The shelters managed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in central and southern Gaza are severely overcrowded with a record-high number of displaced persons.

A UNRWA report has said that over 1.6 million people in Gaza have become internally displaced, including approximately 813,000 taking shelter in 154 UNRWA installations, Xinhua news agency reported.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted in its Wednesday report that the UNRWA shelters are accommodating far more people than their capacity allows, leading to the spread of diseases, including acute respiratory infections and diarrhoea, raising environmental and health concerns.

The overcrowding is also affecting the agency's ability to provide effective and timely services, according to the OCHA.

The UNRWA also announced the suspension of dozens of drinking water and sewage facilities in the central and southern Gaza Strip due to fuel depletion.

Thomas White, UNRWA's operations director in Gaza, said on Thursday in a post on social media platform X that 76 water wells in the three southern provinces of the Strip, along with two main drinking water stations and 15 sewage pumping stations, have stopped functioning due to fuel shortages.

Sewage was flowing on roads and streets of Rafah city as sewage pumps were out of service due to the depletion of fuel, he said, adding drinking water scarcity could also potentially lead to a 40% increase in diarrheal and infectious diseases among displaced people in UNRWA shelters.

Gaza has been under nearly a complete Israeli siege since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7, with the suspended inflow of essential goods and fuel plunging locals into a humanitarian crisis.