Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #21

KEY POINTS

• A total of 298 fatalities, including 125 children, have been reported over the past 24 hours (as of 18:00 on 27 October) by the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza. Overall, 7,326 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of hostilities, of whom 66 per cent are children and women, according to MoH. 
• On 27 October, landlines, cellular and internet services were cut across Gaza, shortly after the Israeli military announced extended ground operations and airstrikes. The main telecommunications tower in Gaza was reportedly struck. Humanitarian Coordinator Lynn Hastings stated that hospitals and humanitarian operations “can’t continue without communications,” alongside energy, food, water and medications. UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that they had lost touch with their staff in Gaza. Palestine Red Cresent Society (PRCS) expressed concern about its ability to provide emergency medical services. 

• On 27 October, the Rafah crossing with Egypt opened for the sixth time since 21 October, allowing the entry of ten trucks carrying water, food, and medical supplies. For the first time since the start of hostilities, a small team of medical specialists, of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was allowed through. With this, the total number of humanitarian aid trucks entering Gaza since 21 October has reached 84. Prior to the hostilities, an average of 500 truckloads entered Gaza every working day. 
• None of the aid trucks that have entered thus far contained urgently needed fuel. Consequently, humanitarian actors have been forced to drastically limit the use of fuel and prioritize the most essential activities. UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini rejected accusations that Hamas had stolen fuel from the UN and stressed that the agency has a “solid monitoring mechanism” in place to ensure that aid is not diverted. 
• Over 40 per cent of Gaza’s education facilities have been hit since hostilities started, including 38 schools destroyed and/or severely damaged; 75 which sustained moderate damage; and 108 with minor damage. 
• In the West Bank, the access of students and staff to 150-200 schools, mainly in Area C and East Jerusalem, has been disrupted daily since the start of hostilities due to movement restrictions and settler harassment. 
• An estimated 1.4 million people in Gaza are internally displaced, with some 657,000 sheltering in 150 UNRWA facilities. The average number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) per shelter is almost three times their intended capacity. 
• Palestinian armed groups’ indiscriminate rocket firing towards Israeli population centres continued, with no reported fatalities. Three people were injured as a rocket hit a residential building in southern Tel Aviv. Overall, about 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed since 7 October in Israel, according to the Israeli authorities, the vast majority on 7 October.
• On 27 October, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce,” the release “of all civilians who are illegally being held captive,” the protection of international institutions, and ensuring the safe passage of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
• According to the Israeli authorities, 229 people are held captive in Gaza, including Israelis and foreign nationals. The UN Secretary-General has called upon Hamas to release hostages immediately and unconditionally. His call was reiterated by the Humanitarian Coordinator most recently on 26 and 27 October. Four hostages were released on 20 and 23 October. On 26 October, Hamas claimed that 50 of the hostages had been killed by Israeli airstrikes.
• In the West Bank, since the afternoon of 26 October (as of 21:00 on 27 October), Israeli forces have killed four Palestinians and another one died from wounds sustained previously. This brings the total number of Palestinian fatalities by Israeli forces or settlers since 7 October to 108, including 33 children.  

GAZA HUMANITARIAN OVERVIEW

Hostilities and casualties

Israeli bombardment and airstrikes continued during the past 24 hours. MoH reported fewer fatalities compared with the previous three days. Before the telecommunications shutdown, Israeli forces carried out another two ground operations in the north and south of Gaza. The Israeli military spokesperson announced at 20:00 that “ground operations would expand this evening.” 

Among the deadliest attacks reported in the past 24 hours were airstrikes targeting residential structures. On 27 October, at about 8:00, airstrikes reportedly struck a residential home on Al Hoja street, in Jabalia Camp, northern Gaza, killing at least 22 Palestinians. Earlier, at about 5:30, airstrikes reportedly hit a residential home in Az Zaytoun neighbourhood, east Gaza city, killing 14 Palestinians and resulting in the collapse of nearby houses. 

Since 7 October, 7,326 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 3,038 children and 1,792 women, and about 18,967 have been injured, according to the MoH in Gaza. Among these fatalities, 995 have not been identified yet, including at least 248 children. 

Additionally, about 1,700 people, including at least 940 children, have been reported missing and may be trapped or dead under the rubble, awaiting rescue or recovery. Rescue teams, primarily from the Palestinian Civil Defense, are struggling to carry out their mission, amid continuous airstrikes, severe shortage of fuel to run vehicles and equipment, and with limited or no connection to mobile networks.  

