Humanitarian Situation Update #190 | 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 15 July.

Key Highlights

• Displaced people continue to face harrowing conditions in Gaza; in one school hosting families in Deir al Balah, 14,000 people are sharing 25 toilets, according to UNRWA.
• Only 25 per cent of the daily fuel required to sustain humanitarian operations entered Gaza so far in July, causing a near 40 per cent drop in public water distribution, according to humanitarian actors.
• The concurrent lack of access to adequate food, clean water, sanitation and basic health services is trapping people in a “vicious cycle,” as malnutrition continues to increase vulnerability to disease infections, warns the World Health Organization.

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.
• Between the afternoons of 8 and 11 July, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 152* Palestinians were killed and 392* were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 11 July 2024, at least 38,345 Palestinians were killed and 88,295 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza. Casualty figures covering the period until the afternoon of 12 July are not available as of the time of reporting.
• The following are among the deadliest incidents reported between 7 and 11 July:
  • On 7 July, at about 23:00, ten Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Jabalya an Nazla, in North Gaza governorate.
  • On 7 July, four Palestinians were reportedly killed when a group of people were shot at upon being purportedly released from Israeli detention through Kerem Shalom/Karm Abu Salem Crossing.
  • On 9 July, at about 19:00, 27 Palestinians were reportedly killed and more than 53 others were injured, according to the MoH in Gaza, in an airstrike that purportedly hit the area near the entrance to Al Mutanabi school (also known as Al Awda school) in Abasan al Kabira town east of Khan Younis city, where internally displaced people (IDPs) were sheltering.
  • On 9 July, 17 Palestinians, including three women, seven girls, five boys and an elderly man, were reportedly killed when a house was hit in An Nuseirat New Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 9 July, at about 12:10, nine Palestinians including a woman and four children, were reportedly killed when a group of Palestinians was hit in Bloc 4 of central Al Bureij Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 11 July, at about 10:30, four Palestinians, including a child, were reportedly killed and others injured in the area of Tal as Sultan in western Rafah.
• Between the afternoons of 8 and 12 July, one Israeli soldier was killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 12 July 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, over 1,526 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath and including 326 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,122 soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation. As of 12 July, it is estimated that 120 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.
• On 10 July, the Israeli military airdropped leaflets informing residents of Gaza city that two designated “humanitarian routes” were available for them to evacuate southwards to Deir al Balah city and Az Zawayda area. This announcement followed two evacuation orders by the Israeli military on 7 and 8 July, which instructed tens of thousands of civilians to immediately evacuate 19 blocs in central and western Gaza city. Addressing the press on 10 July, the Spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, warned that the level of fighting and destruction seen in Gaza in recent days is “truly shocking,” and stressed that, regardless of the latest evacuation orders, “civilians must be protected, and their essential needs must be met, whether they flee or whether they stay.” The UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) said on 9 July that it was appalled that the Israeli military has again ordered residents of Gaza city to evacuate to areas where “military operations are ongoing and where civilians continue to be killed and injured.” On 11 July, following the latest announcements by the Israeli military concerning the designation of “humanitarian routes” for exiting Gaza city, humanitarian partners deployed at two locations where displaced people were expected to cross from northern to southern Gaza, and provided them with water, hot meals, food parcels, as well as health and nutrition support. On 11 July, a few hundred people were estimated to have crossed southwards, mainly on donkey carts, but also cars, tuk-tuks, and on foot, carrying only a few belongings with them.
