Humanitarian Situation Update #209 | 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 28 August.

Key Highlights

• Between 19 and 24 August, five new evacuation orders have been issued by the Israeli military – the largest number of orders in a single week since the start of the crisis. A total of 16 orders have been in issued in August so far.
• Since the escalation of hostilities, only about 11 per cent of the Gaza strip has not been placed under evacuation orders.
• At least 50,000 children born in the past ten months of hostilities are highly unlikely to have received any immunizations, including polio vaccine, due to the collapsed health system, warn aid organizations and medical professionals.

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, particularly in Beit Hanoun, southwest Gaza city, eastern area of Khan Younis and Deir al Balah and east and south Rafah, with heavy fighting also continue to be reported.
• Between the afternoons of 23 and 26 August, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 170 Palestinians were killed and 390 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 26 August 2024, at least 40,435 Palestinians were killed and 93,534 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza.
• The following are some of the deadly incidents reported between 22 and 25 August:
  • On 22 August, five Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in the vicinity of Bani Suheila square, east of Khan Younis.
  • On 23 August, five Palestinians were reportedly killed when a vehicle was hit southeast of Khan Younis.
  • On 23 August, four Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in northwestern An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, Deir al Balah.
  • On 24 August, four Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Maan area, east of Khan Younis.
  • On 24 August, 11 Palestinians, including women and children, were reportedly killed and 30 others injured when a house was hit in Al Amal neighborhood, west of Khan Younis.
  • On 24 August, at about 12:10, eight Palestinian men were reportedly killed when a vehicle (tuk-tuk) was hit in northwestern Rafah.
  • On 25 August, eight Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit south of Deir al Balah.
• Between the afternoons of 23 and 26 August, six Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 26 August 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,538 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath. The figure includes 338 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,254 Israeli soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation. As of 26 August, it is estimated that 109 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including hostages who have been declared dead and whose remains are withheld in Gaza.
• New Israeli-issued evacuation orders are announced almost daily, further worsening the humanitarian crisis affecting hundreds of thousands of people. Between 23 and 25 August, the Israeli military issued three new evacuation orders affecting over 19 neighborhoods in Northen Gaza and in Deir al Balah. Initial mapping indicates that over 8,000 people were staying in the areas designated for evacuation, many in 13 internally displaced person (IDP) sites. The Israeli military issued a total of 16 evacuation orders in August, impacting approximately 12 per cent of Gaza’s population (258,000 people). The new orders in Deir al Balah have displaced humanitarian staff from various UN agencies, NGOs, and service providers, along with their families, severely hindering their ability to deliver essential support and services. Specifically, the order issued on 25 August impacted 15 UN and NGO premises, as well as four UN warehouses.
• As of 25 August, up to 88.5 per cent of the Gaza Strip has been placed under evacuation orders since 7 October 2023. The population is increasingly forced to concentrate within the Israeli-designated zone in Al Mawasi, which spans to only about 41 square kilometre or roughly 11 per cent of Gaza’s total area. The area is lacking critical infrastructure and basic services, while aid provision is limited due to access and security issues. The severe overcrowding, with a density of 30,000 to 34,000 individuals per square kilometer has exacerbated the dire shortage of essential resources such as water, sanitation and hygiene supplies, health services, protection and shelter.
• Evacuation orders and hostilities in close proximity to hospitals and medical points continue to place these vital facilities at risk of becoming non-functional due to insecurity and lack of safe access for patients, ambulances, and health partners to resupply them. On 26 August, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that many people had chosen to flee from the Al Aqsa Hospital, prompted by the close proximity to the latest area designated for evacuation in Deir al Balah and an explosion that occurred 250 metres from the hospital. Citing the Ministry of Health, MSF added that, from around 650 patients, only 100 now remain in the hospital.
• Delivering fuel and medical supplies to health facilities is extremely challenging in the context of repeated evacuation orders. On 21 August, both the Kamal Adwan and Indonesian hospitals in northern Gaza renewed appeals for the urgent provision of diesel to keep electricity generators functional. Meanwhile, attacks on healthcare also continue to be reported. On 24 August, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) informed that the second floor of the PRCS Al Amal Hospital’s Rehabilitation Department in Khan Younis had been struck by Israeli drones but no staff or patients were injured. As of 20 August, WHO had recorded 505 health attacks in the Strip, which had resulted in 752 people killed, 982 injured, and 32 hospitals and 63 ambulances damaged.
