Humanitarian Situation Update #282 | 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. The next Humanitarian Situation Update for the West Bank will be issued on 24 April.

Key Highlights

• Bombardment on Gaza, including on tents sheltering displaced people, continues to cause mass casualties while the aid blockade over the past 52 days has deprived people of the necessities for human survival.
• Insecurity and access constraints have forced humanitarian partners to close nutrition sites or significantly disrupted service delivery at a time when the nutrition situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate.
• Gaza’s health system remains critically strained, with severe shortages of medicine, equipment, and staff, and over half of functioning health facilities in areas under displacement orders.
• Israeli military strikes destroy over 30 heavy equipment vehicles, including critical equipment for search-and-rescue operations, waste removal, sewage maintenance, and water supply—raising serious public health concerns amid the ongoing crisis.
• Al Muntar water pipeline from Israel was successfully repaired. Two out of three water lines are currently functional, but fuel shortages are hampering water production and distribution.

Humanitarian Developments

• The Gaza Strip is now likely facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the 18 months since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023. Over the past 36 days, since 18 March 2025, Israeli forces have escalated bombardment from the air, land and sea across the Gaza Strip and expanded ground operations. This has resulted in hundreds of casualties, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and large-scale displacement. Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups have been reported, particularly in North Gaza and Rafah governorates. Strikes on residential buildings and tents of internally displaced people (IDPs) continue to be reported, alongside detonation of buildings, especially in Rafah and eastern Gaza city. As of 15 April, roughly 420,000 people are estimated to have been displaced again, according to the Site Management Cluster (SMC), with no safe place to go.
• 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 52 days (since 2 March), killing of aid workers and attacks on their premises, and severe movement restrictions within Gaza. In total, since 7 October 2023, at least 418 aid workers, including 295 UN staff, have been killed in Gaza. On 17 April, the Chief Executive Officers of 12 major aid organizations made an urgent plea to “all parties to guarantee the safety of [their] staff and to allow the safe, unfettered access of aid into and across Gaza through all entry points,” noting that since “Israeli forces resumed bombardments, at least 14 organisations reported Israeli fire directly or indirectly hitting their staff or aid facilities.” On 19 April, marking almost 50 days of total aid blockade on Gaza, acting Head of Office of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Jonathan Whittall, warned that people in Gaza are being starved, bombed, strangled and “deprived of the basic necessities for human survival,” calling it “deprivation by design” and what is seemingly the “deliberate dismantling of Palestinian life.” He reiterated the UN call for the lifting of the blockade, the entry of humanitarian aid, and the reinstatement of the ceasefire.
• According to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, between 15 and 22 April, as of noon, 266 Palestinians were killed and 648 were injured. Many bodies remain under the rubble of destroyed structures, according to MoH. Since 19 January 2025, when the first phase of the ceasefire took effect, and as of 22 April, a total of 917 bodies were retrieved from across the Gaza Strip, according to MoH data. Between 7 October 2023 and 22 April 2025, the MoH in Gaza reported that at least 51,266 Palestinians have been killed and 116,991 Palestinians injured. This includes 1,890 people killed and 4,950 injured since the escalation of hostilities on 18 March 2025, according to MoH. On 17 April, MoH published the breakdown casualties in Gaza between 18 March and 17 April. Of the 1,691 people killed, 595 were children, 308 women, 105 elderly and 683 men. Among the 4,464 people injured, 1,610 were children, 842 women, 225 elderly and 1,787 men, MoH reported.
• Over the past week, two journalists were reported killed in Gaza. On 16 April, 10 Palestinians, including a female photojournalist, were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in At Tuffah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza city. In another incident on 18 April, a journalist and 12 other Palestinians, including eight children, were reportedly killed when two residential buildings were hit in Tal Az Za'atar area in North Gaza governorate. The Palestinian Journalists Protection Center (PJPC) condemned the continued targeting of journalists, reporting that eight journalists have been killed since 18 March 2025 and that at least 17 journalists from Gaza are currently detained in Israeli prisons. This brings the total number of journalists killed since the beginning of the year to 18, most of whom were killed while on duty, PJPC added. In total, since 7 October 2023, 210 Palestinian journalists and media workers, including 29 female journalists, have been killed, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS). Taking note of the heavy price that Palestinian journalists in Gaza are paying for their work, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated that “time is long overdue to get international media into Gaza.”
