The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has issued a stark warning that a renewed and intensified Israeli military operation in Gaza City would put nearly one million Palestinians at risk of being forcibly displaced yet again.

In a statement shared on its official X account on Thursday, UNRWA underscored the dire humanitarian consequences of any escalation. “With famine already confirmed in the area, any further escalation would deepen suffering and push more people toward catastrophe,” the agency said.

The warning comes as the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip continues to spiral, with food shortages, collapsed health services, and mass displacement becoming defining features of the nearly year-long Israeli assault.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council members — with the exception of the United States — issued a rare joint statement on Wednesday, urging an immediate, permanent, and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. The statement also demanded a significant scale-up of aid delivery throughout the Strip and called on Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately and unconditionally lift all restrictions preventing humanitarian assistance from reaching the enclave’s population.

In addition, the Security Council members pressed Israel to reverse its recent decision to seize Gaza City, a move they described as dangerous and unacceptable. “This decision, which we reject, will inevitably worsen the already horrific humanitarian situation and endanger the lives of all civilians,” the joint statement read.

The developments highlight growing international alarm over the worsening conditions in Gaza, where the majority of the population has already been displaced multiple times since the start of Israel’s offensive. With famine now officially confirmed in parts of the territory, aid agencies warn that any further military escalation risks tipping the population into an even greater humanitarian disaster. (ILKHA)