Between the afternoons of 7 and 8 December, at least 310 Palestinians were killed, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, and four Israeli soldiers were killed, according to Israeli sources. Heavy Israeli bombardments from air, land, and sea across Gaza continued. Simultaneously, intense ground operations and fighting continued, especially in the eastern parts of Gaza city, Jabalia, An Nusseirat refugee camp and the eastern areas of Khan Younis governorate. The firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups to Israel also continued.
Since 3 December, tens of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) have arrived in Rafah, the majority coming from the adjacent Khan Younis governorate, following evacuation orders issued by Israeli forces and ongoing bombardments and fighting. For many IDPs, this is the second or third displacement they have experienced since 7 October. In Rafah, they are subject to extreme overcrowded conditions with no empty space to shelter, not even in the streets and or other open areas. Thousands of people wait for hours in large crowds around aid distribution centres, in desperate need of food, water, shelter, health, and protection.
On 8 December, the Rafah governorate remained the almost exclusive area in Gaza where limited aid distributions are taking place. In the Khan Younis governorate and the Middle Area, aid distribution has largely stopped over the past few days due to the intensity of hostilities and restrictions of movement along the main roads, except for limited fuel deliveries to key service providers. Access from the south to areas north of Wadi Gaza (hereafter: the north) came to a halt on 1 December, with the resumption of hostilities.
On 8 December, the UN Secretary-General warned the Security Council about, “a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt,” due to the serious deterioration in the situation and the inability to effectively deliver assistance. He added that “people are desperate, fearful and angry. In some cases, they have expressed that anger towards our staff.” UNWRA’s Operations Head in Gaza said that “society is on the brink of full-blown collapse.” and that “some aid convoys are being looted and UN vehicles stoned.”
The Secretary-General also noted that, “the people of Gaza are being told to move like human pinballs – ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival. But nowhere in Gaza is safe.” He reiterated his call “for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians, and for the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid.”
Under international humanitarian law, parties to a conflict must take all feasible precautions to avoid, and in any event to minimize, civilian harm. This can entail evacuating civilians or giving effective advance warning of attacks, which provides civilians enough time to leave, as well as a safe route and place to go. All possible measures must be adopted to ensure that those civilians displaced can afford satisfactory conditions of safety, shelter, nutrition, and hygiene and ensure that family members are not separated. Civilians choosing to stay in areas designated for evacuation do not lose their protection.
On 8 December, Israeli forces shot and killed six Palestinians, including a child, during an operation in West Bank refugee camp of Al Far’a (Tubas governorate), bringing the fatality toll among Palestinians in the West Bank since 7 October to 263, including 68 children. 2023 is the deadliest year for Palestinians since OCHA began recording casualties in 2005.
Read the full report: Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #63
Hundreds are reported killed daily in Gaza amid relentless bombardments, ground operations and fighting. No area is safe for civilians in Gaza and relief operations are severely hindered. “Society is on the brink of full-blown collapse,” the Secretary-General of the United Nations warned on 8 December. Photo by Ashraf
