Humanitarian Situation Update #277 | Gaza Strip

The Humanitarian Situation Update is issued by OCHA Occupied Palestinian Territory twice a week. The Gaza Strip is covered on Tuesdays and the West Bank on Thursdays. The Gaza Humanitarian Response Update is issued every other Tuesday. Exceptionally, this week's Humanitarian Situation Update is issued on a Friday covering Gaza. The next Humanitarian Situation Update will be issued on 8 April.

Key Highlights

• Mass casualty incidents continue, including at least two – on 2 and 3 April – with dozens of reported casualties at shelters hosting displaced people.
• Sixty-five per cent of the Gaza Strip’s territory is within 'no-go' areas, under active displacement orders, or both. Over 280,000 people have been displaced in the past two weeks.
• The number of aid workers killed since October 2023 rises to 409.
• Gaza faces renewed risk of hunger and malnutrition as the full cargo blockade, now entering the second month, almost halts all flour distribution and shuts all subsidized bakeries.
• Children in Gaza bear the brunt of violence and displacement, which heighten the risk of family separation.

Humanitarian Developments

• Since 18 March, and for more than two weeks, Israeli forces have escalated bombardment from the air, land and sea across the Gaza Strip and expanded ground operations, resulting in hundreds of casualties, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and large-scale displacement. Humanitarian operations have been stifled by a combination of expanded military activity, the Israeli government’s blockade on the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies for more than a month, increased insecurity affecting humanitarian workers, and severe movement restrictions within Gaza. Israeli authorities now require the UN and its partners to coordinate movements to access about 65 per cent of the Gaza Strip. This includes areas designated as ‘no-go’ zones along the Gaza perimeter or along Wadi Gaza where Israeli forces have re-deployed since 20 March as well as locations under displacement orders. Over 280,000 people are estimated to have been displaced in the last two weeks, including about 100,000 people from Rafah over the past several days, according to the Site Management Cluster (SMC). The Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Jens Lærke, said that what we are witnessing in Gaza is “a callous disregard for human life and dignity,” adding that “the acts of war that we see bear the hallmarks of atrocity crimes.”
• In a press briefing on 2 April, the acting Head of Office for OCHA in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Jonathan Whittall, described the situation in Gaza, including a recent mission to Rafah that uncovered a mass grave of medical and emergency workers who were killed while trying to save lives (more information below), as “a war without limits,” that “defies decency, humanity and … the law”. He said that “Gaza has become a death trap,” where 2.1 million people are “trapped, bombed and starved.” In the past two weeks alone, he added, UN premises have been shelled by tank fire, killing one UN staff member; international aid compounds and hospitals have been hit; municipal workers have been killed in humanitarian-donated trucks; people have been bombed at food distribution points; humanitarian warehouses have been damaged in strikes; and hospitals have been overflowing with mass casualties. Emphasizing that humanitarian aid cannot compensate for the political failures in Gaza, Whittall stated: “As humanitarians … we cannot accept that Palestinian civilians are dehumanized to the point of being somehow unworthy of survival … [and] people’s survival is dependent on an aid system that itself is under attack.”
• According to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, between 25 March and 3 April, as of noon, 379 Palestinians were killed and 1,072 were injured. Many bodies remain under the rubble of destroyed structures, according to MoH. Since 19 January, when the first phase of the ceasefire took effect, and as of 3 April, a total of 900 bodies were retrieved from across the Gaza Strip, the MoH reported. Since 7 October 2023 and as of 3 April 2025, the MoH in Gaza reported that at least 50,523 Palestinians have been killed and 114,776 Palestinians injured. This includes 1,163 people killed and 2,735 injured since the escalation of hostilities on 18 March, according to MoH.
• Between 25 March and 3 April, incidents resulting in fatalities were reported across the Gaza Strip, including the following:
  • On 25 March, at about 1:00, eight Palestinians, including a woman and her daughter, were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Block 7 of Al Breij refugee camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 26 March, at about 1:23, eight Palestinians, of whom five were children, including a six-month-old infant, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in Jabalya Al Balad, in North Gaza.
  • On 26 March, at about 16:00, five Palestinians were reportedly killed when a food distribution point “As Sadoudi Tekiya (community kitchen)” was hit in Block C in An Nuseirat refugee camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 27 March, World Central Kitchen reported that one of their volunteers was killed in an Israeli strike near one of their supported community kitchens just as meals were being distributed.
  • On 27 March, at about 10:51, ten Palestinians, including at least four females and one male, were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Beit Lahiya, in North Gaza.