• Humanitarian interventions are increasingly difficult to implement under recent evacuation orders. According to the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster, recent evacuation orders in Deir al Balah have compromised 15 out of 18 water wells; reducing the total water production capacity in the area by 80 per cent (from 13,000 cubic metres a day to 2,500). An urgent mitigation measure is currently underway to address the situation by redirecting water from the Southern Gaza Desalination Plant to Deir al Balah. This adjustment will provide Deir al Balah with 1,500 cubic metres of water per day. In parallel, UNFPA reports that the disruption has led to the closure of four UNFPA-supported maternal health service delivery points in the middle area and Khan Younis governorates, which previously served thousands of women. Additionally, multiple safe spaces set up by humanitarians for women and girls have been forced to shut down, cutting off critical support for those at risk of gender-based violence.
• On 23 August, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed grave concern about the first confirmed case of polio in Gaza in 25 years, adding that the 10-month-old unvaccinated child who had contracted the virus had developed paralysis in the lower left leg. On 25 August, UNICEF announced that 1.2 million doses of Polio Vaccine Type 2 (nOPV2) were being brought to Gaza to immunize over 640,000 children jointly with WHO and UNRWA. Meanwhile, as part of ongoing preparations to implement the two-round vaccination campaign set to begin in September, WHO has conducted a training of trainers for 35 vaccinators, with further cascading training ongoing for 280 team supervisors from the Ministry of Health in Gaza, UNRWA and other health partners. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) underscored that “vaccinations are only one part of the response” and concurrent efforts to scale up access to safe, clean and treated water are necessary to prevent further disease outbreaks, including cholera, urging the lifting of all restrictions on the entry of chlorination supplies and fuel to run water systems, solar panels and electricity generators. In a joint appeal for an urgent ceasefire, 20 aid agencies and 20 medical professionals explained that at least 50,000 children born in the past ten months of conflict are “highly unlikely to have received any immunizations due to the collapsed health system”, while regular vaccination schedules for older children are likely to have been disrupted by displacement and violence. “Now polio is confirmed, the response needs to be measured in hours, not weeks,” indicated the Save the Children’s Regional Director for the Middle East, Jeremy Stoner.
• Despite all constraints and challenges faced, health partners are doing their utmost to support the health system. In a positive development, on 25 August, the Ministry of Health announced the resumption of partial health services at the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis, 50 days after the facility had become out of service following the evacuation orders of 1 July. Humanitarian actors have provided hospitals in northern and southern Gaza with anaesthesia, analgesic drugs and other medical supplies to cover the needs of about 44,500 patients. A total of 200 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds have also been delivered to Gaza in an effort to support the expansion of bed capacity in at least five facilities. Moreover, more than $400,000 worth of infection prevention and control supplies have been delivered to five hospitals, with plans to reach two others.
• Many shop owners who operated formals shops are now selling their commodities within informal markets on the streets, according to a survey by WFP. Between 1 June and 10 August, WFP collected responses from a diverse array of formal retail establishments and street-level vendors and found that respondents listed damaged shops (86 per cent), safety and security (31 per cent) and inability to replenish stocks (25 per cent) as the main reasons for the transition of formal shops to informal street vendors. In addition to losing commercial infrastructure, the shortage of basic commodities and high prices are impacting the markets across the Gaza Strip especially in the northern governorates, which include commodities like cooking gas which has increased by over 500 per cent, and diesel prices have increased by over 1,000 per cent, compared to pre-October 2023 prices. The limited availability of detergents and the high prices of basic hygiene products and chlorine are particularly concerning given the widespread prevalence of skin conditions among the population.

Funding

• As of 23 August, Member States have disbursed about US$1.62 billion out of $3.42 billion (48 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. (*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 this updated number is now used for programmatic purposes.)
• During July 2024, the occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed a total of 98 ongoing projects, totalling $81.4 million. These projects aimed to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent). The projects were strategically focused on education, food security, health, protection, emergency shelter and non-food items, water, sanitation, and hygiene, coordination and support services, multi-purpose cash assistance and nutrition. Of these projects, 55 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 31 by national NGOs and 12 by UN agencies. Notably, 32 out of the 67 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration 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 Occupied Palestinian Territory. Of the total funding, 89 per cent has been allocated to projects in Gaza. A summary of the oPt HF activities and challenges in July 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. For an overall picture of the OCHA-managed pooled funds response since October 2023, please see link.