Meanwhile, hundreds remain stranded in eastern Khan Younis as fighting continues.

“Once again, we underscore that all parties to the conflict must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including by taking constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects,” said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, speaking in New York.

“This includes allowing civilians to leave for safer areas and allowing their return as soon as circumstances allow. People must be able to receive humanitarian assistance, whether they move or stay.”

Humanitarian operations affected

On Monday, the Israeli military ordered people to leave Khan Younis.

The UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said the evacuation directives and intense hostilities have destabilised aid operations and hampered efforts to provide critical relief to civilians.

A dozen distribution points for food and eight for cooked meals were forced to halt their operations this week. Nutrition programmes at two shelters supporting more than 2,800 children and pregnant women were also disrupted.

Additionally, 10 water and sanitation facilities were impacted, including water reservoirs, desalination plants and sewage pumping stations that had to cease operations.

Six education partners in Khan Younis also had to halt their activities, affecting some 20,000 children who had been benefiting from mental health and recreational activities and roughly 1,500 others in 10 temporary learning spaces.

Medical deployments halted

Furthermore, efforts to deploy additional medical teams to Gaza have also been hampered due to ongoing insecurity and the designation of only one access point for the entry and exit of humanitarian staff, the Kerem Shalom crossing.

OCHA noted that none of the 36 hospitals in Gaza is functioning. Although 16 are partially functioning, some are only providing minimal healthcare services.

The UN agency added that efforts to collect and distribute humanitarian supplies entering Gaza continue to be hampered due to access restrictions, ongoing hostilities, infrastructure damage and a lack of public order and safety.

Following the start of the Israeli operation in Rafah in early May, the volume of aid that could be retrieved from crossing points has decreased by 56 per cent since April.