Humanitarian Situation Update #185 | Gaza Strip

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. The next update will be issued on 3 July.

Key Highlights

• A nine-year-old girl was killed by unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Khan Younis.
• The Palestine Red Crescent Society and its partners inaugurate the first shelter site for displaced people with disabilities.
• The unaffordability of many food items, combined with limited humanitarian access, are further hindering access to nutritious food across Gaza, aid organizations report.
• Concerns are growing about the risk of cholera spreading in Gaza, warns UNRWA.

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, particularly in Beit Hanoun, Ash Shuja’iyeh, and Rafah. Rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups toward Israel was also reported.
• Between the afternoons of 27 June and 1 July, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 135 Palestinians were killed and 631 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 27 June 2024, at least 37,900 Palestinians were killed and 87,060 were injured in Gaza, according to MoH in Gaza.
• The following are among the deadliest incidents reported between 27 and 30 June:
  • On 27 June, at about 20:00, at least 13 Palestinians, including at least one woman, were reportedly killed and at least 30 others injured when tents for internally displaced persons (IDPs) were hit in Ash Shakush area of Al Mawasi in western Rafah.
  • On 28 June, at about 22:00, four Palestinians, including two children, were reportedly killed and ten others injured when a house was hit near Al Yarmouk Stadium, in central Gaza city.
  • On 29 June, at about 9:00, four Palestinians were reportedly killed and six others injured when a house was hit in As Sidra area of Ad Daraj neighbourhood, in Gaza city.
  • On 29 June, at about 10:00, seven Palestinians, including a boy, were reportedly killed and several others injured when a car and a house were hit in As Sabra neighbourhood, in Gaza city.
  • On 29 June, at about 13:30, four Palestinians, including two girls, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Bloc 4 of Al Bureij Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 30 June, at about 1:25, six Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in northern Rafah city.
• Between the afternoons of 28 June and 1 July, three Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October and 1 July, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, over 1,517 Israelis were killed, the majority on 7 October. These include 317 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,018 soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation. As of 1 July, it is estimated that 120 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.
• On 1 July, about 50 Palestinian prisoners, including the director of Al Shifa Hospital, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, were released from Israeli detention, according to Israeli media. Abu Salmiya was arrested in November 2023 and spent over seven months in Israeli custody. As of July 2024, according to data provided by the Israel Prison Service (IPS) to Hamoked, an Israeli human rights NGO, there are 9,623 Palestinians in Israeli custody, including 3,379 administrative detainees (35 per cent) held without trial and 1,402 people (15 per cent) held as “unlawful combatants.” These figures do not include Palestinians from Gaza who have been detained by the Israeli military since 7 October 2023 and their number remains unknown.
• On 30 June, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), in collaboration with the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees and Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children, inaugurated the first shelter site for displaced people with disabilities (PwD) in Deir al Balah. Under the supervision of a specialized PRCS team, this site will host about 100 families and make available tailored support and services for PwD, including relief programmes, health care, rehabilitation, and psychological support. PwD are among the vulnerable groups in the Gaza Strip who have been worst affected by hostilities, displacement, the lack of critical infrastructure, and a range of security and protection risks. According to UNICEF’s multi-sectoral assessment of accessibility conditions at 39 shelters in Rafah in March 2024, only 41 per cent reported that water distribution points were accessible to PwD and a third of shelters reported that their latrines were inaccessible to people with mobility disabilities. On 29 June, the Rehabilitation Sector for PwD in the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) similarly noted that displacement exacerbates the challenges facing PwD, owing to the prevalence of overcrowded and non-inclusive shelters, where women with disabilities are especially vulnerable to the risk of abuse. PNGO added that about 10,000 people, half of them children, are estimated to have become disabled since October 2023. Calling for their urgent protection, PNGO warned that the destruction of hospitals and rehabilitation centres, restrictions on the evacuation of patients, and the limited entry of assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, crutches, hearing aids and medical mattresses, have placed the lives of PwD at risk.
