Palestinian municipal authorities have declared the cities of Jabalia and Beit Hanoon, in the north of the Gaza Strip, “disaster zones.”
Naji Sarhan, head of the Municipal Emergency Committee, said at a news conference on Sunday that Israeli forces have destroyed some 50,000 housing units and torn down drainage networks and roads in most municipalities in northern Gaza.
“The Jabalia refugee camp and the city of Beit Hanoon are now disaster zones,” he said.
Sarhan added that 35 water wells and several schools and facilities run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) have also been destroyed.
“The population of northern Gaza lives in difficult humanitarian conditions and most residents lack food, medicine and fuel,” he said.
The Palestinian official called on the UN and international organizations to “immediately intervene to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip.”
The crippling Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip since October 7 has left the territory's population on the brink of famine, particularly in northern Gaza, home to almost 700,000 people.
Last month, Israel captured the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt, a vital route for humanitarian aid entering the Palestinian enclave.
Israel launched a brutal offensive in the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people and left nearly 240 others captive.
The bombing has killed more than 36,400 people, the vast majority of whom were women and children, and injured more than 82,600 people, according to local health authorities.