According to the MoH in Gaza, as of 27 October, 192 Palestinian families had lost ten or more of their members, 136 Palestinian families had lost 6 to 9 members, and 444 families had lost two to five of their members.  

According to the Israeli military, between 7 and 21 October, 550 Palestinian rockets fell short in Gaza, killing Palestinians.   

The Gaza Ministry of Public Works and Housing reported the destruction of 16,441 housing units and the rendering of 11,340 other units uninhabitable, as of 23 October. About 150,000 housing units sustained minor to moderate damage. The total number of housing units reported as destroyed or damaged accounts for at least 45 per cent of all housing units in the Gaza Strip. Since 7 October, 42 UNRWA installations, including several designated emergency shelters (DES), have been damaged, with one of them being directly hit, resulting in 13 fatalities and 195 injuries among IDPs. 

As of 23 October, WHO has documented 76 attacks on health care in the Gaza Strip, resulting in 16 fatalities and 30 injuries among health care workers on duty. This has affected 35 health care facilities (including 20 hospitals damaged) and 24 ambulances.  

According to Israeli sources, at least 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel, and at least 5,431 have been injured, the vast majority on 7 October. Israeli media reported that, as of 25 October, the names of 1,117 of these fatalities have been released, including 808 civilians, 309 soldiers. Of those whose ages have been provided, 30 are children. 

Displacement

The cumulative number of IDPs since the start of hostilities in Gaza is estimated at over 1.4 million. This figure includes nearly 657,000 people staying in 150 UNRWA facilities, 121,750 sheltering in hospitals, churches, and other public buildings, and nearly 79,000 in 70 non-UNRWA schools. In addition, the Ministry of Social Development estimates that some 700,000 IDPs are residing with host families.  

Reports suggest that IDPs are moving from one area to another based on the availability of means to survive, food and water, and security concerns. 

Overcrowding at UNRWA shelters in the central and southern areas is severely constraining access to basic assistance and essential services, increasing health and other risks, and negatively affecting mental health. In many shelters, the number of IDPs has reached 4,400, while they were designed to host 1,500-2,000 IDPs.  

Over 15 per cent of the IDPs are estimated to have disabilities, yet most shelters are not adequately equipped for their needs. Shelters lack the required medical mattresses and beds, causing ulcers and other medical issues that cannot be treated in unsterilized conditions.  

In Israel, hundreds of thousands of people residing near the Gaza Strip, as well as along the border with Lebanon, have fled or been evacuated, with the Israeli authorities providing for the needs of these IDPs (this report focuses on the humanitarian situation in Gaza). 

Basic services and livelihoods

Electricity

For the eighteenth consecutive day (since 11 October), Gaza has been under a full electricity blackout, following Israel’s halt of its electricity and fuel supply to Gaza, which in turn triggered the shutdown of Gaza’s sole power plant. This has forced essential service infrastructure to rely on backup generators, which are limited by the scarcity of fuel in the Strip. Goods entering Gaza since 21 October through the Rafah crossing have not included fuel. On 27 October, the Israeli military spokesperson stated that bringing in fuel was out of the question at this stage.  

Health care

On 27 October, ten medical specialists with ICRC entered Gaza through the Rafah Crossing, including a war surgery team and a weapons contamination specialist. This is the first entry of humanitarian personnel since the start of hostilities. Additionally, some of the trucks that entered today carried medical supplies for the ICRC, including war surgery kits and large packages of supplies that could be used to treat between 1,000 and 5,000 people, depending on the severity of their injuries. These supplies are intended to serve medical facilities in both north and south Gaza.  

Overall, 28 out of the 84 trucks that have entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing since 21 October, carried medical supplies. While limited in volume, these supplies play a crucial role in bolstering trauma response and sustaining essential healthcare services. According to ICRC: “This crucial humanitarian assistance is a small dose of relief, but it´s not enough. Our surgical team and medical supplies will help relieve the extreme pressure on Gaza’s doctors and nurses. But safe, sustained humanitarian access is urgently needed. This humanitarian catastrophe is deepening by the hour.” 

The distribution plan for these supplies is based on the needs confirmed on the ground by technical officers, by WHO, and by PRCS in Gaza. After delivery into Gaza and reception, the technical officers accompany the supplies to each hospital. Post-delivery monitoring is carried out regularly to assess consumption.  

