Humanitarian Situation Update #226 | Gaza Strip

From now on, the Humanitarian Situation Update will be issued by OCHA Occupied Palestinian Territory twice a week. The Gaza Strip will be covered on Tuesdays and the West Bank on Thursdays. The next update will be issued on 8 October.

Key Highlights

• At least six schools and one orphanage serving as shelters for internally displaced persons were hit in the last four days, the UN Human Rights Office reports, calling on the Israeli military to immediately end the pattern of strikes in Gaza on buildings serving as shelters for displaced people.
• At least 87 per cent of schools in Gaza have been directly hit or damaged since October 2023, including one-third of UNRWA schools, a new assessment by the Education Cluster finds.
• Only 229 critical patients, along with 316 companions, have been exceptionally medically evacuated from Gaza since the closure of the Rafah Crossing in early May. This includes eight patients, including seven children, evacuated to Romania on 30 September.

Humanitarian Developments

• Israeli bombardment from the air, land and sea continues to be reported across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Ground operations, particularly in Beit Hanoun and west of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, south of Gaza city, east of Al Bureij and Al Maghazi refugee camps in Deir al Balah, southeast Khan Younis and east and south Rafah also continue to be reported.
• Between the afternoons of 30 September and 4 October, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 187 Palestinians were killed and 485 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 4 October 2024, at least 41,802 Palestinians were killed and 96,844 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza.
• On 3 October, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) called on “the Israeli military to immediately end the pattern of strikes in Gaza on buildings” serving as shelters for internally displaced persons (IDPs). According to OHCHR, in the early hours of 2 October, at least six Palestinians were killed when the Israeli military reportedly hit Al Amal Institute for Orphans that was also serving as an IDP shelter. Furthermore, in the preceding 72 hours, at least six schools serving as IDP shelters had been hit, resulting in tens of fatalities, including children and women. In September, OHCHR documented at least 14 strikes on schools and at least one strike on schools every other day in August, noting that these “attacks have become an almost daily event.” OHCHR emphasized: “Irrespective of whether Palestinian armed groups were present in these facilities, the resulting high rate of civilian casualties makes it difficult to conceive that such strikes are proportionate according to the principles of international humanitarian law. These attacks have long-term impacts on the civilian population, destroying the only viable shelters remaining for the more than one million Palestinians who have been forcibly displaced into an unsafe, unilaterally declared ‘humanitarian zone’ where there is little or no access to life-saving essential humanitarian assistance.” In its statement, OHCHR also reminded Palestinian armed groups that “using the presence of civilians to shield themselves from attack constitutes a violation of IHL”, calling on them to “cease and refrain from any such use.”
• The following are other deadly incidents reported between 30 September and 3 October:
  • On 30 September, at about 23:10, 11 Palestinians, including three children and four women, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in southwestern An Nuseirat refugee camp in northern Deir al Balah.
  • On 1 October, at about 22:30, eight Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Ash Shuja’iyeh neighbourhood, east of Gaza city.
  • On 1 October, at about 21:25, at least 10 Palestinians, including a woman and a toddler, were reportedly killed when a house was hit in Maan area east of Khan Younis city. Nine additional family members reportedly remained under rubble. Ambulances were unable to reach the area and evacuate the injured for several hours due to the ongoing incursion and shelling.
  • On 1 October, at about 13:10, 12 Palestinians, including at least a woman and a girl, were reportedly killed and at least 26 others were injured when two IDP tents were hit in Mawasi area west of Khan Younis.
  • On 2 October, at about 00:30, 12 Palestinians, including four females, were reportedly killed when a house was hit in Al Manarah neighbourhood southeast of Khan Younis. Bodies stuck under rubble were only recovered hours later due to intensified shelling and shooting.
  • On 3 October, at about 1:30, five Palestinians, including two children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Ash Shati’ (Beach) refugee camp, west Gaza city.
• Between the afternoons of 30 September and 4 October, no Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 4 October 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,546 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath. The figure includes 346 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,297 Israeli soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation.
