1.7 million people displaced in Gaza as UN agency warns of increased spread of disease

A UN-provided tent camp for Palestinians displaced by Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis, on November 19. Fatima Shbair/AP

In its latest update on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the main United Nations agency in the Gaza Strip said that almost 1.7 million people have been displaced since October 7.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said that 930,000 internally displaced people were sheltering in its premises across Gaza as of November 19. The shelters are already severely overcrowded and have no more room for new arrivals, it said.

The organization said the displacement of so many people was resulting in significant spread of diseases, including acute respiratory illness and diarrhea, instances of which have increased by 40% in the last two weeks.

Heavy rain and limited access to water and sanitation in Gaza are also posing a “serious threat of a mass disease outbreak” among children, the United Nations Children's Fund warned Tuesday.   

“Let’s be clear: the control of fuel and the access to water is to control whether thousands – perhaps tens of thousands – of children live or die,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told a press briefing in Geneva.

On average, there is one shower unit for every 700 people and 160 people share a single toilet, according to UNRWA.

UNRWA also said it was told 120 liters of fuel would be allowed into Gaza every second day — but even that would only cover half of the critical daily requirement.

Without more fuel, the agency said it would be forced to handle a reduced number of aid trucks carrying humanitarian aid crossing daily into Rafah, and large parts of Gaza would continue to be flooded with sewage, further increasing risks of disease.

The agency also provided some other updates on its operations in Gaza. According to UNRWA, as of November 19:

• A total of 1,268 aid trucks had entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing. Of these, 200 were UNRWA trucks, carrying food, water, medical supplies and other essential non-food items.
• At least 778 internally displaced people sheltering in UNRWA premises have been injured and at least 176 killed since 7 October. That number is an estimate and is expected to be higher.
• 17 installations were directly hit and 45 were impacted by collateral damage.
• More than 100 UNRWA workers have been killed since the beginning of the war. At least half have been killed south of Wadi Gaza, in the area where Israel's military has told civilians to move.
• Nine out of 22 of its health centers are still operational in the middle and southern areas of Gaza.
• There are an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, with more than 180 giving birth every day.
• Wells continue to operate, and water trucking operations to the shelters in Rafah and Khan Younis continue. However, due to the reduced availability of fuel, the production of water wells had decreased from an average of 10,000 cubic meters to 7,000.

CNN’s Niamh Kennedy in London contributed to this reporting.