UNRWA: Nearly 500,000 Palestinians displaced from Gaza in March

Nearly half a million Palestinians were forced to flee their homes in Gaza during March due to repeated evacuation orders by the 'Israeli' army, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Friday.

In a statement posted on X, UNRWA described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as "dire," warning that shelters are severely overcrowded and aid workers are struggling to operate under a crippling siege that has exhausted basic resources.

The agency said the repeated evacuation orders are pushing civilians into an increasingly narrow and unsafe area — now less than a third of the Gaza Strip — with people constantly on the move in search of nonexistent safety.

The escalation comes as the 'Israeli' military issued fresh evacuation warnings on Thursday for residents of Beit Hanoun and Sheikh Zayed in northern Gaza, ahead of a large-scale military operation, potentially triggering yet another wave of displacement amid the deepening humanitarian crisis.