• According to a new assessment by the Education Cluster, which relies on satellite imagery collected on 6 September, at least 87 per cent of school buildings in the Gaza Strip (493 out of 564) have been directly hit or damaged and are currently estimated to require either full reconstruction or major rehabilitation work to be functional again, up from 84.6 per cent in July 2024. Fifty-five per cent of these schools (273) are government schools, a third (161) are UNRWA schools, and 12 per cent (59) are private schools. Since the last damage analysis on 6 July, 35 additional school buildings have been classified as directly hit, 11 of them in the Rafah governorate and another 11 in Gaza governorate. Additionally, the analysis finds that at least 71 schools were totally destroyed, up from 65 schools as of 6 July, and 48 additional schools lost at least half of their structures. Prior to the escalation, “directly hit” or “damaged” schools served about 541,227 students and had more than 20,222 teachers, who represent, respectively, about 86 and 87 per cent of the total student population and teaching staff in Gaza. The number of buildings requiring full reconstruction or rehabilitation highlights the severe impact of ongoing hostilities on school facilities. The situation jeopardizes the possibility of using the schools again for educational purposes, ultimately threatening children’s right to learn.
• Preparations are underway for the second round of the polio vaccination campaign, which is scheduled to take place in mid-October and will also include the distribution of Vitamin A supplements, reports WHO. This new vaccination drive will integrate lessons learnt from the first round and findings from the post-campaign assessments conducted in September. Concurrently, the Health Cluster is tackling several other health-related priorities. On 30 September, 3,000 blood units collected through a blood donation campaign in the West Bank were delivered to health facilities across Gaza to mitigate the shortage of blood units. On 19 and 23 September, WHO conducted two missions to the Kerem Shalom Crossing to facilitate the entry of eight trucks carrying urgently needed medications and supplies. Earlier on 20 September, WHO collected eight pallets donated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Field Hospital from the field hospital in Rafah for distribution to other Emergency Medical Teams in northern and southern Gaza. Moreover, as part of efforts to enhance Infection Prevention and Control, the Trauma Working Group is also standardizing wound management protocols to enhance the quality of wound care and reduce the rate of infections at both primary healthcare centers and hospitals.
• A dedicated working group under the Health Cluster is currently mapping all Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) service providers across the Strip to ensure a coordinated response to the vast scale of mental health needs and trauma. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reports that young patients from Gaza receiving treatment at the MSF Reconstructive Surgery Hospital in Amman, Jordan, are experiencing a combination of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress syndrome, and will require psychotherapy for years to learn how to live with the traumatic events they experienced. Meanwhile, in Gaza, attacks impacting healthcare have continued, with 516 such attacks recorded by WHO as of 25 September. WHO informs that on 21 September, an MoH warehouse in northern Rafah was hit, resulting in the reported killing of four MoH employees and the injury of six others MoH also confirmed the death of three healthcare workers who were reportedly detained by Israeli army while on duty between December 2023 and March 2024; in total five health workers have died in detention since 7 October.
• In a positive development, on 30 September, eight patients, including seven children, were evacuated from Gaza to receive specialized medical treatment in Romania. Four patients have cancer, two have blood diseases, one requires a kidney transplant, and one has a severe injury; they travelled to Bucharest accompanied by 24 family members. The operation was coordinated by the EU directly from Gaza under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and was undertaken jointly with Romania, WHO and the Israeli authorities. Since the closure of Rafah Crossing in early May, 229 patients, along with 316 companions, have been exceptionally evacuated outside Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing, while an estimated 12,000 patients in need of urgent treatment remain inside the Strip. WHO continues to reiterate its appeal for the urgent establishment of evacuation corridors and “for all possible routes to be used for safe and timely passage of all patients who need specialised care.”

Funding

• As of 4 October, Member States have disbursed about $1.68 billion out of the $3.42 billion (49 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 September 2024, the Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund (OPT HF) managed 87 ongoing projects, totalling $77.5 million. These projects aimed to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (90 per cent) and the West Bank (10 per cent). They were strategically focused on education, food security, health, protection, emergency shelter and non-food items, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), coordination and support services, multi-purpose cash assistance and nutrition. Of these projects, 48 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations, 27 by national NGOs and 12 by UN agencies. Notably, 31 out of the 60 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. Monthly updates, annual reports, and a list of all funded projects per year, are available on the oPt Humanitarian Fund webpage, under the financing section.