Palestine and Egypt's Red Crescent Societies establish first camp for Gaza's IDPs

At least 85% of Gaza’s population is experiencing internal displacement as Israel’s offensive against the Strip shows no signs of letting up into 2024.

The first camp for internally displaced persons has been established in Gaza’s city of Khan Younis.

In a post via X on Monday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society announced that in cooperation with the Egyptian Red Crescent Society, the camp facility will feature 1,000 tents.

This will provide shelter for hundreds of IDPs in southern Gaza, the PRCS’ X post said.

📍PRCS, in collaboration with @EG_Red_Crescent, establishes the first organized camp in #KhanYounis for displaced individuals. Initially hosting 300 families from PRCS medical, ambulance, and relief teams, the capacity will later expand to 1000 tents, providing shelter for… pic.twitter.com/wIKhzBxDB7
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) January 1, 2024

This comes as the latest figures from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees on Sunday estimated that at least 1.9 million people in Gaza — roughly 85% of the population — are experiencing internal displacement due to Israel’s indiscriminate onslaught.

As of Saturday, UNRWA estimated that nearly 1.4 million Palestinian IDPs are sheltering in 155 of the agency’s facilities across five of the enclave’s governorates.

The mass displacement of Palestinians in the besieged Strip has seen a sharp rise in the spread of infectious diseases.

This has added a dire strain on Gaza’s health sector, which has been weakened by the Israeli bombing of its hospitals and healthcare facilities.

WHO chief sounds alarm over Gaza health system crisis, demands ceasefire

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ latest flash update published on Saturday, at least five people were killed in an Israeli aerial strike within the vicinity of Khan Younis’ European Hospital.

Aside from physical injuries, UN OCHA reported that Gaza’s Ministry of Health is alarmed by the rate of psychological traumas experienced by Palestinians amid the scenes and sounds of carnage, the loss of limbs and family members due to Israel’s bombardment.

As Israel’s horrific ground and aerial offensive continues into 2024, the PRCS has been responding, under grim conditions, to the needs of Palestinians battling for their lives.

At the start of 2024, the PRCS said in an X post that their emergency response team transferred six Palestinians who were killed and a further two who sustained injuries from an Israeli warplane bomb that struck a house in central Gaza’s Maghazi camp.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 21,978 people and injured 57,697 since October 7. Euro-Med believes the death toll could be more than 30,000 due to those presumed dead under the rubble.

“As 2024 begins, the bombardment persists,” the PRCS said in an X post on Tuesday. “Our teams are on the ground, actively evacuating the casualties and the wounded.”