  • On 27 March, at about 16:30, seven Palestinians were reportedly killed when a group of people was hit on An Nafaq street in central Gaza city.
  • On 28 March, at about midnight, at least 12 Palestinians, including at least one woman and one girl, were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Az Zaytoun neighbourhood, in Gaza city.
  • On 29 March, at about 12:00, six Palestinians of a single family were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in Abasan al Kabira in eastern Khan Yunis. The family had been reportedly displaced and living in a shelter and returned to the house to collect some food when the house was hit.
  • On 30 March, at about 9:35, ten Palestinians, including a woman and at least three children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a tent used by internally displaced persons (IDP) was hit in Al Muharrarat area in western Khan Yunis.
  • On 30 March, at about 21:30, nine Palestinians, including at least three children and a woman, were reportedly killed when an apartment was hit in a residential building in Hamad city, in Khan Younis.
  • On 31 March, at about 17:00, nine Palestinians, including two women and three children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in At Tuffah neighbourhood, in eastern Gaza city.
  • On 1 April, at about 1:20, five Palestinians, including a journalist, his wife and their three children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building belonging to the journalist’s family was hit in Al Amal neighbourhood in western Khan Younis.
  • On 2 April, at about 2:20, at least 15 Palestinians, including a couple, their children and their grandsons, were reportedly killed when a two-storey residential building was hit in Khan Younis.
  • On 2 April, at about 10:20, 22 Palestinians, including 16 children, women and elderly, were reportedly killed and others injured when an UNRWA clinic hosting displaced people was hit in Jabalya refugee camp, in North Gaza, according to the Government Media Office (GMO). UNRWA’s Commissioner General stated that the facility, which was previously a health centre that was heavily damaged earlier, was sheltering about 700 IDPs when it was hit. Displaced families stayed at the shelter after it was hit because they had nowhere else to go. Among those killed are reportedly nine children, including a two-week-old baby. More than 300 UN buildings have been damaged or destroyed in Gaza since the war began, according to UNRWA, even though all their coordinates were regularly shared with the warring parties, and more than 700 people have been killed while seeking UN protection.
  • On 3 April, at about 4:00, 15 Palestinian men were reportedly killed and others injured when several residential buildings were hit in Ash Shuja’iyyeh area, east of Gaza city. More people reportedly remained under the rubble.
  • On 3 April, at least 21 Palestinians were reportedly killed and 100 others injured, mostly children, when two buildings in a school sheltering IDPs was hit in Gaza city, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense  (PCD). The PCD stated that other people remain under the rubble, but the lack of resources is hindering the retrieval process.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 3 April 2025, according to Israeli forces and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,607 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October 2023 and its immediate aftermath. This includes 407 soldiers killed, in addition to 2,584 soldiers injured, in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation in October 2023. As of 3 April, it is estimated that 59 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including hostages who have been declared dead and whose bodies are being withheld.
• On 30 March, a complex, week-long rescue operation concluded with the recovery of the bodies of eight team members from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), six from the Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) and one from UNRWA. Their co-workers found them buried in the Tal As Sultan area of Rafah, in southern Gaza. All the bodies were recovered on 30 March, except the body of one PCD member that was retrieved on 27 March, during one of several attempts to access the area to search for first responders who went missing on 23 March. Available information indicates that the first team was killed by Israeli forces on 23 March, and that other emergency and aid crews were struck one after another over several hours as they searched for their missing colleagues. They were buried under the sand, alongside their wrecked emergency vehicles – five clearly marked ambulances, a fire truck and a UN car. The mass grave was marked with the emergency light of one of the crushed ambulances. A ninth PRCS medic remains missing. Calling for accountability, PRCS stated: “This massacre of our team is a tragedy not only for us at the PRCS, but also for humanitarian work and humanity.” Noting that this represents the single most deadly attack on Red Cross Red Crescent workers anywhere in the world since 2017, the Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Jagan Chapagain, said: “These dedicated ambulance workers were responding to wounded people. They were humanitarians. They wore emblems that should have protected them; their ambulances were clearly marked. They should have returned to their families; they did not.”
