Humanitarian Situation Update #180 | Gaza Strip & West Bank

The Humanitarian Situation Update is issued by OCHA Occupied Palestinian Territory three times per week. The Gaza Strip is covered on Mondays and Fridays, and the West Bank is covered on Wednesdays. Due to Eid al-Adha holiday, this update covers both the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The next update will be issued on 21 June.

Key Highlights

• Hundreds of thousands of displaced people in southern Gaza suffer from poor access to shelter, health, food, water and sanitation, UN assessment missions find.
• About 57 per cent of Gaza’s cropland has been damaged, estimate FAO and UNOSAT.
• Real Gross Domestic Product in Gaza has declined by over 83 per cent, reports the International Labor Organization.
• About a dozen attacks by Israeli settlers took place in the West Bank, resulting in the injury of 24 Palestinians, property damage, and the displacement of a Palestinian family.

Gaza Strip Humanitarian Developments

• Israeli bombardment from the air, land, and sea continues to be reported across much of the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground incursions and heavy fighting also continue to be reported, including in Beit Hanoun, south of Gaza city, eastern Deir al Balah, northeastern Khan Younis, as well as in central and southern Rafah.
• Between the afternoons of 14 and 19 June, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 130 Palestinians were killed and 421 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 19 June 2024, at least 37,396 Palestinians were killed and 85,523 were injured in Gaza, according to MoH in Gaza.
• The following are among the deadliest incidents reported between 16 and 18 June:
  • On 16 June, in the evening, nine Palestinians, including six children, were reportedly killed and 11 injured when a house was hit in the vicinity of Abu Rasas roundabout in Al Bureij Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 17 June, at about 19:50, at least nine Palestinians were reportedly killed when a group of people waiting for aid trucks was hit on Salah ad Din Road, east of Rafah.
  • On 18 June, at 1:20, ten Palestinians, including at least one child and a woman, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in the first camp in An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 18 June, at 2:40, six Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in the fifth camp of An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
• Between the afternoons of 14 and 19 June, 12 Israeli soldiers were reported killed in Gaza. As of 19 June, 310 soldiers have been killed and 1,947 soldiers have been injured in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation in October 2023, according to the Israeli military. In addition, according to the Israeli media citing official Israeli sources, over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 33 children, have been killed in Israel, the vast majority on 7 October. As of 19 June, it is estimated that 120 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.
• The food supply chain in Gaza has been severely disrupted, with significant damage to croplands, greenhouses, and agricultural structures reported in April and May. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that roughly 41 per cent of the Gaza Strip’s total area is covered by cropland (about 150 square kilometres), comprising field crops, vegetables and orchards, and other trees. However, a recent assessment by FAO and the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) indicates a significant decline in crop health and density across the Strip due to razing, heavy vehicle movement, bombing, shelling and other conflict-related operations. The findings highlight the “urgent need to provide emergency support to restart local production of fresh and perishable food.” As of May 2024, about 57 per cent of Gaza’s cropland is estimated to have been damaged, compared to more than 40 per cent in mid-February 2024. Khan Younis governorate accounted for the largest area of damaged cropland, and the area of damaged cropland in Rafah more than doubled in May compared to February, increasing from 4.52 to 9.22 square kilometres. FAO further assessed that about a third of the area of greenhouses in the Gaza Strip has been damaged as of 23 April, and Gaza and North Gaza governorates exhibited the most significant damage with more than 80 per cent of their greenhouse areas damaged. Hundreds of agricultural structures have also been assessed as damaged by FAO as of 20 May, including 537 home barns, 484 broiler farms, 397 sheep farms, and 256 agricultural warehouses, in addition to some 46 per cent of Gaza’s agricultural wells (1,049 out of 2,261).
• The situation in southern Gaza is quickly deteriorating as people have been crammed in a “highly congested area along the beach in the burning summer heat,” while active conflict and lawlessness have made it “near-impossible” for WFP and its partners to meet the soaring needs, highlighted the World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Executive Director, Carl Skau, on 14 June, following a two-day visit to Gaza. In northern Gaza, he noted that food deliveries have improved but people need more diverse, nutritious food. Skau explained that humanitarians are finding it more difficult to do their job: “Staff spend five to eight hours waiting at checkpoints every day. Missiles hit our premises, despite being deconflicted. The breakdown of law and order means we also face looting and violence amid a large security vacuum.” Describing scenes of large-scale destruction, rivers of sewage, and how traumatized and exhausted people are “from the south to the northernmost tip of the Strip,” the WFP Deputy Executive Director emphasized that achieving a stable food security situation across Gaza requires the sustained scale-up of supplies of fresh food, access to clean water and healthcare, and fuel for bakeries, and above all “people want this war to end, and so do we.” Skau stressed that WFP is now looking at ways to further support the functioning of bakeries and markets in ways that can help people begin the process of restoring their lives beyond mere survival.