Hospitals are facing an unprecedented level of devastation, primarily driven by the overwhelming number of injuries and critical shortages of vital resources, including medical personnel, electricity, and water. 

The ongoing hostilities have displaced most of the medical professionals, forcing the hospitals to operate with less than one-third of their normal staffing levels, according to MoH in Gaza. The hospitals continue to suffer from a severe fuel shortage, leading to stringent rationing and limited use of generators for only the most essential functions. Moreover, maintaining and repairing backup generators, originally not intended for continuous operation, is growing increasingly challenging due to the scarcity of spare parts. 

Since the start of hostilities, over one-third of hospitals in Gaza (12 of 35) and nearly two-thirds of primary health care clinics (46 of 72) have shut down due to damage or lack of fuel, increasing the pressure on the remaining health facilities that are still operational.  

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)

The trucks that entered on 27 October through Rafah for the ICRC also carried water purification supplies. They contained chlorine tablets that can treat up to 50,000 litres of drinking water. These supplies will cover the basic water needs (three litres per day per person) of nearly 17,000 people for one day. Overall, out of the 84 trucks that have entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing since October 21, eleven carried at least 40,000 litres of water, 4,500 family hygiene kits, 12 community water storage tanks, and thousands of water purification supplies, brought primarily by UNICEF. Most of these supplies have been distributed to UNRWA shelters. 

Water supply through the Middle Area network, Khan Younis, and Rafah has shown temporary improvement for the third consecutive day. This has been possible following the delivery of 25,000 litres of fuel to key water facilities by UNRWA and UNICEF from their reserves within Gaza. However, unless additional fuel is delivered to these facilities, operations will be halted again within 24 to 48 hours. 

In this context, two seawater desalination plants in the Middle Area and Khan Younis continue limited operations, pumping about 4,000 cubic metres of drinking water per day through the network, representing 30 per cent of their full capacity (the third seawater desalination plant in northern Gaza remains closed). Furthermore, the supply of piped water to other areas in the south, primarily brackish water, was made possible by the operation of 120 water wells and 20 pumping stations, which also received limited amounts of fuel. This has benefitted only those households with undamaged water connections. 

Additionally, after water supply by Israel to the Khan Younis area reduced in previous days by 60-80 per cent, on 25 October, this supply resumed at the previous level of 600 cubic metres per hour. This too, has contributed to the availability of piped water in some households. Meanwhile, water supply through two other pipelines from Israel is suspended since 8 October. 

On the other hand, a leakage of about 70 per cent was identified in one of the main pipelines between Rafah and Khan Younis, due to the damage it had sustained. This has compelled water providers to resort to less efficient and limited water trucking. 

Food security

Between 20 and 26 October, three bakeries contracted by the World Food Programme (WFP) were forced to shut down due to the lack of fuel. Currently, only 18 bakeries contracted by WFP and UNRWA are operational and supplying bread to shelters. The shortage of fuel is the primary obstacle preventing these bakeries from meeting local demand. Unless fuel is allocated to them, most bakeries will shut over the next few days.  

During the same seven-day period, ten bakeries were struck and destroyed; six in Gaza city, two in northern Jabalia, and two in the Middle Area (Maghazi Camp and Nusseirat). As a result, people are struggling to obtain bread. Long queues are reported in front of bakeries, where people are exposed to airstrikes.  

Out of the 84 trucks that have entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing since 21 October, 34 carried food, including ready-to-eat food such as canned tuna, canned meat, and other non-perishables. All food items are being distributed in UNRWA shelters. With delivery, WFP began the distribution of corned beef and canned tuna at a DES in the Khan Younis Training Center. 

Movement and access

Ten trucks with humanitarian supplies entered on 27 October through the Rafah crossing with Egypt after passing through Nitzana crossing between Israel and Egypt (about 40 kilometres south of Rafah) for security checks by the Israeli authorities. About 3,000 tons are still waiting on the Egyptian side to enter Gaza. 

Additionally, ten medical personnel entered on 27 October through Rafah. With those exceptions, the Rafah crossing, as well as the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings with Israel, have remained closed. Prior to the hostilities, patients, including some 2,000 cancer patients from Gaza, had been referred for regular treatment in hospitals in East Jerusalem and Israel. However, this practice has been halted since 7 October.  