• On 31 March, UNRWA Commissioner-General confirmed the deaths of two UNRWA staff in Gaza, including one who was among the 15 fatalities in Tal As Sultan (see above). He stated: “Targeting or endangering emergency responders, journalists or humanitarian workers is a flagrant and severe disregard of international law. In Gaza, these killings have become routine. This cannot become the new norm. There must be accountability.” On 28 March, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) condemned the killing of a paramedic who served at MAP’s Solidarity polyclinic in Gaza. He was killed along with his wife and their 13-year-old son on 27 March when Israeli forces shelled their tent in Beit Lahiya, where they were sheltering after their home had been destroyed. The family of the paramedic’s brother was also killed in the attack. In total, since 7 October 2023, at least 409 aid workers, including 291 UN staff, have been killed in Gaza.
• On 3 April, the warehouse of the Saudi Center for Culture and Heritage, executive partner of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, was reportedly hit by an Israeli airstrike in the eastern Mouraj area, east of Rafah. The attack resulted in the destruction of the warehouse and the burning of all 1,600 pallets of medical supplies in the warehouse that were intended to respond to the needs of patients and injured people, according to the centre's chair of the board.
• Children are bearing the brunt of suffering in Gaza and have “again been plunged into a cycle of deadly violence and deprivation,” in the words of the Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russell. Beyond direct conflict violence, children also continue to face serious risks of harm or death; according to the Child Protection (CP) Area of Responsibility, these include unaccompanied children, survivors of gender-based or domestic violence, and children experiencing suicidal ideation. The latest wave of forced displacement, whereby many families have been forced to flee without their belongings, under fire, on foot and with immediate or no warning, has also placed children at heightened risk of family separation and other risks, including trafficking, exploitation, abuse and neglect. This is combined with unprecedented and immeasurable emotional and psychological damage, with potentially profound and irreparable consequences for their well-being and development. At the same time, the ability of CP partners to provide needed services has been constrained by insecurity and movement restrictions. For example, due to the high risk of mass casualty incidents, it is unsafe to gather large groups of children to take part in psychosocial support activities. Furthermore, with no humanitarian or other critical supplies entering Gaza for over a month and depleting stocks, CP partners have been unable to provide clothing and other essential items even to the most vulnerable of displaced children who only have the clothes they are wearing. Despite immense challenges, CP partners continue to address critical child protection cases, including through remote case management modalities. This is in addition to the distribution of child identity bracelets, dissemination of messages to raise awareness about family separation and mitigate the risks thereof, and facilitating family reunifications where feasible, including for cases where high level coordination and safe transport is required to reunite children with their families.
• According to a new assessment by the Education Cluster, which relies on satellite imagery collected on 25 February 2025, nearly 88.5 per cent of school buildings in the Gaza Strip (499 out of 564) have been directly hit or damaged and are estimated to require either full reconstruction or major rehabilitation work to be functional again. Fifty-five per cent of these schools (277) are government schools, a third (162) are UNRWA schools, and 12 per cent (60) are private schools. Moreover, 62 per cent of school buildings that have been used by IDPs as shelters were directly hit. Schools that were directly hit or damaged served nearly 546,500 students and had more than 20,450 teachers before October 2023, which represented about 88 per cent of the total student population and teaching staff in the Gaza Strip.
• Between 25 March and 2 April, out of 72 planned aid movements across the Gaza Strip that were coordinated with the Israeli authorities, 60 per cent (43) were denied, six per cent (four) faced impediments, 30 per cent (22) were facilitated and four per cent (three) cancelled. Out of 27 planned humanitarian assistance missions in or to northern Gaza that were coordinated with the Israeli authorities, only seven were facilitated, 17 were denied, two faced impediments and one was cancelled. These include 16 aid missions that needed to pass through the Israeli-controlled Wadi Gaza area between southern and northern Gaza. Of these, seven were facilitated by the Israeli authorities through Al Rashid Road while eight others were denied, and one was impeded. In southern Gaza, out of the 45 planned humanitarian assistance movements, 15 were facilitated, 26 were denied, two were impeded, and two were cancelled.*
