The United Nations Calls Israel's Evacuation Order Causes Increased Efforts For Humanitarian Aid In Gaza A Mess

A humanitarian aid truck from Egypt entered Gaza via Rafah. (Twitter/@PalestinineRCS)

JAKARTA - Israel's military evacuation order, which includes a third of the Gaza Strip, has "destroyed" the United Nations' efforts to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid through the Kerem Silom crossing, a senior UN aid official said on Wednesday.

Andrea De Domenico, head of the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian Territory, said in recent weeks there had been many discussions with Israel about how to improve the situation.

"We have designed many solutions and tried and tested, repaired and failed, sometimes, now with these evacuation orders, all of this has been, once again, a mess," he told reporters.

De Domenico said alternative plans were now blocked by evacuation orders, but he hoped a protection agreement could be reached with the Israeli military for several regions.

Earlier, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Israel's evacuation order on Monday was valid for about a third of Gaza's territory. Initial estimates from the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) suggest that some 250,000 people may currently live in the area.

It will be the largest evacuation in the Gaza Strip since October last year, when 1.1 million people were forced to flee when the conflict broke out.

Dujarric said "evacuation on such a large scale will only add to the suffering of civilians and encourage the need for humanity to be even higher."

Israel is known to have criticized the UN-led aid operation in the Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people.

The United Nations says its distribution is not only hampered by a war that lasts nearly nine months between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas, but also a violation of the law.

The Israeli military announced this month a daily hiatus in attacks to facilitate the collection of aid from the Slamom Rem. However, the United Nations says it is still too dangerous and it is Israel's responsibility to restore public order and security in Gaza.