Gaza Humanitarian Response Update | 19 January - 1 February 2025

Response

• In the Rafah governorate, the Coastal Municipal Water Utility (CMWU) and six WASH partners are trucking water to returning IDPs in 32 locations and producing water at one water desalination plant to address shortages in the water supply that are due to high levels of damage to water facilities or their presence in currently inaccessible locations in buffer zones. A technical water assessment completed during the reporting period by CMWU found that 50 per cent of 38 ground water wells in Rafah governorate are outside the buffer zone and accessible, of which only five per cent are functional and the rest need repairs; these repairs are commencing. The assessment also found that: three out of nine water reservoirs are accessible but not functional; the wastewater treatment plant, five out of six sewage pumping stations, and five out of six stormwater basins are not accessible and non-functional; and the Sinai-based desalination plant is not operational due to damages to the carrier line and the network.
• In Khan Younis governorate, 20 partners are trucking water in 264 locations, including displacement sites, schools-turned shelters, and humanitarian service delivery points. During the reporting period, partners distributed 17,200 hygiene items and supported solid waste management efforts. In total, 513 cubic metres of solid waste were collected in sites and shelters (primary collection) and UNDP transferred 317 cubic metres of solid waste to temporary dumping sites (secondary collection). Although transfer of solid waste to temporary waste sites is increasing, about half are already full and there is no access to landfills.
• In Deir al Balah governorate, 21 partners are trucking water to 258 locations, including displacement sites, schools-turned shelters, health care facilities and humanitarian service delivery points. During the reporting period, partners distributed 17,500 hygiene items, collected 128 cubic metres of solid waste, and transferred 421 cubic metres of solid waste to temporary dump sites.
• In Gaza governorate, 14 partners are trucking water to 293 locations, including displacement sites, schools-turned shelters, and humanitarian service delivery points. In addition, partners distributed 6,000 hygiene items, collected 34 cubic metres of solid waste, and transferred 95 cubic metres of solid waste to temporary dump sites.
• In North Gaza governorate, four partners are trucking water to 32 locations, including displacement sites and shelters, and the Jabalya Camp well #2 has been repaired.
• Between 25 and 31 January 2025, the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) and CMWU reported that a daily average of 97,167 cubic metres of water was produced across the Gaza Strip; this includes 43,151 cubic metres of drinking water produced from the two operational seawater desalination plants or supplied through two of the Mekorot lines and 51,016 cubic metres produced by municipal ground water wells.
• In January, UNICEF provided CMWU/PWA with 426,789 litres of fuel, 72 per cent of which were delivered since the ceasefire began, to operate groundwater wells, water treatment units, trucking operations, sewage pumping and repair activities. The teams are working to operate as many functional and accessible water wells as possible, in some cases are using mobile teams to ensure a greater spread of water production. In January, 24 WASH cluster partners operated 886 water points for drinking and domestic water across Gaza. The hardest hit governorates are Rafah and North Gaza, where the focus of aid operations is to expand water production and distribution services.
• WASH Cluster partners finalized a technical guidance document for the closure of latrine pits and the cleaning of vacated displacement camps, which are priority activities for public health reasons, especially in Al Masawi area.

Challenges

• Massive destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure, particularly in northern Gaza and Rafah, have resulted in a high reliance on water trucking, with partners pumping water from wells that remain operational on a rotational basis to help improve equity in distribution. There are currently few operational water points in most areas of North Gaza, especially Jabalya refugee camp, with most people relying on a few private water wells. The old Kamal water well is supporting approximately 30,000 people, with very long queueing times.
• The lack of appropriate materials and equipment (e.g. pumps, generators, consumables, spare parts, cement, sewage pipes) and technical skills as well as fuel shortages, particularly in northern Gaza, are limiting the ability of aid organizations to carry out needed repairs and emergency services, including to re-connect damaged buildings to sewage networks and establish appropriate latrine spaces. If left unaddressed, these challenges will hamper the continuous operation of water and sanitation services. Efforts are underway to strengthen the supply chain for the entry of critical humanitarian items to ensure a strong public health response for families returning to their areas of origin.
• The continued denial of access by the Israeli authorities to the Sofa landfill, which is now located in the buffer zone, is preventing agencies from transferring solid waste from the 30 temporary dump sites and numerous persistent ad-hoc sites. Approximately half of the temporary dump sites are already full and unable to receive additional amounts of solid waste. Continued advocacy is needed to secure access to the Sofa landfill to ensure a sanitary environment in southern Gaza and Juhor al Deek area in northern Gaza.

