Nearly 75,000 displaced Palestinians are currently seeking refuge in more than 100 buildings belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) across the Gaza Strip, the agency said on Tuesday.

In a statement, UNRWA reported that most of these facilities have been severely damaged amid ongoing Israeli attacks and are suffering from extreme overcrowding.

“Our teams on the ground are working around the clock under extremely difficult conditions to ensure basic safety and dignity for the displaced,” the agency said.

Local sources stated that the conditions inside many UNRWA shelters are dire, with access to clean water, electricity, and food nearly depleted. Health services have reportedly reached the brink of collapse.

The repeated Israeli airstrikes and ground operations, now in their second year, have rendered large parts of Gaza uninhabitable. According to humanitarian organizations, more than two million Palestinians have been displaced, many of whom are struggling to survive in makeshift tents or among the ruins of their destroyed homes.

Human rights groups warn that the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure and displacement of the population amount to collective punishment, in violation of international law.(ILKHA)