United Nations, Jan 4 (NationPress) UN humanitarian agencies have indicated that Israel has mandated additional evacuations in the heavily besieged North Gaza region in response to expected attacks as retaliation for rocket fire directed at Israel.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) revealed that the latest evacuation order concerns civilians located in the Al-Bureij area of the Deir al Balah governorate, as reported by the Xinhua news agency.

OCHA further stated that the most recent evacuation directive was issued while Israeli authorities continued to block the United Nations' efforts to facilitate the safe movement of humanitarian personnel.

"On Friday, 6 out of 10 coordination attempts were outright rejected," the office disclosed. "Of the remaining four, only two were fully executed, while the other two faced significant obstacles. Among the rejected attempts today was our plan to deliver essential supplies to the besieged regions of North Gaza governorate," the office added.

Many individuals throughout the Gaza Strip, who have already been displaced multiple times, are frequently compelled to flee under intense bombardment with minimal belongings to unsafe areas that lack basic necessities for survival.

"In light of this dire situation, humanitarian organizations are exerting every effort possible to assist individuals wherever they may be," the office stated.

The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that 55 patients and 72 companions were evacuated from Gaza on Tuesday for medical treatment in the United Arab Emirates. Since October 2023, over 5,300 patients have been evacuated abroad, while more than 12,000 patients are still awaiting evacuation.

"It would take 5-10 years to evacuate all these critically ill patients, including thousands of children," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated on the social media platform X. "In the interim, their conditions deteriorate and some may perish."

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, stated that despite an Israeli bill aimed at prohibiting the agency from functioning in the Occupied Palestinian Territory coming into effect in under four weeks, UNRWA teams remain committed to their mission.

He expressed on X that since the onset of the conflict in October 2023, UNRWA has provided 6.7 million medical consultations in Gaza, averaging over 1,600 consultations daily. Approximately 730,000 individuals have received mental health and psychosocial support through UNRWA. Additionally, in collaboration with partners, the agency has vaccinated 560,000 children under 10 against polio.

Lazzarini emphasized that nearly 2 million people have benefited from food assistance, and hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals have sought refuge in UNRWA shelters. Since the summer, UNRWA teams have provided learning activities for 18,000 children.

"We reiterate that UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian response and is irreplaceable," OCHA stated. "A collapse of its operations, should the new legislation be implemented, would result in immense suffering for individuals already facing extreme hardship."

When inquired about the potential cessation of UNRWA's operations, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, informed reporters during a regular briefing, "The secretary-general has clearly stated that under international law, if UNRWA is unable to fulfill its mandated duties, Israel, as the occupying power, must assume those responsibilities."