Response

• During the reporting period, Shelter Cluster partners provided shelter and non-food items (NFI) assistance to 93,139 people across the Gaza Strip. This included the distribution of tarpaulins to 54,956 people, standard tents to 1,131 people, and Sealing-off Kits (SOKs) to 5,850 people. Additionally, 30,107 people received NFIs, such as blankets, mattresses, pillows, and clothes.

Challenges

• The distributed shelter items were mainly from existing stock, as new shipments have been limited, primarily due to the prioritization of food supplies. The high demand for shelter materials far exceeds current availability, creating significant challenges in meeting urgent needs.
• Hostilities in the days leading up to the ceasefire hampered partners’ efforts to carry out necessary repairs and replacements, and delayed distributions, exacerbating the lack of shelters and the suffering of IDPs across Gaza.
• Given limited supplies. coordination among partners with better accessibility, warehousing, and delivery capacity in both southern and northern Gaza is essential to ensure efficient and timely distributions.
• With more than 500,000 IDPs estimated to have returned to Gaza and North Gaza, the demand for tents and shelter materials remains high. However, with priority given to food supplies during the first two weeks of the ceasefire, the entry of shelter assistance has been limited.
• Despite receiving security approvals for Emergency Shelter Kits (ESKs)—which are critical in the coming period as people return to their damaged homes and serve as an alternative to tents—logistical challenges persist in bringing them into Gaza, especially with regard to the delivery of oversized cargo (e.g. 2.4-metre timber) due to scanning, palletization and truck loading restrictions.

Response

• Since the beginning of the ceasefire on 19 January, Health Cluster partners have conducted rapid assessments at more than 100 non-functional health service points to evaluate their condition and identify those that can be restored through minor rehabilitation. During the reporting period, partners, including UNRWA, have reopened two primary health points in Gaza city, with additional health points planned to be re-opened across Gaza, especially in the areas where people are returning, over the coming weeks.
• On 21 January, following an incident of rabbitfish poisoning that resulted in the hospitalization of 10 people and one death, WHO published risk communication materials warning of the dangers of consuming rabbitfish. The information was disseminated across various social media platforms
• The increased fuel supply since the ceasefire began has had a positive impact on health facilities in southern Gaza, allowing them to maintain some reserve stocks. On 23 January, 89,150 litres of fuel were delivered to Gaza city to sustain 20 partially functional health facilities and ambulances across northern Gaza.
• Health Cluster partners, including UNRWA, are providing primary and secondary health services to an average of 320,000 people per week across the Strip. UNRWA currently provides 40 per cent of primary health care in the Gaza Strip
• UNRWA dispatched nearly 370 pallets of essential medications – including insulin syringes sufficient for over 17,000 people suffering from diabetes for eight months – as well as laboratory and dental supplies to UNRWA-run health facilities, including in Deir al Balah, Nuseirat, and Al Mawasi and the Beach Health Centre in Gaza governorate where services have been restored this week. At these centers, temporary clinics and medical points, over 1,000 UNRWA health staff provided 13,768 health consultations on 25 January alone.
• To support the movement of hundreds of thousands of people from southern to northern Gaza, PRCS, Ministry of Health (MoH), Palestinian Civil Defence (PCD), Public Aid, and Al Awda Association deployed 30 ambulances in the north and south of Gaza to handle emergency cases. This is in addition to the establishment of three medical points. to provide emergency care to people on the move.
• On 29 January, an Emergency Medical Team (EMT) was redeployed to the Indonesian Hospital, in North Gaza, which is currently only providing basic outpatient services. On the same day, another team was deployed to Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza city. As of 3 February, there are in total 25 EMTs operating across the Gaza strip, including 22 in central and southern Gaza, two in Gaza city, and one in North Gaza.
• During the reporting period, a polio risk assessment was completed, and discussions are underway within the Polio Technical Committee, WHO and MoH to determine the next steps, which may include another polio vaccination campaign.
• During the reporting period, three groups of patients and their companions were successfully evacuated to Egypt through the Rafah Crossing, which was re-opened under the ceasefire agreement for the first time in nearly nine months to facilitate medical evacuations outside Gaza for patients in need of life-saving medical treatment. On 1 February, the first group of 37 patients and 39 companions was evacuated, marking the first medical evacuation since May 2024. This was followed by a second group of 34 patients and 63 companions on 2 February and a third group comprising 33 patients and 70 companions on 3 February. In total 104 patients, including 100 children and 172 companions have been evacuated between 1 and 3 February.