• On 11 July, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Ash Shuja’iyeh neighbourhood in eastern Gaza city, the Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) stated that the area has become a disaster zone, where 85 per cent of residential buildings have been destroyed and rendered uninhabitable and infrastructure was massively damaged. Heavy destruction was also witnessed by PCD teams in Tal Al Hawa area of western Gaza city, where “tens of bodies” were found scattered in the streets and inside destroyed buildings, and several houses were reportedly set on fire before the withdrawal of Israeli forces. PCD emphasized that many lives could have been saved if PCD teams were allowed by Israeli forces to safely reach the injured in time, noting that it has so far retrieved 60 bodies in Ash Shuja’iyeh and that more than 50 people, mostly women, are estimated to have been killed in As Sina’a area of Tal Al Hawa in western Gaza city. According to MoH, Sabha Al Harazeen medical clinic in As Shuja’iyeh was destroyed, affecting more than 150,000 people it used to serve in the area. The clinic, MoH added, contained a pharmaceutical warehouse and a public health laboratory, which was the only laboratory in the Strip dedicated to performing public health tests of water, beverages, food, and pharmaceuticals for the purpose of disease control and prevention. As Salam clinic in western Gaza city was also destroyed after it was directly hit, MoH said, noting that it was the only clinic in Tal Al Hawa and As Sabra areas providing primary health-care services to thousands of people.
• Over 1.9 million people displaced throughout Gaza continue to face harrowing conditions, including in Deir al Balah. On 10 July, OCHA led an inter-agency mission to two informal sites in Al Bureij and Al Maghazi refugee camps in Deir al Balah. In Al Bureij, 3,800 IDPs are sharing 388 tents and humanitarian actors have been struggling to regularly access and provide support to camp residents. Only basic health-service points are available, and there are dire shortages of drinking water, hygiene products, solar panels, and clothing. The second site, in Al Maghazi, hosts over 1,000 IDPs who are crammed in an UNRWA school, which was hit in late 2023 and, since then, no UNRWA services could be provided there. IDPs reported a critical lack of medical care, clothing, water and adequate food, with seven cancer patients in the shelter all unable to receive treatment. On 10 July, UNRWA visited another school-turned-shelter in Deir al Balah, which is currently hosting over 14,000 people in classrooms as well as in makeshift structures in the courtyard. UNRWA staff on site reported that no food could be distributed since 11 March, with children being now “unrecognizable” due to malnourishment. Only 25 toilets are available at the shelter – one for every 560 people approximately – with diseases proliferating and a shortage of water “due to lack of fuel to pump water from the water well.”
• In a meeting with the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhannad Hadi, during his mission to Gaza on 9 July, women’s groups highlighted the particularly bleak conditions faced by displaced women, who are being forced to cut off their hair, due to lice and lack of hygiene products, and are increasingly unable to provide for their families, particularly their children who “go to bed without eating and drinking” as well as disabled or sick relatives. Due to the breakdown in public order and safety, women are also facing an increase in sexual and gender-based violence, further exacerbating their suffering.
• On 10 July, UNRWA was able to reopen one of its health facilities in Khan Younis – the Japanese Health Center – six months after it was severely damaged and forced to close due to heavy fighting. On its first day of operations, the centre had 33 medical staff able to support more than 900 patients, offering both pre- and post-natal care, blood tests, treatment for non-communicable diseases and critical outpatient services. As there are no other health facilities in this part of Khan Younis, the facility is crucial for displaced families sheltering in the area and will be operating double-shift rotations to manage the high influx of patients. Overall, as of 6 July, only nine out of 26 UNRWA health centres, alongside 86 medical points, remain operational throughout the Strip due to ongoing fighting and damage and destruction of UNRWA facilities.
• In the Gaza governorate, Al Ahli Baptist and Public Aid hospitals resumed partial functionality on 11 July, after the evacuation orders issued on 7 and 8 July rendered them temporarily out of service, while the Patients Friends Association Hospital remains non-functional, according to the Health Cluster. Following the evacuation of these health facilities, the Kamal Adwan and Indonesian hospitals in the North Gaza governorate have been absorbing a large influx of patients while continuing to face severe scarcity of fuel, beds and trauma medical supplies. The Indonesian Hospital is now operating at three times its capacity, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and the hospital’s administration called on citizens on 10 July to urgently donate blood to allow it to cope with the high casualty caseload. WHO also warned that, while Al Helou, As Sahaba and Al Shifa hospitals, which are all in close proximity to areas recently placed under evacuation orders, so far remain partially functional, the expansion of hostilities and access obstructions risk rendering them non-functional at any time. Meanwhile, the malnutrition situation is increasingly alarming; citing MoH figures, WHO reported that 34 people have died of malnutrition and dehydration since the war began, with 60 cases of Severe Acute Malnutrition detected at Kamal Adwan Hospital alone during the first week of July. Malnutrition contributes to reducing the immunity of children, the elderly and other vulnerable groups. Overall, the concurrent lack of access to adequate food, clean water, sanitation and basic health services is trapping people in a “vicious cycle,” underscored WHO.
