Expanding areas under Israeli control in Gaza increase risks to civilians, UN warns
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- UN and humanitarian partners warned on Wednesday that expanding Israeli-controlled areas in Gaza since the October ceasefire are placing civilians at greater risk and severely constraining humanitarian operations.
- The UN verified the killing of 196 Palestinians in Israeli attacks near areas where forces are deployed between 10 October 2025 and early April, including 18 women and 43 children, with many reportedly moving through zones lacking clear ground demarcation.
- Access-restricted areas now cover about 65% of Gaza's land, with most zones off-limits to residents and all requiring humanitarian organisations to coordinate access; access by sea remains prohibited.
- Humanitarian partners have reduced or temporarily suspended critical activities after service providers were killed, affecting thousands of families already displaced multiple times.
- Health agencies warned that skin diseases and acute watery diarrhoea continue spreading due to overcrowding and poor water and sanitation, while less than a quarter of this year's humanitarian appeal has been funded.
- Israeli forces advanced into Beit Lahia, reportedly setting three tents ablaze with incendiary munitions dropped from the air and placing yellow cement blocks marking further "Yellow Line" expansion, prompting another displacement.
Why it matters: With access-restricted zones swallowing roughly two-thirds of Gaza and verified deaths of 196 Palestinians near military deployment areas, the humanitarian operating space for 2 million residents is contracting rapidly while funding for aid covers under 25% of this year's appeal — a double squeeze that intensifies disease and displacement.