Challenges

• Large-scale displacement and movements of people seeking to return their homes have created a need for partners to relocate health service points to locations where people are resettling.
• The limited entry of critical humanitarian supplies, including generators, spare parts, and medical equipment due to their dual-use status remains a major challenge, impacting the ability of partners to scale up interventions including to restore services.
• While UNRWA continues to provide services, the ongoing uncertainty regarding the ability of the agency to continue its operations in Gaza is major concern because of the impact this would have on the ability of aid actors to sustain primary health care delivery.

Response

• Following the ceasefire, partners have been able to expand their services in areas that were previously underserved due to access constraints. In Gaza city, all neighborhoods except one are now covered by partners. In Rafah, five partners are now providing services across seven nutrition sites, while in North Gaza, one NGO partner has been able to re-open a third nutrition site in Jabalya, helping to cover the needs of families returning to North Gaza.
• Supplies for treatment, both ready to use therapeutic food (RUTF) and therapeutic milk (F100/F75) are available within Gaza for both outpatient and inpatient treatment of malnutrition cases, sufficient to cover needs for two months, with additional supplies prepositioned outside Gaza ready to be dispatched.
• The blanket supplementary feeding programme, led by WFP, has expanded and is now covering 85,332 children between six to 59 months and 37,175 pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW), compared with 45,985 children and 8,124 PBW in December 2024.
• As of 1 February, screening for malnutrition among children and PBW continues across 162 sites. During the month of January 2025, nutrition partners reportedly screened over 34,000 children and identified over 1150 cases of acute malnutrition, all of whom have been enrolled in treatment programs.

Challenges

• The massive movement of displaced people to their homes has posed challenges to ensuring the continuity of treatment for children, as caregivers must find new outpatient therapeutic programs near their new place of residence. To mitigate the risk of treatment interruption, cluster partners have extended treatment provisions from one week to two weeks, in addition to scaling up services especially in northern Gaza.
• UNRWA continues to play a critical role, providing nutrition services at 38 sites across the Gaza strip. This accounts for more than 20 per cent of all the 162 nutrition sites currently operational across Gaza. Any disruption to UNRWA's services would have a severe impact on the nutrition sector.

Response

• The CWG is planning to support 200,000 households in Gaza with multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) during the first phase of the ceasefire. As of 4 February, more than 180,000 households have been checked against eligibility criteria, of whom 131,000 households deemed to be most in need have been registered to receive financial assistance through nine partners. Among the 16,000 households that have already received cash assistance (1,000 NIS, equivalent to $US 280), 9,997 families comprising 82,135 people, including 41,025 children, were reached by UNICEF. These funds will help families meet their very basic needs, including food, medicine and hygiene items, particularly now that there are notable decreases in the prices of some critical commodities.
• Efforts are underway to expand the accessibility and usability of digital payments and e-wallets for both people and businesses in Gaza.
• Between October 2023 and December 2024, CWG members (UN and NGOs) successfully provided MPCA to 340,814 households (1,874,477 people), covering approximately 84 per cent of Gaza’s population. The CWG has the capacity and resources to scale up MPCA assistance during and beyond the ceasefire.