• Explosive remnants of war and unexploded ordnance (UXO) continue to pose significant risks of injury or death to people across the Gaza Strip, with IDPs, people returning to areas that have been bombarded or seen heavy fighting, and children being particularly affected. On 29 June, a nine-year old girl was reportedly killed, and three others were injured, by UXO in the Qizan An Najjar area, south of Khan Younis. Earlier on 5 June, six children were reportedly injured when a UXO reportedly exploded near Al Aqsa University in western Khan Younis. On 31 May, a displaced man and his two children were injured by UXO at a school in southern Khan Younis, UNRWA reported on 28 June. UNMAS estimates that over 37 million tons of debris in the Gaza Strip contain about 800,000 tons of asbestos, other contaminants, and UXO, noting that at least 10 per cent of fired ammunition potentially fails to function. According to the Protection Cluster, there are ongoing efforts to conduct explosive hazard assessments, deploy additional Explosive Ordnance Disposal officers, and raise public awareness about the risks of explosive ordnance, despite a range of challenges that prevent the scaling up of mine action work, including lack of funding, administrative hurdles (e.g. delayed visas), insecurity, and the denial of entry of critical mine action supplies.
• The breakdown of law and order is making it difficult for humanitarian actors to collect humanitarian aid from Kerem Shalom Crossing for distribution inside Gaza, compounding challenges facing humanitarian operations, including insecurity, damaged roads, lack of fuel, and access limitations. In parallel, food items available on the market are largely unaffordable to vulnerable households, many of whom have lost their income sources or exhausted their savings, highlighted the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Save the Children International (SCI) this week. In northern Gaza, improved access has enabled the World Food Programme (WFP) to bring in large amounts of canned food and wheat flour, but this improvement is “fragile” and there are severe shortages of meat, vegetables, fruits, and sugar. Overall, across the Gaza Strip, WFP reiterated that nearly the entire population is food insecure and “they do not have enough food to keep going. Many of them go to bed hungry, having one meal a day if they are lucky.” WFP further stressed: “Famine is not just about food. People need nutrition. They need access to healthcare. They need clean water, and they need shelter.”
• On 27 June, UN Women highlighted that at least 557,000 women in Gaza are facing severe food insecurity, with the most concerning situation being the one of mothers and adult women, who are bearing increased caregiving and domestic responsibilities in tents and makeshift shelters, “leading many to skip meals or reduce their intake to ensure their children are fed.” A survey conducted by UN Women throughout the Strip in April found that 76 per cent of interviewed pregnant women reported suffering from anaemia, and 99 per cent reported facing challenges in accessing necessary nutritional supplies and supplements. Moreover, 55 per cent of new mothers reported suffering from health conditions that undermined their ability to breastfeed, and 99 per cent faced challenges in securing enough breastmilk, compromising infant survival, growth and development. Faced with no alternatives, women are also largely relying on burning wood, plastic and other waste materials to cook, being particularly exposed to hazardous smoke and pollutants that cause respiratory and other health issues, the survey found.
• Piles of garbage and sewage continue accumulating in Gaza, rotting in the heat near displacement sites, with the stench being so pervasive as to cause nausea, reported the UNRWA Director of Planning, Sam Rose. Amid desperate sanitary conditions, the extreme heat and the lack of clean water continue to fuel the spread of infectious diseases, exacerbating the burden on already overwhelmed and severely under-resourced health facilities. On 30 June, the Ministry of Health highlighted that hospitals are struggling with over 10,000 reported cases of Hepatitis A and 880,000 cases of respiratory illnesses, with diarrhea, skin infections and lice outbreaks also being rampant. Rates of diarrheal infections are already 25 times higher than prior to the conflict, according to WHO. As the situation worsens, growing concerns exist that cholera may become prevalent, “further deteriorating inhumane living conditions,” warned UNRWA.
• Between 1 and 30 June, out of 115 planned humanitarian assistance missions coordinated with Israeli authorities to northern Gaza, 53 (46 per cent) were facilitated, 41 (35.7 per cent) were impeded, 11 (9.6 per cent) were denied access, and 10 (8.7 per cent) were cancelled due to logistical, operational, or security reasons. In addition, out of 299 coordinated humanitarian assistance missions to areas in southern Gaza, 213 (71.2 per cent) were facilitated by Israeli forces, 34 (11.4 per cent) were impeded, 16 (5.4 per cent) were denied access, and 36 (12 per cent) were cancelled.

Funding

• As of 1 July, Member States have disbursed about US$1.22 billion out of $3.42 billion (36 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. 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.