• Attacks targeting tents sheltering IDPs across the Gaza Strip have significantly increased over the past week. Between 15 and 21 April, at least 23 incidents were reported in which IDP tents were struck, resulting in the reported killing of 78 Palestinians, including women and children, and the injury of dozens. In one of the incidents on 16 April in Al Mawasi area of western Khan Younis, 10 Palestinians, including four women, five children and one person with disabilities, were reportedly killed and burned alive when an IDP tent was hit. Several others sustained severe burns and critical injuries. On 17 April, the Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russell, stated: “Airstrikes on tents in Gaza reportedly killed 15 children, including a child with disabilities who burned to death,” noting that “Images of children burning while sheltering in makeshift tents should shake us all to our core.”
• Between 16 and 19 April*, other incidents resulting in fatalities were reported across the Gaza Strip, including the following:
  • On 16 April, at about 03:50, four children − two girls and two boys, all aged 10 years or younger − were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Jabalya Al Nazla, in southern North Gaza.
  • On 17 April, at about 12:20, six Palestinians, including children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a classroom at Al Ayyoubiya School, hosting IDPs, was hit in Jabalya camp, in North Gaza.
  • On 18 April, at about 14:00, nine Palestinians including women were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in Az Zaytoun neighbourhood, in Gaza city.
  • On 18 April, at about 02:30, 10 Palestinians, including a whole family, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in Bani Suheila town, in eastern Khan Younis.
  • On 19 April, at about 00:00, three Palestinians including a man, a woman, and a one-and-a-half-year-old infant, were reportedly killed and 20 others, including at least 15 children, were injured when a residential building was hit in western Khan Younis.
• On 19 April, one Israeli soldier was killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 22 April 2025, according to Israeli forces and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,608 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October 2023 and its immediate aftermath. This includes 408 soldiers killed, in addition to 2,612 soldiers injured, in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation in October 2023. As of 22 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 15 and 21 April, Israeli forces reportedly released 20 Palestinian male detainees through Kerem Shalom crossing, 10 on each day. Subsequently, detainees were reportedly transferred to the European Hospital in Khan Younis and Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah for medical examination.
• Fishers in Gaza continue to face significant risks at sea, exacerbated by restricted access, limited equipment, and ongoing insecurity. In addition to relying on fishing as a primary source of livelihood, the growing scarcity of food supplies in Gaza is also driving many to take the risk and go out to the sea. In April, several incidents were reported in which fishing boats were hit or came under fire near the shore, resulting in casualties among fishers. For example, between 14 and 21 April, four fishers were reportedly injured, and two boats were hit, with shooting towards the shore reported on multiple occasions in Rafah, Khan Younis and Deir al Balah.
• Between 2 and 20 March 2025, SMC partners conducted a monitoring analysis of 256 IDP sites hosting over 40,000 households across the Gaza Strip. While much of the data may be outdated due to changes in the context and ongoing population movements since 18 March, the SMC notes that the trends and dynamics recorded at the sites remain relevant. Key assessment findings include:
  • At 68 per cent of the sites, key informants reported that people sheltering at the sites had not received any humanitarian assistance in the past 30 days, while the 32 per cent of sites where at least half of people received assistance, food, water, and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) were the most frequently reported types of assistance.
  • At 71 per cent of the sites, key informants reported that nobody or a few people had access to sufficient food. The most reported barriers to accessing food were the high cost of food (82 per cent), lack of food assistance (80 per cent), and unavailability of food (55 per cent).
