Number of displaced in Gaza surpasses 187,000 as dozens of towns evacuate, U.N. office says

More than 187,500 residents in Gaza are displaced as a result of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report Monday night.

As casualty figures on both sides of the conflict continue to rise, so do the number of those displaced. The OCHA said the number of displaced individuals reached more than 187,518 on Monday, marking the highest displacement figure since the 50-day escalation of hostilities in Gaza in 2014.

The the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is providing shelter in around 83 schools for more than 137,427 displaced people, according to the OCHA.

The OCHA estimated an additional 41,000 displaced individuals with damaged or destroyed homes are being hosted by relatives and neighbors.

Residents were forced to flee their homes after Israeli forces directed the evacuation of dozens of towns near the Gaza Strip in the wake of Israel’s ongoing retaliatory airstrikes, The Associated Press reported.

The evacuations come on the third day of fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, a militant group that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel last Saturday, invading several towns by land, sea and air in addition to a barrage of rocket fire from Gaza that left hundreds dead and thousands more wounded.

The Israeli government formally declared war against Hamas on Sunday and ramped up its attacks on Gaza, vowing to destroy the militant group and forcefully avenge the attacks.

“All of the places which Hamas is deployed, hiding and operating in, that wicked city, we will turn them into rubble,” Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote hours after the surprise attack in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “I say to the residents of Gaza: Leave now because we will operate forcefully everywhere.”

Noting results “will take time,” Netanyahu assured Israeli citizens Monday that “at the end of the campaign all our enemies will know that it was a terrible mistake to attack Israel.”

“What is done to our enemies in the coming days will resonate with them for generations,” Netanyahu wrote in a post Monday.

As of Monday night, the Israeli military claimed to have hit an estimated 1,290 Hamas targets.

An estimated 790 housing units were destroyed, while another 5,330 were damaged in the attacks, the OCHA said.

The OCHA said four UNRWA schools and eight health care facilities have been damaged since the start of escalated hostilities over the weekend, impacting medical teams’ ability to reach victims.

Earlier Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “complete siege” on the Gaza Strip, vowing to halt the supply of food, electricity and water to Gaza. The OCHA estimated the decision impacts more than 610,000 people in Gaza and will result in a “severe shortage of already scarce drinkable water.”

Israeli media reported the death toll climbed above 900 individuals in Israel, including Israeli soldiers and civilians. An estimated 2,616 Israelis were wounded as of Monday night, the Israeli military reported.

Palestinian armed groups in Gaza claim to have captured more than 150 people, according to the OCHA. Hamas on Monday vowed to kill Israeli hostages should Israel fail to provide “prior warnings” about military strikes.

In Gaza, at least 687 people were killed and an additional 3,800 injured, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said Monday.