on Tuesday 18 May, 2021

Over 52,000 Palestinians displaced by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza: UN aid agency

Palestinians, who fled their home due to Israeli air and artillery strikes, sit at a United Nations-run school where they take refuge, in Gaza City May 18, 2021. (Reuters)
by : REUTERS

More than 52,000 Palestinians have been displaced by Israeli airstrikes that have destroyed or badly damaged nearly 450 buildings in the Gaza Strip, the UN aid agency said on Tuesday.

About 47,000 of the displaced people have sought shelter in 58 UN-run schools in Gaza, Jens Laerke, spokesman of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told reporters.

Laerke said 132 buildings had been destroyed and 316 had been severely damaged, including six hospitals and nine primary healthcare centers.

The UN agency said it welcomed the fact that Israel had opened one border crossing for humanitarian supplies but called for another crossing to also be opened.