UN says Israel has now forced two million people into an area smaller than Manhattan

A report issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that more than 82% of the Gaza Strip was located within the Zionist entity Israel’s military zone or under evacuation orders or in areas where these situations overlapped, as of 17 September 2025.

According to the report, these developments have led to the crowding of nearly two million people into an area of no more than 18%, which is only 65 square kilometres of the Strip’s total area, causing a sharp deterioration in humanitarian conditions. This is an area smaller than Manhattan, and about half the size of the City of London.

“No safe space in Gaza” thanks to Israel

The UN office stressed that Israel’s genocide meant ‘there is no safe place in Gaza,’ noting that restrictions on movement and ongoing military operations are hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need.

International relief organisations warn that Israel’s continuation of the current situation portends a large-scale humanitarian disaster amid declining basic services and shortages of food and medical supplies.

These developments come amid ongoing tensions since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza in October 2023, which has caused widespread destruction of infrastructure and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of residents. The UN says that most of the population depends on humanitarian aid to survive, while the sector faces a near-total collapse of its health system and public services.

For two years too long, people in #Gaza have been going through forced displacement.

They are confined to ever-shrinking spaces with over 82 per cent of the Gaza Strip within the Israeli-militarised zone, under displacement orders, or where these overlap, as of 17 September… pic.twitter.com/7KgjFhA3DD

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) October 5, 2025

Featured image via the Canary