NEW DELHI: The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, expressed grave concern on Tuesday (July 2) over the escalating refugee crisis in the blockaded Palestinian enclave after Israel's latest evacuation orders. 

She reported that 1.9 million people, accounting for 80 per cent of Gaza's population, now stand displaced. Kaag pointed to new evacuation orders issued for the area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The United Nations has estimated that the Israeli military order for civilians to vacate Al-Qarara, Bani Suhaila, and other localities near Khan Younis has affected up to 250,000 people. 

"Over 1 million people have been displaced once again, desperately seeking shelter and safety. 1.9 million people are now displaced across Gaza," Kaag informed the UN Security Council.

"Palestinian civilians in Gaza have been plunged into an abyss of suffering. Their homes are shattered, their lives upended. The war has not merely created the most profound humanitarian crises; it has unleashed a maelstrom of human misery," Kaag added.

Kaag said that insufficient aid is reaching the war-torn strip and called for the opening of new crossings particularly to southern Gaza to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. She called for the reopening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt and urged the international community to increase funding for relief efforts.

The ongoing war, which began after Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel that killed about 1200 Israelis, has created the worst humanitarian crisis in modern Palestine's history.
Hamas militants also took 251 hostages, with 116 still in Gaza, including 42 whom the Israeli army says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has caused at least 37,925 deaths, mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. While Israel has not specifically announced a military operation in southern Gaza, previous evacuation orders have typically preceded major battles.