• The Site Management Working Group (SMWG) reports that over one million people have been forced out of Rafah since the onset of the Israeli forces’ ground operation there on 7 May, and an estimated 60,000 to 75,000 people remain Al Mawasi area of Rafah and 750 people in Rafah city as of 17 May. At displacement sites, internally displaced persons (IDPs) are living in overcrowded makeshift shelters and tents, which are in dire need of repair and do not offer any protection from extreme heat, according to recent UN inter-cluster assessments led by OCHA between 7 and 14 June. The assessments covered four informal displacement sites in Deir al Balah, two in Khan Younis and two in Al Mawasi area of Rafah, with a total population of over 130,000 people. Additional key findings from these assessments include:
  • People report a critical lack of antenatal and postnatal care, limited access to treatments for people with chronic illnesses, and the absence of assistive devices for persons with disabilities and the elderly. Some displacement sites have medical points that operate only a few hours a day and face shortages of medicines. Unaffordable transportation and the lack of ambulance services hamper access to partially functioning hospitals, with reports of emergency deliveries taking place in tents with no medical support at late hours during the night. Despite visible signs of wasting among children, no nutrition screenings have been conducted to assess the scale of malnutrition and treat identified cases due to limited capacity.
  • Access to water is critically low, with people having to queue for long hours to collect it and being forced to rely on sea water for domestic use, including for newborns at one site. People are using shallow pit latrines, and there is a continuing spread of communicable illnesses, amid sewage overflow, the proliferation of insects, rodents and snakes, and a near-total lack of hygiene items and sanitation facilities.
  • Children are engaging in burdensome and risky tasks, such as water and food collection, being exposed to violence at distribution points due to competition over scarce resources and to the ubiquitous risk of unexploded ordnance. There are also growing reports of gender-based violence, particularly domestic violence and early marriage, further exacerbating challenges faced by women and children.
  • Only a small portion of displaced people can regularly access hot meals, no distributions of flour or food parcels have taken place recently, and basic food items on the market are largely unaffordable. There is also a critical lack of milk and formula for babies and nutritional supplements for children and pregnant and breastfeeding women. In the absence of fuel, people are being forced to burn plastic from garbage or wood to cook. Many households report having only one meal every day, with some having one meal every two or three days, relying mostly on bread, food sharing with other families, and rationing stocks.
• Access constraints continue to severely undermine the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance and services across Gaza, including the delivery of food and nutrition assistance, medical care, protection and shelter support, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services to hundreds of thousands of people. Between 1 and 18 June, out of the 61 coordinated humanitarian assistance missions to northern Gaza, 28 (46 per cent) were facilitated by Israeli authorities, eight (13 per cent) were denied access, 16 (26 per cent) were impeded, and nine (15 per cent) were cancelled due to logistical, operational or security reasons. Out of the 192 coordinated humanitarian assistance missions to areas in southern Gaza, 134 (70 per cent) were facilitated by Israeli authorities, 12 (six per cent) were denied access, 26 (14 per cent) were impeded, and 20 (10 per cent) were cancelled. During this period, denied missions included four solid waste transfer missions to landfills, water delivery to multiple schools and other sites in northern Gaza, and transfer of hygiene kits also to northern Gaza. Furthermore, insecurity due to ongoing military operations and a breakdown of civil order continues to be widespread, with multiple reported incidents of theft of relief supplies and shootings that posed significant risks to the population and humanitarian workers.
• The intensification of hostilities has caused “unprecedented devastation to the Palestinian labour market and the wider economy,” according to a recent analysis released on 7 June by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). Between October 2023 and May 2024, real GDP in Gaza plummeted by a staggering 83.5 per cent, compared to the corresponding pre-war period, and the economy has shrunk to only 4.1 per cent of the Palestinian economy, down from nearly 17 per cent. Gaza’s unemployment rate has also skyrocketed to over 79 per cent, amid a devastating loss of lives and livelihoods, repeated displacement, and destruction of infrastructure. High inflationary pressures have further aggravated the suffering, eroding people’s purchasing power and their ability to meet even the most basic needs, with year-on-year inflation peaking to over 153 per cent in the Strip in April 2024. In the West Bank, real GDP has decreased by nearly 23 per cent and unemployment increased to about 32 per cent. Among workers still employed in the West Bank, 51 per cent have faced reduced working hours and nearly 63 per cent have experienced wage reductions. Significantly, all private sector establishments in Gaza and 29 per cent of private sector establishments in the West Bank either halted their operations or reduced production, amounting to an estimated total loss of US$2.3 billion in production value (not encompassing losses in fixed assets), including 1.5 billion in the West Bank and 810 million in the Gaza Strip.