• The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that hundreds of thousands of people are again at risk of severe hunger and malnutrition as humanitarian food stocks in Gaza dwindle, prices of limited stocks soar, and crossings remain closed. The expansion of military activity in Gaza is also severely disrupting food assistance operations and is putting the lives of aid workers at risk. As of 3 April, after over four weeks without aid or other critical supplies entering Gaza, all 25 subsidized bakeries have closed due to a lack of cooking gas and flour. The Food Security Sector (FSS) warns that food parcel distributions at reduced rations will soon be depleted. More than one million people were left without food parcels in March, in contrast with more than two million people reached during the first 42 days of the ceasefire. The distribution of hot meals, a remaining lifeline in Gaza, continues for less than half the people, but supplies are quickly running out, warns WFP. Meanwhile, FSS reports that over 89,000 metric tonnes of food supplies are stranded outside Gaza and need to be urgently brought inside. The prices of the few remaining stocks in shops have soared, with the price of a bag of wheat flour increasing by 450 per cent, and cooking gas prices have increased by 4,000 per cent compared with pre-October 2023 levels, forcing many households to burn waste and wood for cooking, posing health and environmental risks.
• Access to water remains severely constrained and highly uneven across the Gaza Strip, with households facing significant challenges in accessing sufficient quantities for drinking and domestic use, reports the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster. Findings from a January 2025 assessment, published by the cluster on 28 March, indicate that an average of 19 litres of all-purpose water was accessible per person per day (LPD), a slight improvement from the estimated 16.4 LPD available in August 2024. Nearly 36 per cent of assessed households were unable to access 15 LPD, the minimum standard for drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene in emergencies to safeguard public health, compared with 46.5 per cent of assessed households who lacked access to 15 LPD of all-purpose water in August 2024. By contrast, access to drinking water continued to be extremely limited, primarily due to the fragile production and distribution system in Gaza city and eastern Khan Younis; like August 2024, the January assessment showed that 65 per cent of assessed households were not able to access the minimum of six litres of drinking water per day and about 61 per cent of assessed households relied on purchasing drinking water from the private sector. While water production somewhat improved during the first 42 days of the ceasefire, with a 50 per cent increase in water production and a doubling of functional water collection points, the escalation of hostilities and forced displacement since 18 March have again limited the ability of WASH partners to provide services and repair damaged networks.
• Sanitation conditions across the Gaza Strip remain alarming and are likely exacerbating public health risks, reports the WASH Cluster. For example, three makeshift displacement sites in Al Mawasi are currently reporting an infestation of fleas and mites, causing rashes and other health issues. With a high level of population mobility, severe overcrowding, restricted access to basic services, and a limited ability to improve sanitation conditions – such as implementing vector control measures, bringing in the needed supply of chemicals or making available the 15,000 sanitation units currently stalled at the border – the risk of infestation and disease spread remain high. Already in January 2025, according to the most recent assessment by the WASH cluster, roughly half of assessed households (46 per cent) relied on facilities classified as limited, unimproved, or equivalent to open defecation, and nearly half reported experiencing excreta or sewage release due to flooding (46 per cent) as well as due to sewage overflow (41 per cent), and collapse of sanitation facilities (17 per cent) within 10 metres of their homes. Moreover, assessed households reported exposure to various environmental health threats within 10 metres of their shelters, including rodents and pests (78 per cent), stagnant water (46 per cent), piles of solid waste (42 per cent), and sewage (26 per cent). Meanwhile, the WASH Cluster estimates that 15,000 latrine units are stalled at the border, enough for approximately 300,000 people.
• On 27 March, remaining UNRWA international staff left the Gaza Strip. Due to the implementation of the ban from the State of Israel on UNRWA via the Knesset bill, international UNRWA staff are now banned from entering the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, UNRWA’s Palestinian local staff in Gaza continue to provide services and assistance in Gaza to people who need it most. The agency remains one of the largest service providers in Gaza, providing a range of nutrition, health, education, water and sanitation services. Between 7 October 2023 and 16 March 2025, UNRWA provided over 7.9 million medical consultations across the Gaza Strip, accounting for over half of people reached with health services since 7 October 2023.
• On 27 March, WHO supported the medical evacuation of 81 patients from Gaza via Kerem Shalom crossing for treatment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), along with 107 companions. A day earlier, with the support of WHO and partners, patients were transferred from northern to southern Gaza so they could join the evacuation to the UAE, according to WHO. No medical evacuations were reported between 20 and 26 March. Between 1 February and 27 March, 1,805 patients, including 632 children, were evacuated along with 2,713 companions to receive specialized care outside Gaza. According to WHO, about 11,000 to 13,000 people, including more than 4,500 children, remain in urgent need of medical evacuation.