Challenges

• An estimated 1.5 billion shekels are circulating outside the banking system and formal financial services remain limited. On 28 January, the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA) announced that the banking system in Gaza has resumed operations. The first phase includes opening at least three branches in Deir al Balah and An Nuseirat, followed by an increase in the number of branches in the north and south of Gaza. The PMA said people can access free online banking until cash is made available in the Strip.
• While the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA), the financial sector, and humanitarian cash actors are working to promote e-wallet adoption, limited liquidity hinders financial access. Stable banking operations are critical to enable people to meet their basic needs.

Response

• During the reporting period, partners of the SMWG conducted movement tracking assessments covering a total of 115,247 people (23,509 households) across 74 sites. At most assessed sites (74 per cent), key informants (KIs) reported that people intended to leave. At 24 per cent of the sites, KIs noted no changes in the population since the ceasefire. Additionally, the partners reported that people were returning to some displacement sites in Khan Yunis and Deir al Balah governorates. According to SMWG estimates, an average of 1,200 people have been leaving displacement sites daily since 27 January. Furthermore, 10 sites were identified as inactive as the population had moved to other areas.
• At the start of the ceasefire, SMWG established tools and mechanisms to monitor and track population movements at both the household and individual levels. Six monitoring points were established across the Gaza strip, where trained enumerators were deployed to monitor and track movement patterns, trends, population profiles and intentions of people on the move. This has provided the humanitarian community with critical information to coordinate and plan the humanitarian response accordingly. As of 3 February 2025, SMWG has observed 545,355 people moving from southern to northern Gaza. Similarly, some 36,620 people have been observed to have moved southward. Further analysis indicates that 44 per cent of movements are routine daily movements, while 56 per cent are associated with returns at the commence of ceasefire movements.
• Between 27 January and 3 February 2025, SMWG partners assisted the returning IDP population in Gaza city with setting up tents in different locations, including roundabouts and old playgrounds.
• During the reporting period, five SMWG partners have established their presence in Gaza city to support site management operations and coordinate new site locations with local authorities, particularly the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD). A practical guide for local authorities and SMWG partners was developed by SMWG to ensure that critical aspects of site planning are properly addressed.

Challenges

• Many of the SMWG partners have reported that the US funding freeze on aid is affecting their ability to deliver to deploy staff with the right capacity, and to support the much-needed lifesaving activities.
• The establishment of numerous unplanned sites in northern Gaza and Rafah, which have been rapidly set up poses a risk to the well-being of the displaced populations and complicates efforts to provide necessary assistance. SMWG is working together with other clusters to ensure that these sites meet the minimum standards required for safety sanitation and overall living conditions.