  • At 60 per cent of the sites, nobody or few people had access to sufficient drinking water, estimated at six litres per person per day. Seventy per cent of key informants reported that water trucking was the main source of drinking water, followed by water purchased from desalination centres (14 per cent), while the main barriers to accessing drinking water were the lack of water tanks (60 per cent), lack of water containers (58 per cent), and the high cost of purchasing water (47 per cent).
  • At 78 per cent of the sites, key informants reported that nobody or few people had access to handwashing facilities, and 85 per cent reported that nobody or few people had access to sufficient hygiene items. Moreover, 54 per cent of key informants reported that people were using self-made, pit latrines, 38 per cent reported the use of static communal latrines, and 34 per cent reported the use of family latrines.
  • In the vast majority of the sites (93 per cent), environmental hazards were reported in the surroundings, including rodents and pests, solid waste, sewage, and other risks.
  • At 42 per cent of the sites, key informants reported that some shelters had been partially damaged (34 per cent) or destroyed (9 per cent). The main needs for shelter and non-food items included cooking items (71 per cent), lighting sets (60 per cent), and bedding items (45 per cent).
  • The top reported priority needs across all assessed sites included shelter and housing (24 per cent), household items (21 per cent), personal hygiene items (14 per cent), and food (11 per cent).
• Over 30 bulldozers and other heavy equipment vehicles, some donated during the ceasefire, have been bombed by Israeli forces in Gaza city, North Gaza and Khan Younis on 21 and 22 April. This includes heavy construction machineries, utility vehicles and mobile facilities. One of the strikes hit the garage of the Municipality of Jabalya An Nazla, in North Gaza. According the Municipality, the Israeli military strike destroyed all nine wheel loaders that were donated during the ceasefire, in addition to a sewage suction truck and a five-cubic-metre mobile water tanker. Furthermore, a manhole maintenance vehicle, five service vehicles, a 936 loader, two tractors, a garbage compactor truck, a solar distribution tanker, and a mobile generator to operate water wells all sustained partial damage. The municipality announced that all its services, including street clearance, waste removal, sewage line maintenance, and water services have been completely suspended, exacerbating the already dire situation and heightening the risk of disease.

Shrinking Humanitarian Space

• Between 15 and 21 April, out of 42 planned aid movements across the Gaza Strip that were coordinated with the Israeli authorities, 20 were denied, two faced impediments, 19 were facilitated, and one was cancelled. Out of 14 planned humanitarian assistance movements in or to northern Gaza that were coordinated with the Israeli authorities, eight were facilitated, four were denied and two faced impediments. These include 13 aid missions that needed to pass through the Israeli-controlled Wadi Gaza area between southern and northern Gaza. In southern Gaza, out of the 28 planned humanitarian assistance movements, 11 were facilitated, 16 were denied and one was cancelled.
• A new humanitarian access survey of 43 international and Palestinian aid organizations working in Gaza found nearly all of them – 95 per cent – have had to suspend or dramatically cut services since the escalation of hostilities on 18 March, with widespread bombing making it extremely dangerous to move around and the aid blockade by the Israeli authorities preventing all aid and goods from entering Gaza since 2 March. Twenty-four of the surveyed organizations reported increased movement restrictions within Gaza following the escalation of hostilities, impeding their ability to deliver aid.
• On 16 April, the premises of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza were struck and damaged by an explosive. Noting that this was the second such incident in three weeks, ICRC emphasized: “These incidents impact the ability of the ICRC to provide essential protection and assistance to hundreds of thousands of people who need assistance to survive and contribute to an ever-shrinking humanitarian space. We condemn in the strongest terms any action that inhibits our ability to do our work and risks the lives of humanitarian workers.”
