UN humanitarian work in Gaza impacted by evacuation order

The United Nations on Monday said humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip has taken a serious blow after Israel ordered a new evacuation in the center of the besieged territory.

It came as the United States announced "progress" in Gaza truce talks underway in Cairo, even after a major but brief cross-border escalation between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

On Sunday, the Israeli military ordered people to "evacuate immediately" a part of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, sparking a rapid exodus of civilians and displacing U.N. and NGO workers.

"Our humanitarian colleagues are particularly worried about the order," which "effectively upends a whole lifesaving humanitarian hub that was set up in Deir el-Balah following its evacuation from Rafah back in May," the U.N.'s humanitarian office OCHA said in a statement.

The order affected 15 premises hosting U.N. and NGO aid workers, U.N. warehouses, a water desalination plant, and medical facilities, including the key Al-Aqsa hospital, one of the few still operating in Gaza, it said.

"It severely impacts our ability to deliver essential support and services," the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in the statement.

Speaking to AFP on Sunday from her hospital bed outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir el-Balah, Tamam al-Raei said she did not know where to seek safety.

"I have a war injury. I have broken bones and have had an amputation, and I have been receiving treatment for that," she said.

"Where do we go? Where do I get treatment?" added the woman, surrounded by other war-weary Palestinians being evacuated from the hospital in a frantic bid to stay ahead of feared Israeli bombardment.

A senior...