West Bank Humanitarian Developments

Due to Eid Al-Adha holiday, some developments in the West Bank during the reporting period are yet to be verified, so this update may not include total figures for key indicators monitored by OCHA.

• Between 11 and 18 June, Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinians, including two children, in the West Bank, of whom nine were in Jenin governorate, one in Nablus governorate, and one in Bethlehem governorate (see details below).
  • On 11 June, Israeli forces shot and killed six Palestinians, including a 17-year-old boy, during an operation in Kafr Dan village, northwest of Jenin. Three of the fatalities were killed when an undercover unit followed by military reinforcements encircled and fired missiles at a residential building and exchanged fire with Palestinians inside. A family of five, including two children, was also displaced. Clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians who threw stones and explosive devices at the forces also resulted in the killing of three Palestinians. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that Israeli forces initially prevented their ambulance from transporting the casualties and opened fire toward them. According to the Israeli army cited in the media, six Palestinian gunmen were killed in the operation.
  • On 13 June, an undercover Israeli force followed by military reinforcements encircled an under-construction building in Qabatiya (Jenin) and exchanged fire with two Palestinians inside. The house was then struck with several missiles. Video footage showed an Israeli military bulldozer lifting the bodies of two killed Palestinians along with rubble from inside the house. A third Palestinian was shot and killed during a subsequent confrontation between Israeli forces who fired live ammunition and Palestinians who threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the forces in the town.
  • On 15 June, Israeli forces shot and killed a 15-year-old boy and injured two others with live ammunition during a search-and-arrest operation in Beit Furik village (Nablus).
  • On 18 June, Israeli forces shot and killed a 39-year-old Palestinian man for allegedly attempting to stab Israeli soldiers at the entrance to Beit Fajjar town (Bethlehem) and withheld his body.
• On 14 June, Israeli military forces injured 16 Palestinians during a raid in Al Bireh city and its vicinity. Six Palestinians were injured by live bullets, including two children, one was shot with a rubber bullet, and nine suffered from tear gas inhalation. One Palestinian was also arrested.
• Between 11 and 18 June, Israeli settlers perpetrated at least 11 attacks that resulted in the injury of 24 Palestinians and damage to Palestinian property, including vandalism of trees, saplings and crops. The following are some key incidents during this period:
  • On 12 June, Israeli settlers shot and injured a Palestinian shopkeeper, and assaulted and injured another in the Old City of Jerusalem. Reportedly, the settlers marched through the Old City, chanted anti-Palestinian slogans, and attacked some shops.
  • On 17 June, armed Israeli settlers, who have newly established an extension to Givat Assaf settlement outpost on the eastern outskirts of Deir Dibwan village, attacked Khallet Al Maghara herding community (Ramallah). As Palestinians were evacuating the community along with their sheep, they were attacked by another group of armed Israeli settlers east of Deir Dibwan village who opened fire toward Palestinians, physically assaulted them, and used clubs to attack them. As a result, 15 Palestinians were injured, including five children, sustaining fractures, bruises and injury by glass shrapnel. All the injured were transported to a medical centre in the village for treatment. In addition, Israeli settlers also vandalized one ambulance and ten other vehicles. Due to this and other frequent intimidations and attacks by Israeli settlers on this herding community, a family of four people, including one child, was displaced. The family was forced to leave behind two residential shelters, three animal shelters, two animal barns, and all their personal belongings. There are 10 households comprising more than 50 people still living in the community but had all temporarily moved to other locations as part of their seasonal movement, except the now displaced family.