• According to recent market monitoring data and food security analysis in April, the blockade on the entry of humanitarian aid and other critical supplies, now surpassing 50 days, has exacerbated the fragility of the Gaza market. This has led to a sharp rise in food prices, high volatility, and significant shortages of essential commodities. Prices have surged significantly, rising between 150 per cent and 700 per cent over pre-October 2023 levels, and by 29 per cent to as much as 1,400 per cent above ceasefire prices. On average, April prices were 50 per cent higher than those recorded in March. Several key food items, such as dairy products, eggs, fruits and meat, have disappeared from the market, while the prices of potatoes and onions have surged by over 1,000 per cent compared with pre-October 2023 levels. This has profoundly limited food availability and the ability of families to feed themselves, particularly given low purchasing power and cash liquidity shortages. Additionally, according to the same analysis, a decline in food diversity was observed in April 2025. For example, compared with March 2025, the consumption of dairy products dropped from an average of two days per week to one day per week while the consumption of protein sources, including red and white meat and eggs, was roughly once per week and is now nearly nonexistent. As food stocks further dwindle and food aid continues to be blocked, WFP warned that “hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza are at risk.”
• The nutrition situation in Gaza continues to rapidly deteriorate, with the aid blockade preventing the entry of any food, nutrient supplements or therapeutic food for the treatment of malnutrition. In the first two weeks of April, nutrition cluster partners screened nearly 21,000 children for malnutrition, of whom 641 were diagnosed with moderate acute malnutrition and 64 with severe acute malnutrition (SAM). At the same time, insecurity and access constraints have forced partners to close nutrition sites or significantly disrupted service delivery. Since mid-March, data from partners show that 14 per cent (18 out of 130) of functional nutrition sites for blanket supplementary feeding distribution have been intermittently open and cases of acute malnutrition have surged. For example, over the past month, at the Patient’s Friends Hospital run by MedGlobal in Al Rimal, in Gaza city, an average of 3-5 children per week have been diagnosed with SAM with medical complications and admitted for treatment compared with a weekly average of 1-2 children in February. Overall, in March, the number of identified acute malnutrition cases reached 3,708 children compared with 2,053 cases of children diagnosed in February, while the reach of the screening was almost the same (84,000 versus 92,000). The approximately 2,000 cases of malnutrition identified in February, during the ceasefire, was the lowest figure recorded over the preceding eight months, since nutrition partners have been able to screen at least 60,000 children per month, the nutrition cluster reported.
• The health system in Gaza continues to face severe challenges that prevent the provision of adequate healthcare to people in Gaza. The shortages of medicine and medical supplies, the lack of medical equipment and the overwhelming caseload are among the main challenges. In addition, the functionality and accessibility of health service points have been severely affected by the security situation and the issuance of displacement orders, with 146 health service points (57 per cent of the partially or fully functional health facilities) in areas under displacement orders, creating serious access issues for communities needing urgent and essential health services. While the capacity of medical staff remains insufficient to manage the current caseload, the deployment of emergency medical teams (EMTs), supported by WHO, is one of the much-needed interventions to the ongoing health response. Currently, there are 21 functional EMTs including two in Gaza, two in North Gaza governorate, eight in Deir al Balah, eight in Khan Younis and one in Rafah.
• The widespread destruction of homes and critical infrastructure has resulted in an estimated 50 million tons of debris, severely impeding the movement of people and exposing Persons with Disability (PwD) to heightened risk during displacement. Since 18 March, at least 20 displacement orders have been issued, sometimes with only minutes’ notice, forcing residents to flee under extreme pressure. PwD face compounded challenges due to the lack of structured support systems and assistive devices, further restricting their access to essential services and the limited lifesaving humanitarian aid available in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, humanitarian partners continue to operate under significant constraints, which is limiting their access to displaced populations, heightening the risk that the most vulnerable are left behind.