• The Gaza Strip continues to be under an electricity blackout since October 2023, after the Israeli authorities cut off the electricity supply and fuel reserves for Gaza’s only power plant (GPP) were depleted, forcing it to shut down. Electricity generation has been largely dependent on the entry of fuel, which remains restricted by the Israeli authorities to specific humanitarian and service provision activities. Between 1 and 10 July, only 987,970 litres of fuel entered Gaza, or an average of about 99,000 litres of fuel per day, which is attributed to limited movement along the main humanitarian cargo route between Kerem Shalom Crossing and central Gaza due to active hostilities, damaged roads, access limitations, and the lack of public order and safety. This amount constitutes about 25 per cent of the minimum daily requirement of about 400,000 litres necessary to sustain humanitarian activities in the Gaza Strip. These shortages have severely undermined the ability to run backup generators to operate life-saving service facilities, including hospitals, bakeries, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities.
• The WASH Cluster reports that inadequate fuel supplies in June have severely compromised the ability of critical WASH facilities to sustain minimal functionality. Despite some increase in fuel delivery at the beginning of June that allowed for improved water production and distribution in southern Gaza, access to fuel became increasingly constrained by the second half of the month. Overall, the WASH Cluster noted that critical WASH facilities only received in June about a quarter of the 70,000 litres of fuel they need per day to operate. The water pipeline coming from Israel to Gaza city, one of three in the Strip, sustained damage due to the hostilities, resulting in a further loss of 18,000-20,000 cubic metres of water per day. Due to the lack of sufficient fuel consignments, water supply from groundwater wells and water desalination plants dropped by 25 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively, in the first week of July compared with June, and public water distribution went down by 38 per cent since early July. Overall, field observations and site visits by WASH partners suggest that the range of water availability and consumption in the Gaza Strip is between two and nine litres per capita per day. According to humanitarian standards, the minimum amount of water needed in an emergency is 15 litres per capita per day, which includes water for drinking, washing, and cooking.
• Intensified hostilities, access constraints, fuel shortages and the breakdown of law and order continue to create a highly volatile and risky operating environment for aid workers, further disrupting the delivery of life-saving assistance across the Gaza Strip and forcing aid actors on some occasions to cancel planned activities. Between 1 and 11 July, out of 38 planned humanitarian assistance missions coordinated with the Israeli authorities to northern Gaza, 14 (37 per cent) were facilitated, 13 (34 per cent) were impeded, seven (18 per cent) were denied access, and four (11 per cent) were cancelled due to logistical, operational, or security reasons. In addition, out of 147 coordinated humanitarian assistance movements in southern Gaza, 118 (80 per cent) were facilitated by the Israeli authorities, nine (six per cent) were impeded, five were denied (three per cent) and 15 (10 per cent) were cancelled. Overall, in both northern and southern Gaza, missions that involved water trucking and the delivery of fuel to critical health facilities and bakeries were especially affected by access challenges.

Funding

• As of 12 July, Member States have disbursed about US$1.19 billion out of $3.42 billion (35 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. On 10 July, the Humanitarian Coordinator Muhannad Hadi stated that “more funding is urgently needed – as is a safe, enabling environment inside Gaza. Increased funding now will enable the humanitarian community to scale up operations as soon as conditions permit. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard. (*2.3 million reflects the projected population of the Gaza Strip upon issuance of the Flash Appeal in April 2024. As of July 2024, the UN estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip, and it will be using this updated number for programmatic purposes.)
• The occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) has 111 ongoing projects, for a total of $88 million, addressing urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and West Bank (11 per cent). Of these projects, 63 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 34 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Notably, 41 out of the 77 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented with national NGOs. Since 7 October, the oPt HF has mobilized over $112 million from Member States and private donors to support urgent humanitarian and life-saving programmes across the OPT. Of total funding, 89 per cent has been allocated to projects in Gaza. A summary of the oPt HF activities and challenges in June 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 oPt HF.

* Asterisks indicate that a figure, sentence, or section has been rectified, added, or retracted after the initial publication of this update.