capital that between 800,000 and a million people had moved to the south of the Gaza Strip, while about 350,000 to 400,000 remained in the north of the enclave.
Israel had called on the people of Gaza to move to the south of the Strip ahead of military ground operations in the north. However, airstrikes across the Gaza Strip have not stopped.
The people of Gaza are also cut off from supplies of food, water and fuel. Israel has accused Hamas of stockpiling such supplies, an accusation that Satterfield rejected, saying there were no documented cases of Hamas blocking or confiscating aid.
“UNRWA has access to fuel at depots in Gaza for aid trucks, desalination plants and hospitals in southern Gaza,” he noted.
UNRWA is the UN agency for Palestinian refugees that has been working in the region for decades.
About 1.5 million people in Gaza, or 70% of the population, have fled their homes, the United Nations said Friday.
More than 9,200 people have died in Gaza since October 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Israel declared war on Hamas after the Islamist militants’ terror attacks killed 1,400 people.
Hamas is viewed as a terrorist organization by the EU, the USA, Israel and Germany, among others.
Israel confirms attack on ambulance in Gaza
To view this video, please enable JavaScript and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videos