Access to the sea along Gaza’s shore has been prohibited by the Israeli military, and all fishing activity ceased when the hostilities began. Access to areas near Israel’s perimeter fence remains prohibited, and it has expanded from 300 to 1,000 metres from the border, barring entry to key agricultural areas.

Humanitarian operations

All humanitarian agencies and personnel have faced significant constraints in providing humanitarian assistance, due to ongoing hostilities, movement restrictions and shortages of electricity, fuel, water, medicines, and other essential items. Humanitarian partners cannot safely access people in need and warehouses where aid supplies are stored. 

Over the past 24 hours, UNRWA has confirmed that 14 additional staff members have been killed in hostilities, bringing the total number of fatalities among their personnel since 7 October to 53. One of these staff members, a father of six children, was killed while waiting in line to collect bread. 

Despite these challenges, humanitarian actors are working around the clock to support the most vulnerable. The major operation entails the hosting of IDPs in UNRWA schools, where basic food, medicine and support is provided to retain dignity and a glimmer of hope. Other interventions include the distribution of food and cash assistance to IDPs and emergency fuel to WASH facilities, psychosocial support helplines, and a mass media campaign to raise awareness about the risks of unexploded ordnance (for further detail, see Humanitarian Needs and Responses). 

As of 27 October, about US$107.93 million worth of pledges have been confirmed in support of the inter-agency Flash Appeal launched on 12 October by the oPt Humanitarian Country Team. This represents about 37 per cent of the estimate required when the Appeal was first launched. Of the total amount pledged, 88 per cent are for UN agencies and 12 per cent for national and international NGOs. About $81.85 million were earmarked for UNRWA; $7.1 million for WHO, and $4 million for WFP.  

Private donations to the Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund are collected online through this link: crisisrelief.un.org/opt-crisis.

WEST BANK HUMANITARIAN OVERVIEW

Casualties

In the West Bank, in the past 24 hours (as of 21:00 on 27 October), Israeli forces shot and killed four Palestinians and another one died from wounds sustained previously.  

The deadliest incident, which resulted in three of these fatalities, took place during an Israeli search-and-arrest operation in Jenin Refugee Camp on 27 October at 1:30. The operation involved clashes between residents and Israeli forces, as well as exchange of fire. During the incident, Israeli forces bulldozed sections of a road, according to Israeli forces to neutralize explosives planted in the ground. Damage to water networks and homes is yet to be assessed. According to medical sources, Israeli forces impeded the work of paramedics during the operation. This is the third Israeli operation in Jenin Refugee Camp in less than a week.  

Another person was killed during a search-and-arrest operation in Qalqiliya city, that involved exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinians. One Palestinian died from wounds sustained on 20 October, during confrontations that erupted over the course of a protest in solidarity with Gaza in Tura al Gharbiya village (Jenin). 

Since 7 October, Israeli forces and settlers have killed 108 Palestinians, including 33 children. Almost half of these fatalities were reported during Israeli search-and-arrest operations. The daily average of such operations since the start of the escalation of hostilities (22) is double the average between January and September 2023 (11). Another 41 per cent of the fatalities since 7 October were killed in the context of demonstrations in solidarity with Gaza and related confrontations.  

Additionally, since 7 October, Israeli forces and settlers have injured 1,967 Palestinians, including at least 174 children; an additional 43 Palestinians have been injured by settlers. Some 27 per cent of the injuries have been caused by live ammunition. The number of Palestinian injuries from live ammunition is almost eight times higher than the average of such injuries between 1 January and 7 October 2023. 

Access Restrictions 

Since 7 October, the Israeli authorities have imposed multiple movement restrictions across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This has been done either by closing road gates, erecting flying checkpoints at main road junctions, or creating earth mounds or placing concrete roadblocks. These measures have been accompanied by the deployment of many military personnel. Some movement obstacles have been erected by Israeli settlers. 

These restrictions have been particularly severe in areas near Israeli settlements, in areas behind the Barrier, and in the Israeli-controlled part of Hebron city (H2), isolating Palestinian communities and severely limiting their access to essential services. In the H2 area of Hebron city, all the main checkpoints leading to Tel Rumeida, Jaber neighbourhood, and the Al Ibrahimi Mosque area, are closed, resulting in the isolation of about 7,000 Palestinian residents. These closures lasted for one week.  

