“People often take several minutes to decide what to do.”Published at 13:11 British Summer Time
The United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) said many Palestinians were choosing to remain in place, ignoring evacuation orders.
Sam Rose, UNRWA’s senior deputy director for Gaza, told the BBC that this was because “after a year, people are done.”
“They’re using whatever institutions they have left to say they’re here to stay.”
He said the intensity of the conflict meant that some people were unable to leave the country even if they tried, and only about 100 people made it past the checkpoint south.
When an evacuation order is issued, “it often takes people a while just to decide what to do,” he says.
“The fear, the humiliation, the humiliation that these people are experiencing, what’s going on, what they’re feeling, and if they do make it out alive, how long will it take them to recover from it?” “We can only imagine,” Rose adds.
He said the main access point to northern Gaza has been closed since the end of September.
He said UNRWA officials were able to bring in some fuel yesterday to provide electricity to the bakery, but there are still 300 patients in intensive care units on ventilators, including eight children. The region’s three hospitals were in dire need of more fuel.
image source, Reuters