By Bunmi Yekini
The Global Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster has issued a stark warning over the deepening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, as nearly 180,000 people have been forcibly displaced between May 15 and 25 amid intensified Israeli military operations.
In a strongly worded statement, the UN-led Cluster condemned repeated attacks on displacement sites, including airstrikes on makeshift tent shelters in al-Mawasi and a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City. The renewed offensive, focused on North Gaza, eastern Khan Younis, and Deir al Balah, has left countless civilians dead, injured, or again uprooted.
“These sites exist to protect civilians and must never be targeted,” the Cluster said, stressing the obligation under international humanitarian law to safeguard displaced populations.
The crisis comes just two months after the collapse of a fragile ceasefire on March 18. Since then, over 616,000 people have been displaced, many of them multiple times. Families who had returned to northern areas during the ceasefire are once again being forced to flee.
One Palestinian aid worker in al-Mawasi described the emotional toll of repeated displacement. “I’m so tired. We’ve been forced to move before, and [our family] got split up, it didn’t help,” they said. “My sibling died in a ‘safe’ zone after they bombed it. They call places safe, then attack them. I’d rather stay home with my family and face whatever comes.”
According to CCCM data, approximately 80% of Gaza is now under displacement orders or marked as “no-go” zones, rendering nearly the entire 365 square kilometre Strip unsafe. Over 260 displacement sites hosting more than 125,000 people have already been impacted, with many forced to move yet again.
Humanitarian access has been severely hindered by ongoing blockades, strikes on civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and tents, and the introduction of uncoordinated aid delivery channels that, according to the Cluster, threaten to erode humanitarian principles and endanger civilian lives.
The CCCM Cluster reaffirmed that all aid must be delivered according to the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. It warned that bypassing established coordination mechanisms not only puts civilians at risk but also undermines efforts to assess needs and ensure equitable aid distribution.
Despite these conditions, humanitarian partners continue to provide critical services. “The problem is not a lack of will or capacity, it’s access,” the Cluster emphasised.
Calling for an immediate cessation of attacks on shelters, full and sustained humanitarian access, and protection of civilians regardless of location, the CCCM Cluster said it remains committed to a coordinated, protection-centred response rooted in the needs of Gaza’s displaced communities.