Settler-related violence

The already high level of Israeli settler violence recorded during the first nine months of 2023 has sharply increased since the escalation of hostilities. Since 7 October, OCHA has recorded 146 settler attacks against Palestinians, resulting in Palestinian casualties (22 incidents), damage to Palestinian property (100 incidents), or both casualties and damage to property (24 incidents). This reflects a daily average of seven incidents, compared with three since the beginning of the year.   

More than one-third of the incidents involved threats with firearms, including shooting, by settlers. Almost half of all incidents involved Israeli forces accompanying or actively supporting Israeli settlers while carrying out the attacks. Many of the latter incidents were followed by confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians, where three Palestinians were killed, and dozens injured. Affected properties included 24 residential structures, 40 agricultural/animal-related structures, 67 vehicles and more than 400 trees and saplings. 

Displacement

Since 7 October, 14 Palestinian households, including 65 people and 31 children, were displaced following the demolitions of their homes in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank on grounds of lack of Israeli building permits. Additionally, Israeli forces demolished on punitive grounds the homes of four families whose members have been accused of killing Israelis in 2023. This displaced 20 people, including eleven children. Punitive demolitions are a form of collective punishment and are prohibited under international law. 

In addition, there has been an increase in the displacement of Palestinians amid settler violence and access restrictions. Since 7 October, at least 82 households comprising 607 people, including 211 children, have been displaced in this context. The displaced households are from more than 13 herding/Bedouin communities in Ramallah, Hebron, Bethlehem, Tubas, and Nablus governorates.  

One such incident occurred on 9 October when five households, comprising 40 people, were displaced from the Al Ganoub community in southern Hebron. Armed settlers threatened them at gunpoint, warning that they would be killed if they did not leave within an hour. Furthermore, the settlers set fire to two residential structures with all the families' belongings inside and stole their livestock. One of the family members, 75-year-old Abu Jamal, stated:  

“My tent and my goats were what kept me here. After settlers set fire to our tent and stole my goats; they destroyed everything that kept me here” 

Attacks on health care

Since 7 October, WHO has documented 112 attacks on health care in the West Bank affecting 94 ambulances and including 63 attacks involving obstruction to delivery of health care; 56 involving physical violence towards health teams; 19 involving detention of health staff and ambulances; and 12 involving militarized search of health assets. 

HUMANITARIAN NEEDS AND RESPONSES

Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA)

Priority Needs

• Access to basic needs and services is severely halted by the lack of resources and the security situation. IDPs outside formal shelters have extremely limited access to assistance. Those are prioritized for Emergency MPCA. 
• Banks are temporarily closed, limiting access to cash. The capacities of financial service providers are severely limited and change by the hour (partners currently using PalPay). 
• Depletion of stocked items to be purchased is worsening. 

Response to Date

• Some 13,241 households started receiving Emergency MPCA (NIS754 or $187 per household) as of 26 October. Redemption rates reported as up to 86%. 

Protection

Priority Needs

• An estimated 20,000 people in need of specialized mental health services, including mental health drugs, who are in precarious situations with the disruption to mental health services. 
• Documentation of violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law. 
• Opening roads, safe access to basic needs, medicines, mental health support, and ambulance services in the West Bank. 

Response to Date

• Some 3,000 IDPs have received psychosocial support and social work intervention services from UNRWA social workers and counsellors since the crisis began. 
• In the West Bank, UNRWA provided psychosocial support services to 155 Palestinian workers from Gaza, in Hebron, Ramallah, and Tuklarm, and to 240 students at Nur Shams Boys’ schools. 
• One partner reached at least 4,000 IDPs in shelters in Gaza and provided psychological first aid (PFA) and needs assessment for non-food items (NFIs) and assistive devices. 
• Partners provided about 700 psychological, social, and legal consultations for gender-based violence (GBV) incidents. Furthermore, 1,144 first psychiatric medical services were provided for GBV cases. 
• UNICEF is leading the mapping of orphanages and shelters which host children with a view to support Unaccompanied and Separated Children (UASC) registration, to facilitate identification, reunification, and alternative care options at national level (both Gaza and WB). 

Shelter

Priority Needs

• Urgent need to provide services and basic shelter and NFI to IDPs.  
• Provision of NFIs and house maintenance for people displaced in urban centers and with host families. 
• Provision of shelter cash assistance for IDPs (reintegration package and belongings loss compensation) for at least 25,000 families. 

