Noor Bagheri, director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – in Cairo, in a statement.
The UNHCR has also released the list of affected communities as of Tuesday, citing an increased need to protect and assist the people fleeing the war.
The Syrian Army controls most of Eastern Ghouta, which was once home to a large population of pro-Assad civilians, and other areas also controlled by insurgents, like Douma. The area has been divided between government forces and the rebels for more than three years.
The government and some rebels have also made gains in Western Ghouta. The rebel-held section has been secured by the government for the last two months but has become more dangerous as the area has been bombed by the military.
The UN estimates about 120,000 people – mostly civilians – are registered as having been displaced in Eastern Ghouta since it began to fracture during the war in 2011.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator Valerie Amos said last month the number of people displaced in East Ghouta had surpassed 10,000 in mid-October and the death toll had reached 7,000, with 10,000 injured.
More than half a million Syrians have been killed since the war started in March 2011 and more than 3 million remain displaced – but the UN doesn’t believe this will put an end to the conflict. A new round of Geneva talks aimed at ending the fighting may be called before the end of the month, but those talks are not expected to produce a solution for Syria, as they have focused on the opposition, not President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
The United States and Russia were negotiating their own peace proposal for Syria earlier this month, saying an immediate cessation of hostilities, the release of all political prisoners and the launching of UN-supervised elections could be part of a deal between the regime and rebels.
The Geneva talks, which will start on Friday, will seek to reach a deal as the UN tries to prevent an “imminent danger to peace throughout Syria.”
The US and Russia said a ceasefire would take effect on Friday and the UN said a full-fledged ceasefire was the “only sensible option”.