Amman, Jordan, September 9, 2025 — With airstrikes and ground operations escalating in and around Gaza City, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) warns that the Government of Israel’s evacuation order for the urban center, which will displace nearly one million residents, including IRC staff and clients, to the south of the Strip, will have devastating humanitarian consequences. Residents of Gaza City are already facing famine, and the IRC will be forced to suspend its work to deliver lifesaving nutrition to children. Forcibly displacing them again into areas that are already overcrowded, under-resourced, and stretched to the brink will cost lives.
Currently, 86% of Gaza’s territory is under displacement orders or within militarized zones. The few areas that remain accessible are dangerously overcrowded, with critical infrastructure, including hospitals and water systems, nearing collapse. These areas cannot absorb another wave of displacement from Gaza City. The only way to keep life-saving services operational is through rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to people where they are.
Bob Kitchen, IRC Vice President for Emergencies, said,
“The IRC is operational in Gaza City, working directly and with partners to help families survive this crisis. We are treating malnourished children and pregnant women, ensuring access to safe drinking water, and helping children continue learning through temporary spaces. The IRC is also providing child protection and psychosocial support for children and adults, along with cash assistance, so families can meet their most urgent needs.
“The people the IRC serves are exhausted by conflict and repeated displacement. A recent IRC assessment across several cities, including Gaza City, found that families have been displaced on average seven times, with nearly one quarter displaced more than 10 times. One IRC staff member shared: ‘People are not just hungry, they are losing hope. They have nowhere left to go. Being forced to move again is not only dangerous for families who are already weakened and traumatized, it strips them of any remaining sense of safety and stability.’”
While the Government of Israel has stated it will provide humanitarian assistance to civilians outside combat zones, experience with mechanisms such as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation demonstrates that these approaches are inadequate and pose grave risks to civilian lives.
The IRC is calling for rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to all parts of Gaza. UN agencies and NGOs must be allowed to operate without obstruction to deliver the massive scale-up of aid that is urgently needed. This is only possible if the near-total blockade of Gaza and the access restrictions imposed by the Government of Israel are lifted. An immediate ceasefire is necessary as the best way to protect Palestinians and enable the release of the remaining hostages.