Response to Date

• About 657,000 IDPs are hosted at 150 UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip. 
• Distribution of 20,000 NFIs in Rafah and Khan Younis, including bedding sets and dignity kits. 
• Distribution of 820 hygiene kits to displaced families.  
• ICRC/PRCS distributed 15,500 NFIs for displaced families, mainly mattresses and blankets.  

Health

Priority Needs

• Improve the nutritional status, particularly of about 283,000 children under five and pregnant or lactating women, in response to the concerning food security and water situation in Gaza. 
• Ensuring the provision of Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies, including preventive nutrition interventions, cash voucher assistance, curative nutrition interventions, intact nutrition supplies pipeline, and a functional nutrition coordination mechanism. 
• Addressing shortages of medical supplies impacting case management. 
• Fuel supply for hospitals and ambulances. 
• Urgent need to restock medical supplies given depletion of stocks in the local market. 
• Need for short and long-term mental health and psychosocial support services for large numbers of psychologically traumatized people. 
• Access to mobile clinics for 29 communities in Area C locations in Hebron, Jenin and Qalqiliya who have not had access since escalations began. 

Response to Date

• Partners continue making efforts to procure from the local market some supplies to support the hospital operations. 
• Surge staff remain present in the hospitals supporting case management. 
• UNRWA continue to provide primary healthcare services in the shelters, through 93 mobile medical units and medical teams.
• PMRS has 8 mobile health teams also providing primary healthcare services to IDPs and expect to increase the number to twelve.

Food Security

Priority Needs

• Electricity, fuel, and water sources to maintain agriculture. 
• Many shops have food supplies to last less than a week. 
• Safe access to farms, livestock, fisheries, and other livelihoods. 
• Urgent import of fodder. 

Response to Date

• UNRWA started distributing corned beef, together with the canned tuna distributed by WFP in the DES operating in the Khan Younis Training Center. 
• The World Food Program (WFP) reached some 550,000 people with emergency food and cash assistance since the crisis began, most of them IDPs in UNRWA DES. 490,311 displaced persons in UN shelters received fresh bread and canned food; 243,756 people redeemed WFP’s cash-based transfer assistance in active shops. 
• Oxfam has already covered 189 households in Gaza governorate. 
• Dan Church Aid (DCA) has already covered 18,000 households sheltering in UNRWA DES in the Gaza governorate. 
• Islamic Relief Palestine is providing food assistance to 10,000 IDP households in non-UNRWA shelter or in host Families. 
• ANERA provides hot meals and food parcels to 120,000 IDPs - 80 percent to UN shelters, and 20 per cent to hosting communities and other small-scale shelters.  
• ACTED: is providing food vouchers to 3,250 IDPs in the Middle Area (Khan Younis). 

Education

Priority Needs

• Safe access to schools and communities.

Planned Responses

• Provision of school-based psychosocial support and recreational activities for at least 70,000 children and school staff as soon as the situation allows.  
• Emergency rehabilitation for at least 20 damaged schools, following a cluster rapid needs assessment. 
• Provision of emergency supplies and learning kits to 10,000 children in DES and 50,000 children in schools once they reopen. 
• Provision of catch-up classes, especially to displaced children (at least 20,000 children). 

WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)

Priority Needs

• Provision of clean drinking water. 
• Provision of alternative power supply and 20,000 litres per day of emergency fuel to sustain the operation of WASH facilities, along with replenishing the chlorine supply for water treatment plants. 
• Support to restore disrupted municipal services, including solid waste management, water, and sanitation operations, as appealed by the Gaza Strip municipalities. 
• Delivery of essential WASH services and provisions to IDPs in collective centers, including drinking water and hygiene kits. 

Response to Date

• Some 9,000 hygiene kits were distributed to the families in the UNRWA IDP centres since 7 October. 
• 1,950 cubic metres of drinking water have been trucked to IDP centres and host families since 7 October. 
• 175 cubic metres of bottled water distributed among IDPs in UNRWA shelters since 7 October. 

Protection against sexual abuse and exploitation (PSEA) remains a cross-cutting priority for all clusters. The SAWA helpline, reachable at 121 and through WhatsApp at +972 59-4040121 (East Jerusalem at 1-800-500-121), operates 24/7. This toll-free number is widely disseminated across all areas of intervention to report cases of SEA and to facilitate emergency counseling and referrals for affected communities to access life-saving services. The PSEA Network monitors calls daily and will increase the number of counselors if necessary.