Displacement Orders

• Since 18 March, the Israeli military issued 13 displacement orders, placing about 126.6 square kilometres, or 35 per cent of the Gaza Strip, under active displacement orders. In addition to this area, the Israeli authorities have requested the UN to coordinate movements to the “no-go” zone along Gaza’s perimeter and through the Israeli-controlled Wadi Gaza area between southern and northern Gaza. Together, these areas comprise 65 per cent of the Gaza Strip. Between 25 March and 3 April, seven displacement orders were issued by the Israeli military, directing residents to leave immediately to known shelters, as follows:
  • On 26 March, two displacement orders were issued for areas in Gaza governorate, covering 10.3 square kilometres in seven neighbourhoods. Facilities within the areas slated for displacement include one hospital, two primary health centres (PHCs), one medical point, at least eight functional school structures, and ten temporary learning spaces (TLS), affecting over 10,000 learners.
  • On 29 March, a displacement order was issued for Abasan, Al Qarara and Bani Suhaila in eastern Khan Younis, covering approximately 9.6 square kilometres in seven neighbourhoods.
  • On 31 March, a displacement order was issued for 22 neighbourhoods in Rafah and Khan Younis governorates, including 97 per cent of Rafah governorate, spanning 64 square kilometres. Facilities within this area include at least nine community kitchens, which have been relocated to Khan Younis, two field hospitals, four PHCs, and seven medical points. Between 31 March and 1 April, an estimated 90,000-100,000 people were displaced from Rafah, and are now scattered in Khan Younis city, Mawasi Khan Younis and Deir al Balah.
  • On 1 April, a displacement order was issued for parts of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in North Gaza covering approximately 5.9 square kilometres in seven neighbourhoods. These include 16,185 people at 39 displacement sites. Other facilities within the area slated for evacuation include two functioning health service points.
  • On 2 April, a displacement order was issued for parts of Jabalya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in North Gaza covering approximately 5.5 square kilometres in seven neighbourhoods. These include more than 21,000 people sheltering at 34 displacement sites.
  • On 3 April, a displacement order was issued for parts of Gaza governorate, covering approximately 9.4 square kilometres in four neighbourhoods. These include more than 2,800 people sheltering at seven displacement sites.
• The shelter situation in the Gaza Strip has worsened due to recurrent displacement orders, severe destruction and the lack of resources. With no aid or other critical supplies entering Gaza for the past month and with limited movement between northern and southern Gaza, shelter and non-food stocks have reached critically low levels, particularly in central and southern Gaza. Since the breakdown of the ceasefire, shelter partners have mainly focused on completing ongoing distributions and responding to urgent referrals from other clusters. In an online briefing with aid groups about the situation in Gaza, the Humanitarian Access Manager at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) stated: “We're seeing the shelter response approaching a complete standstill because we have almost nothing left to distribute despite still seeing these massive forced transfers happening every day, sometimes multiple times a day." He added: “More than a million people remain in dire need of tents in Gaza and 700,000 more require very basic items like plastic sheets and ropes to reinforce their currently inadequate makeshift shelters and the damaged buildings in which they're in … We were in a situation where as many as 10 people at a time are trying to fit inside a single tent, people sheltering in the corridors of crowded school buildings and in the shadows of collapsed buildings as people try to put absolutely anything between themselves and the sky at night. … Most concerningly, many people, with no alternative shelter, are staying in structurally unsound and damaged buildings, where incidents of buildings collapsing on top of men, women, and children continue to be recorded.” Moreover, the operational capacity of Shelter Cluster partners has been significantly affected as local staff have experienced displacement, loss of internet or office access, and in some cases, the loss of their homes.

Funding

• As of 27 March 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately US$175.3 million out of the $4.07 billion (4.3 per cent) requested to meet the most critical humanitarian needs of three million out of 3.3 million people identified as requiring assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 2025, under the 2025 Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Nearly 88 per cent of the requested funds are for humanitarian response in Gaza, with just over 12 per cent for the West Bank. Moreover, during March 2025, the oPt Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed 110 ongoing projects, totalling $67.6 million, to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent). Of these projects, 56 are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 42 by national NGOs and 12 by UN agencies. Notably, 43 out of the 68 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. For more information, please see OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service webpage and the oPt HF webpage.

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