Agence France Presse reported Friday that the number of displaced Palestinians from Gaza has almost doubled within the past 24 hours.
"The number of people coming to UNRWA seeking sanctuary from the fighting in Gaza has nearly doubled today. It has risen from 22,000 to over 40,000," said spokesman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Chris Gunness.
"We are accommodating them in 34 UNRWA shelters," he added.
Gunness told reporters that UNRWA has also submitted an urgent appeal for $60 million to cover shelter costs for Gazans over the next month as well as emergency related supplies until the end of the year.
The massive movement comes largely in response to Israel's launch of a ground offensive on the Strip Thursday night in its move to intensify its so-called campaign against Hamas.
More than 260 Palestinians have been killed from Israeli airstrikes over the past week and a half alone and 1.5 thousand more have been injured.
According to multiple reports, approximately 80 percent of the casualties since Israel launched its attacks on Gaza are civilians.