Response

• During the reporting period, protection partners supported people on the move at monitoring points by identifying emerging risks amongst vulnerable groups, providing psychological first aid (PFA) and referring people to specialized services.
• During the reporting period, Mine Action (MA) partners:
  • Completed 41 Explosive Hazard Assessments (EHAs), including support to inter-cluster missions.
  • Delivered a one-day webinar focused on Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) and integration for humanitarian programming delivered to 270 frontline staff.
  • Finalized an interactive map of monitoring and distribution points to date to allow EORE teams to coordinate and deliver safe messaging at the points, while mobile EORE teams operated along Salah Al Din and Al Rasheed roads.
  • Completed 41 Explosive Hazard Assessments (EHAs), including support to inter-cluster missions.
  • Distributed 135,000 print materials, prioritizing high-value humanitarian locations. Mobile teams deployed posters in areas of return, including Gaza city and North Gaza as well as on Al Rasheed and Salah ad Din roads.
  • Mine Action partners reactivated a mass media campaign via radio and SMS to deliver critical safety messages to returnees – targeting 1.5 million individuals.
• During the reporting period, Child Protection (CP) actors:
  • Distributed more than 30,000 child identity bracelets to children under the age of four to help prevent family separation. This intervention has proven critical as protection partners report having assisted more than 250 young children who were separated from their caregivers while crossing to the north. In total, five children who were separated by their caregivers received emergency overnight interim care until they were all successfully reunified with their caregivers.
  • Scaled up awareness-raising interventions at assigned monitoring points, including EORE in coordination with MA AoR.
  • Provided legal assistance, particularly for birth registration, while partners continue to monitor and document incidents of children injured by the conflict.
• During the reporting period, GBV partners:
  • Distributed a total of 5,000 dignity and winterization kits in Gaza city and North Gaza.
  • Scaled up case management and risk mitigation activities.
• Between 19 January and 4 February, UNRWA’s protection teams:
  • Conducted eight protection observations in shelters and IDP sites, 11 focus group discussions, three key informant interviews, and continued to monitor aid distributions to identify and follow up on the needs of vulnerable people.
  • Delivered awareness raising sessions on EORE, GBV, PSEA and CP, reaching 629, 112, 45 and 121 participants respectively, at UNRWA shelters and IDP sites.
  • Since 27 January, members of the UNRWA Protection team have been supporting Site Management teams by carrying out protection assessments on Al Rasheed and Salah ad Din roads, south of Wadi Gaza.
  • Coordinated the provision of assistance to 20 Palestinian detainees who were released at the Kerem Shalom Crossing on 25 January.

Challenges

• Reports from protection partners indicate a rising prevalence of GBV, including intimate partner violence, domestic violence and verbal abuse against women, girls, and persons with disabilities. This underscores the urgent need to scale-up critical GBV response services.
• Key concerns highlighted by people on the move include lack of water and sanitation facilities, insufficient medical assistance as well as heightened risks for vulnerable persons, elderly and people with disabilities, including children. The Protection partners also note that some people who attempt to return to the north are compelled to return to the south again due to the lack of services and the overwhelming destruction of their homes and communities, leaving them without viable shelter options. This has exacerbated distress, further weakening coping mechanism. Additionally, it was highlighted that many children lack adequate clothing, owning only the set of clothes they wear, necessitating the urgent procurement and distribution of clothes.
• Due to the lack of safe shelters and basic services in areas of return, people are burning waste to keep warm, exposing them to severe health and safety risks, including GBV.
• MA AoR highlights the need to expand funding for equipment and technical specialists to ensure the necessary resources are available for effective disposal and clearance of Explosive Ordnance (EO). Unimpeded access for specialist personnel and equipment is also critically needed to enable EO disposal and the safe and sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid.

Response

• A total of 54 Temporary Learning Spaces (TLSs) supported by eight partners were closed in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis in response to population movements away from these two governorates. These include three partner-supported TLSs that were relocated from Khan Younis to Rafah to ensure the continued delivery of learning activities in line with the cluster’s ceasefire plan. As of 1 February, there are 390 TLSs across Gaza, serving around 135,000 children — less than a quarter of school-aged children in the Gaza Strip.
• The Education Cluster, in coordination with the Ministry of Education and UNRWA, continues efforts to scale up e-learning activities over the next six months, in line with the Palestinian Government’s plan and the cluster’s three-phase response plan. The focus is on harmonizing learning activities at TLSs, rubble removal from damaged schools near displacement sites for use as tent schools, and planning for 12th grade students in the current school year to take the final high-school matriculation exams (Tawjihi).
• As of 1 February, 280,000 school-aged children are registered in UNRWA’s ongoing e-learning programme.

