DaysofPal – Humanitarian partners have called for urgent measures to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip, including those moving along the area known as the “Yellow Line,” warning that the continued expansion of Israeli-controlled zones is placing Palestinians at increasing risk and further restricting humanitarian operations.
Speaking at the United Nations daily press briefing, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said human rights colleagues had documented the deaths of 196 people, including 18 women and 43 children, between October 10 and April of this year. According to the UN, the fatalities resulted from Israeli attacks carried out near areas where Israeli forces were deployed.
The UN Country Team in the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned that the ongoing expansion of Israeli-controlled areas in Gaza since the ceasefire reached in October last year has intensified the dangers facing civilians while further limiting humanitarian access.
In a statement, the Country Team said many Palestinians had been killed while moving through areas with no clearly marked boundaries on the ground. It added that civilians are increasingly confined to shrinking areas where they face insecurity, violence, and severely limited access to essential services.
The UN called for humanitarian aid to be allowed into and throughout Gaza safely and without obstruction, stressing that unrestricted access remains essential to meeting the population’s urgent needs.
On water and sanitation, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that humanitarian partners had temporarily restored wastewater infrastructure serving Gaza City this week, allowing sewage pumping operations to resume after being suspended for two years.
Dujarric described the development as a positive step that could help reduce public health risks, particularly as humanitarian workers report that more than 80 percent of households in Gaza continue to struggle to access safe and clean sanitation facilities.
Separately, the UN spokesperson said that the Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Ramiz Alakbarov, led a field visit on Tuesday involving more than 20 diplomats to communities in the Jerusalem Governorate affected by demolitions, evictions, threats of forcible displacement, movement restrictions, and other long-standing humanitarian concerns.
During the visit, the delegation toured Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives, where Alakbarov emphasized the need for sustained international attention to East Jerusalem. He highlighted the hospital’s critical role in providing specialized healthcare services to Palestinians.
So far in 2026, the UN says some 360 Palestinians have been displaced in East Jerusalem, and over 150 buildings and other structures have been demolished.
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