  • On 18 June, around 20 Israeli settlers, reportedly from Yitzhar settlement, attacked Burin village (Nablus) while attempting to set fire to a vehicle when its driver was still inside. The owners of a nearby kiosk, a man and his wife, pulled the man out of the car and the settlers then assaulted and threw stones at them. The couple were injured, the kiosk sustained partial damage, and the vehicle was eventually set on fire. Later, Israeli settlers set fire to lands in the village and threw stones at residents; according to initial information, more than 200 olive trees were damaged. Following the incident, Israeli soldiers reportedly raided the village and carried out a search operation.
• Between 11 and 18 June, Israeli authorities demolished or forced Palestinian owners to demolish eight Palestinian-owned structures due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, displacing 21 people, including 14 children. All the structures were in Area C of the West Bank and included two tents, an animal shelter and a kitchen in Bardala village (Tubas), a residence in Umm Qussa village (Hebron), and an agricultural room, a storage room and a fence in Kharbatha al Misbah village (Ramallah).
• On 13 June, during a ten-hour Israeli operation in Jenin Refugee Camp and parts of Jenin city, military bulldozers damaged four residential shelters, displacing 11 families of 48 people including 17 children, and several road sections, causing power outages. Exchanges of fire were reported, and local community sources indicated that Israeli army jeeps encircled the vicinity of Jenin governmental hospital and carried out extensive searches of ambulances moving in and out of the hospital. According to PRCS, Israeli forces prevented a PRCS ambulance from evacuating an injured Palestinian, arrested him, as well as physically assaulted and injured a Palestinian paramedic.
• On 14 June, the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern over the escalating health crisis in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 7 October. Between 7 October and 28 May, WHO documented 480 attacks on health care in the West Bank, the majority (59 per cent) in the cities of Tulkarem, Jenin and Nablus. Echoing similar concerns, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) stated on 19 June that “medical and paramedical staff [in the West Bank] are repeatedly attacked, harassed, blocked and hindered as they attempt to tend to injured people.” According to WHO, access to health has been restricted by a variety of obstacles, including the closure of checkpoints, detention of health workers as well as the siege and closure of entire towns. Moreover, 44 per cent of 28,292 permit applications to access health facilities in East Jerusalem and Israel between October 2023 and May 2024 have been denied or remain pending, showing a 56 per cent decrease in applications and a 22 per cent decrease in approvals compared with October 2022–May 2023 period. WHO further highlighted the impact of the fiscal crisis faced by the Palestinian Authority (PA) on the health system, “with health workers receiving only half of their salary for nearly a year and 45 per cent of essential medications being out of stock.” Most West Bank areas also suffer from limited services, as “primary care clinics and outpatient specialty clinics are now operating two days per week, and hospitals are operating at approximately 70 per cent [of] capacity.”

Funding

• As of 14 June, Member States have disbursed about $1.06 billion out of $3.42 billion (31 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.3 million people in Gaza and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2024. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard.
• The oPt HF has 109 ongoing projects, for a total of $78.9 million, addressing urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (86 per cent) and West Bank (14 per cent). Of these projects, 69 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 26 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Notably, 43 out of the 83 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. Since 7 October, the oPt HF has mobilized over $100 million from Member States and private donors, designated for programmes throughout Gaza. A summary of the oPt HF activities and challenges in May 2024 is available through this link and the 2023 Annual Report of the oPt HF can be accessed here. Private donations are collected directly through the Humanitarian Fund.