Iran Press/West Asia: The directive to evacuate coincided with the UN's upcoming initiative to commence a vaccination campaign on Saturday for approximately 640,000 children in Gaza. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that a 10-month-old baby in Gaza was paralyzed by the type 2 poliovirus, marking the first instance of such a case in the region in 25 years.
"We're unable to deliver today with the conditions that we're in," said the senior UN official, speaking anonymously. "As of this morning, we're not operating in Gaza."
The United Nations had relocated its main operations center for the Gaza Strip and most UN personnel to Deir Al-Balah, the official said, after Israel ordered the evacuation of Rafah in the south of Gaza several months ago.
The senior UN official said UN staff on the ground had been directed to try and find a way to keep operating. He said UN operations had not been formally suspended.
"We're not leaving (Gaza) because the people need us there," the official said. "We're trying to balance the need of the population with the need for safety and security of the UN personnel."
Sam Rose, a senior field director at the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), mentioned that despite facing similar challenges as the rest of the UN system, UNRWA could continue providing health and other services on Monday, albeit with a different operational approach.
So far more than 40,500 people have been killed and 93,356 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza.