Challenges

• Students enrolled in distance learning initiatives face challenges in attending classes due to limited internet access, a lack of electronic devices, and insufficient power to charge these devices. These obstacles continue to hinder access to learning opportunities for students who have already lost 15 months of education.
• Restrictions by the Israeli authorities on the entry of education supplies into Gaza persist. Moreover, according to them, these are not considered humanitarian goods and therefore are not prioritized. These factors are limiting the entry of stationery, learning materials, textbooks, and individual student kits, thereby hampering the education response. One cluster partner has enough supplies for 465,000 children in Jordan but is unable to dispatch the assistance to Gaza due to the ongoing restrictions. Such barriers leave many children without essential learning opportunities, as existing TLSs are insufficient and ill-equipped for the harsh winter conditions.
• Most schools are still hosting IDPs, which makes it difficult to rehabilitate and use them for learning in the short term.
• Funding is not sufficient for the Education response given the massive levels of need. The education response under the OPT Flash Appeal is only 7 per cent funded.

Response

• Between 19 January and 1 February, the Logistics Cluster facilitated 12 direct convoys of 329 trucks from Amman to Erez West Crossing (Zikim) on behalf of 11 partners, carrying 3,000 MT of food, WASH, health, nutrition, and shelter items. To date, the Logistics Cluster has facilitated 116 humanitarian inter-agency convoys through the Jordan corridor, dispatching 1,652 trucks with 16,213 MT of aid into Gaza on behalf of 27 partners.
• Since December 2023 to date, the Logistics Cluster consolidated 36,339 cubic metres of humanitarian cargo at the warehouse in Amman and received 62,686 cubic metres for common storage inside Gaza.
• Since the ceasefire began, Erez West Crossing (Zikim) has been dedicated to the Jordan route for Government-to-Government (G2G) convoys, while Erez Crossing receives cargo from Jordan Back-to-Back (B2B) convoys, Israel and Ashdod, and the West Bank, for delivery into northern Gaza. Kerem Shalom-Karem Abu Salem is open for cargo via the Egypt route. The Logistics Cluster continues to facilitate transport from the northern and southern entry points to partners' warehouses and common storage facilities.
• During the reporting period, the Logistics Cluster secured 1,700 square metres of additional temporary storage in northern Gaza, available for partners' cargo for 24 hours, and is planning to further expand its warehouse capacity in central and northern areas as of next week.
• Israeli authorities have waived customs clearance requirements for humanitarian cargo on direct G2G and B2B convoy modalities, simplifying transit from Jordan to Gaza. To support relief efforts at this crucial time, the Logistics Cluster has reactivated B2B convoys as a temporary service for the duration of the ceasefire.

Challenges

• Logistics Cluster partners continue to face congestion at the Kerem Shalom (Karem Abu Salem) entry point due to the increased volume of commodities, causing delays in the arrival of trucks at warehouses in Gaza.

Response

• Following the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, the ETC team is collaborating with WFP, the Logistics Cluster, and other stakeholders to reinitiate the COGAT approval request for pending and previously denied items that are deemed critical for the scale-up of activities and the provision of shared communications services for humanitarians in Gaza.

• For more information on ETC activities, please visit:Palestine: Conflict | Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) (etcluster.org).

Challenges

• A significant amount of equipment has been damaged or destroyed due to hostilities, and importing telecommunications equipment continues to be restricted and challenging, limiting the delivery of needed ETC services, including critical telecommunications and internet services in Gaza. The restrictions remain in place following the onset of the ceasefire.
• The safety of humanitarian aid workers in Gaza is a primary concern. Although the ceasefire has reduced immediate security threats, the unstable environment poses challenges for deploying shared ETC services and providing technical support to humanitarian partners.
• Insufficient funding has limited the Cluster’s capacity to address immediate communications needs for humanitarian responders in Gaza. The Cluster continues to appeal to potential donors for funding.

Protection against sexual abuse and exploitation (PSEA) remains a cross-cutting priority for all clusters. Aid distribution must be delivered with dignity and respect. Any wrongdoing can be reported through SAWA toll-free number 164. SAWA will assist and provide services free of charge and with the utmost confidentiality.