MSF Gaza update: Impact of latest displacement orders

21 July 2025 - On Sunday, 20 July, massive displacement orders were issued by Israeli forces in parts of Deir Al Balah, an area that was considered the last remotely safe area in Gaza. According to OCHA, an estimated 50,000 - 80,000 people, who have already been displaced multiple times, were forced to move again and are being squeezed into an ever-shrinking space.

These orders affected Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) staff living in Deir Al Balah. Thirty-six Palestinian colleagues in our Mawasi clinic had to abruptly leave a busy health facility that was treating an influx of patients from Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites, to evacuate their families. This new displacement order has also impacted one of the main lifelines for water distribution in southern Gaza. Today water distribution trucks could not reach the plant, and these orders will put at risk anyone who tries to distribute water from here in the near future. Water plants and distribution systems are an essential lifeline for people in Gaza and must be protected.

Displacement orders have rapidly expanded across the Strip, from the north to the middle area in Deir Al Balah, now covering over 87 per cent as a no-go military zone. Around two million Palestinians now have less than 13 per cent of their land accessible for shelter.

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