Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Norwegian Refugee Council, an aid organization working in Palestine, reports that new Israeli regulations have again forced thousands of Gazans to flee in Deir al-Balah and disrupted Gaza’s last aid station. The former “safe zone” is now being targeted by Israeli forces. The Norwegian Refugee Council and numerous other aid organizations are again calling for an immediate ceasefire in light of two International Court of Justice rulings against Israel. They point out that “civilians who cannot or do not want to leave their homes continue to be protected by international humanitarian law.”

The organization said new expulsion orders by Israeli authorities had forced another large-scale exodus of families and aid workers from the areas around Deir al-Balah – one of the few remaining zones in the occupied Gaza Strip that still has vital infrastructure and storage facilities for aid.

The NRC explains that Rafah in the south served as a central point for the overstretched aid effort in Gaza until early May, when Israeli forces expanded their land operations in the area. Aid agencies were forced to shift their efforts to Deir al-Balah in the center of Gaza. With northern Gaza destroyed and southern Gaza largely inaccessible, civilians, aid workers and essential humanitarian workers now have no place to go.

They point out that the United Nations has stated that several orders issued by Israeli forces in Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah between 8 and 17 August affected 17 health facilities, including five medical centers and nine medical care points, disrupting basic health services.

NRC warns that disruptions will also jeopardise the ability to administer urgently needed polio vaccines once they arrive in Gaza. Jeremy Stoner, Save the Children’s Middle East regional director, is quoted as saying: “Even if the Israeli authorities allow polio vaccines into the country, how can we run an effective campaign and reach the children who desperately need this protection while the largest aid agencies in Gaza are constantly being shuttled from one location to the next? If you want to understand the access situation, this is what it is – not the trickle of trucks that are exceptionally allowed in.”

Thousands of newborns and infants have never been vaccinated against polio, and the NRC says the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Dear al-Balah will make it almost impossible to administer all of these vaccinations.

“Gaza Apocalypse” by Juan Cole, Digital, Dream / Dreamworld v. 3 / Clip2Comic, 2024.

The Norwegian NGO says that many Palestinian families, who have been forcibly relocated countless times since October, are once again on the run. Among them are key aid workers who are indispensable for providing the limited humanitarian assistance that is still possible.

I should underline this statement. NRC says that as Israeli commanders push thousands of families from one location to another, they are also displacing the humanitarian volunteers who are trying to provide them with food, water, medicine and other essentials that are in short supply. They point out that at least 24 nongovernmental organizations have reported disruptions in the past week due to these orders, which have led to the forced relocation of staff, obstruction of operations and the abandonment of at least one location where civilians had shelter from attack. Warehouses where supplies are stored are located in the areas subject to these orders and are therefore inaccessible.

Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, is quoted as saying: “Palestinians in Gaza have been relentlessly displaced and forced from one so-called ‘safe’ zone to another, enduring unimaginable hardship and loss. Among them are brave humanitarian workers who risk their lives every day to save others. Our ability to provide meaningful assistance in any part of Gaza falls short of our ambitions, let alone the overwhelming need. Deir al-Balah, once declared a humanitarian zone, is now under attack and bombing is taking place on our doorstep.”

The Norwegian aid agency says the Israeli authorities’ so-called “evacuation” decrees of August 13, 15, 16 and 21 continue to hamper humanitarian operations and affect various organizations, including Save the Children, Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), MSF, Solidarités International, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Oxfam, Humanity & Inclusion, Action Against Hunger, Islamic Relief, Project HOPE, DanChurchAid and Norwegian Church Aid and their partners, as well as ActionAid’s Palestinian partners, War Child, the Danish Refugee Council, Médicos del Mundo, Middle East Children’s Alliance and WeWorld.

Lena, a Mercy Corps worker in Gaza, complained bitterly: “The situation has become incredibly dangerous. There is constant fighting and the sounds of artillery shelling and explosions are clearly audible. Skin diseases are spreading quickly. We are all becoming paranoid and afraid of catching an infection. The physical strain is real. I have severe stomach pains, probably because of the contaminated water we have to drink. I don’t know how much longer we can survive like this.”

The NRC reports that an ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) shelter was bombed while the NRC waited more than 15 days for a response from Israeli authorities to a request to avoid fighting in an area where they plan to relocate staff following Israel’s recent expulsion decree.

They say communities are cut off from vital assistance as suppliers delivering essential goods such as water struggle to reach locations near the areas from which people must be evacuated. NRC says humanitarian workers must only provide assistance when necessary, not only when a party to the conflict has designated safe areas.

This principle seems to make sense. Help is provided where it is needed, and not on the run, while people are dragged through the rubble from one tent city to the next.

These are the signatories of the declaration:

Save the children
War child
Action aid
DanChurchAid
Solidarity International
Islamic Help
Middle East Children’s Alliance
Danish Refugee Council
WeWorld
Humanity and Inclusion/ Handicap International (HI)
Norwegian People’s Aid
The Palestinian Association for Empowerment and Local Development – ​​REFORM
Agricultural Development Association – PARC
Anera
Doctors of the World
Médecins Sans Frontieres / Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
Medical aid for Palestinians
Norwegian Church Aid
Action against hunger
ChildFundAlliance
Global Communities
Mercy Corps
Oxfam
CARE International
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
Project HOPE