• UNDP and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), co-leading the Debris Management Working Group, have been implementing a joint pilot initiative focused on debris removal in priority areas—such as main roads, access points to hospitals, and school facilities—to enable humanitarian movements and operations. This work is coupled with efforts to recycle debris for potential use in future infrastructure rehabilitation and reconstruction. Between December 2024 and March 2025, prior to the collapse of the ceasefire, UNDP facilitated the removal of 35,275 tons of debris, using heavy machinery to clear and recycle materials efficiently. To date, debris recycling efforts have successfully repurposed 1,075 tons of material for infrastructure repairs, including road rehabilitation, solid waste dumpsite improvements, and access routes to water tanks, in collaboration with municipalities and other partners. In parallel, UNDP has visited 180 of the 386 sites designated for Explosive Ordnance (EO) risk assessment by the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS). Yet, debris removal operations in Gaza continue to face significant operational challenges: fuel shortages are hampering the use of heavy machinery essential for large-scale clearance; the availability of machinery is limited, with many destroyed during hostilities; damaged roads and EO contamination delay removal and transport operations; insecurity negatively impacts workers’ safety and restrict community engagement; and disputes over land designation and space limitations are complicating the establishment of temporary debris storage and processing sites.
• Following the escalation of hostilities on 18 March, most Mine Action (MA) activities have been suspended due to the deteriorating security situation, with only one Explosive Hazard Assessment (EHAs) and 23 inter-agency missions (IAM) conducted, according to the MA area of responsibility (AoR). UNMAS maintained a team of four to six Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) officers in Gaza, compared with 12 officers during the ceasefire, providing support to priority activities, including body recovery operations, inter-cluster missions, rotations of international staff, and medical evacuations. Coupled with import restrictions by Israeli authorities on the entry of essential safety and demining equipment since October 2023, ongoing hostilities are likely exacerbating existing explosive ordnance contamination across Gaza, increasing risks for both civilians and humanitarian responders alike, MA AoR warns. Between January 2025 and 22 April, MA partners reported 21 incidents involving unexploded ordnance (UXO), resulting in three fatalities and 45 injuries, including two children killed and 20 children injured. Meanwhile, MA partners continue to carry out risk education sessions where possible, with over 11,500 sessions conducted in the first three months of 2025, reaching over 209,000 people. In total, between 1 January 2024 and 22 April 2025, MA partners provided 486 EHAs for routes and sites of UN and humanitarian actors, leading to 357 sites assessed as low risk and recommended for use for humanitarian assistance, and provided EHA support to 503 IAM.
• On 16 April, the Al Muntar water pipeline from Israel, which had been non-functional since 3 April, was successfully repaired after access to the area in eastern Gaza governorate was secured. Two out of the three Mekorot pipelines are now operational. Referring to the development, Gaza city Municipality underscored that water shortages persist and are most acute in the northern and southwestern areas of the city, where further repairs to the network are needed before water can be delivered. Fuel shortages pose an additional challenge, since in the absence of electricity, water production and distribution are mainly reliant on fuel to pump water from wells, pump water through networks, desalinate drinking water and carry out water trucking activities. According to the WASH Cluster, partners have been forced to further increase rationing of fuel supplies, which is hampering critical service delivery. This is compounded by the nearly depleted stocks of critical chemicals, such as chlorine, which is necessary for water disinfection to decrease the risk of water-borne diseases.
• The WASH Cluster reports that the extensive damage to sewage infrastructure is leading to the accumulation of untreated wastewater in stormwater ponds, posing significant public health and environmental risks. At imminent risk of flooding is the Al Saftawi stormwater basin in southern Jabalya, in North Gaza, originally designed to collect rainwater from a 1.25-square-kilometre catchment area, with a total capacity of 27,000 cubic metres. Under normal conditions, stormwater is discharged into the sea through a pump station and pressurized line. However, due to significant damage to both the sewage network and the discharge infrastructure, the basin is now also receiving large volumes of untreated sewage and is unable to release its contents. The basin's water level has now reached six metres—just below the 6.2-meter flood threshold—posing an imminent risk to surrounding residential neighbourhoods. Such an event would have severe consequences for public health in an already vulnerable area, the WASH Cluster warns.

Funding

• As of 22 April 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately US$569.3 million out of the $4.07 billion (14 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.