Situation overview

Gaza Strip

While the ceasefire has largely held during the reporting period, tension remains high with sporadic incidents recorded of Palestinians in Gaza releasing incendiary balloons into Israel and the Israeli air force striking targets in Gaza.

According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), during the escalation in Gaza in May, 260 Palestinians, were killed, including 66 children. It has been assessed that 129 of the fatalities were civilians and 64 were members of armed groups, while the status of the remaining 67 has not been determined. Over 2,200 Palestinians were injured during the hostilities, including 685 children and 480 women, some of whom may suffer a long-term disability requiring rehabilitation. 

At the height of the escalation, 113,000 IDPs sought shelter and protection at UNRWA schools or with hosting families. According to the Ministry of Social Development, there are still about 8,220 IDPs living with host families or at rented accommodation primarily those whose houses were destroyed or so severely damaged as to be uninhabitable. 

A Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA) carried out between 25 May and 25 June revealed that the Gaza escalation resulted in up to US$380 million in physical damage and an additional $190 million in economic losses. The RDNA was conducted in partnership between the World Bank Group, the UN, and the European Union, in close cooperation with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and in consultation with civil society and private sector in Gaza.

The local authorities have finalized a damage assessment of household affected in the escalation, according to which, 1,255 houses were destroyed, 918 housing units sustained severe damage and are deemed uninhabitable and 50,000 households sustained minor damage. In addition, 188 government, UNRWA and private schools, 80 kindergartens and 33 health facilities sustained damage. 

The WASH Cluster reports that during the escalation 290 water, sanitation and hygiene facilities were damaged or destroyed, including water wells, water pumping stations, and distribution networks. Wastewater and storm-water infrastructure sites were also affected. A water desalination plant in the northern Gaza Strip ceased operation on 4 July due to the lack of antiscalant materials required for the desalination process affecting access to drinking water for 200,000 people. The plant resumed functioning on 7 July after the required materials were secured.

Despite the reconnection of most electricity lines and the resumption of Qatari-fund fuel designated for the Gaza Power Plant into Gaza, electricity is now available for 12 hours per day across Gaza, compared with 13 hours last week. The decline in supply is attributable to increase in demand due to the summer heat.

As of 23 June, the Israeli authorities eased some movement restrictions to allow for the departure of patients with Israeli-issued permits for life-saving treatment unavailable in Gaza, as well as the exit of Palestinians to visit terminally ill relatives, or those who need longer-term treatment. However, the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza remain prohibited from exiting, as has been the case at least since the imposition of the blockade 14 years ago. 

The Israeli authorities have kept the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing open for the entry of basic commodities, but construction materials and items they consider to have potential dual civilian/military use remain largely prohibited. New permit arrangements for certain agricultural inputs into Gaza reportedly require that some items need to be approved each time before entry.

As of 21 June, the Israeli authorities have allowed a limited number of agricultural commodities and textiles to be exported abroad or transferred to the West Bank through Kerem Shalom for the first time since the escalation.  

Aid, including food and medicine from Egypt and other countries, continue to enter through the Rafah crossing on most days. The Egyptian authorities have also kept the crossing open for the entry and exit of authorized travellers, including Palestinians injured in the recent escalation who are receiving medical treatment in Egypt. They are also allowing commercial supplies such as food, fuel and construction materials to enter Gaza through the Salah Ad Din gate.

West Bank, including East Jerusalem

On 7 July, for the first time since 22 February, the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA), accompanied by the military, returned to the Palestinian herding community of Humsa - Al Bqai’a. The ICA demolished 27 residential, animal structures and water tanks, leaving the community with no drinking water or water for their livestock, preliminary information indicates. Eleven households, comprising about 70 people, including 35 children, were again displaced and are at heightened risk of forcible transfer. Most of the structures demolished or confiscated had been provided as a humanitarian response following similar mass demolition incidents on 3, 8 and 22 February, in which 55 structures were demolished or confiscated.

During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed one Palestinian and injured at least 400 Palestinians during clashes that erupted during ongoing protests against Israeli settlement expansion, as well as during incidents involving Israeli settlers in Beita, Osarin, Qusra and Nablus city. 

On 3 July, a 21-year-old Palestinian man was killed and 24 others were injured in Qusra village, Nablus, as Israeli settlers entered the community, accompanied by soldiers. The man was shot in the chest with live ammunition and beaten by Israeli settlers. According to Israeli media, Israeli forces claim they shot the man who had thrown an explosive device. Human rights organizations are currently investigating the incident. 

On 2 July, following an agreement reached between the Israeli government and Israeli settlers of the newly established Evyatar settlement, the settlers vacated the homes which they had erected on Palestinian-owned land near Beita, Nablus. According to the agreement, Israeli forces will be stationed to guard the buildings erected by the settlers, while the Israeli authorities decide if the land can be classified as ‘state land’ and a Jewish religious seminary can be established on the site. Palestinians have continued to protest Israeli policies in the area and Israeli forces have continued to use force against them, with a total of 367 Palestinians injured during such protests during the reporting period. In total, five Palestinians, including two children, have been killed and over 2,300 injured during protests and clashes since the settlement was established in early May 2021. Attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property have continued elsewhere in the West Bank, resulting in some injuries. About 1,000 trees were burnt in Bethlehem government by people believed to be Israeli settlers.

Palestinians across the West Bank continued to protest the killing of a prominent Palestinian critic of the Palestinian government, who died shortly after being arrested by Palestinian forces on 24 June. Initial autopsy results ruled the death “unnatural” and describe serious injuries, consistent with what eyewitnesses described as the violent arrest of the activist. During the reporting period, Palestinian forces arrested seven Palestinians, including one journalist, during these protests. On 5 July, the families of those arrested as well as journalists and lawyers gathered at Al Bireh police station to demand their release and were attacked with pepper spray and physically assaulted with police batons. As a result, 23 protesters were injured and arrested and two were transferred to hospital for treatment.

Sheikh Jarrah

Palestinian families still face the threat of forced eviction by the Israeli authorities from their homes in the Karm Al Jaouni area of Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, due to court cases initiated by Israeli settler organizations. The High Court of Justice is set to hold a hearing on 2 August regarding the forced eviction of four of the families.

Since 3 May, Israeli forces have been stationed at all five entrances to Karm Al Jaouni, allowing entry only to Palestinian neighbourhood residents, who are ordered to present identifying documents, as well as to Israeli settlers, journalists, ambulances and UN vehicles. On 5 July, Israeli authorities moved the checkpoint further into the neighbourhood, intensifying the access restrictions imposed on the residents while facilitating the movement of Israeli settlers at the checkpoint. 

On 2 July, Israeli settlers, under Israeli police escort, moved into a residential apartment in the Wadi Hilweh neighbourhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem, while also taking over land nearby. The property and land are believed to have been sold by the Palestinian owners to the settler organization Elad.

Funding

As reported previously, on 27 May, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the oPt, Lynn Hastings, launched the inter-agency Flash Appeal, requesting $95 million to support emergency humanitarian and early recovery responses over a three-month period. The response plan envisages a swift transition to an early recovery phase, including the rehabilitation and reconstruction of infrastructure services and networks, and then to a medium- and long-term reconstruction and recovery framework. The plan complements the $417 million appealed for in the 2021 oPt Humanitarian Response Plan, covering pre-existing humanitarian needs.

Total funding for Flash Appeal response by donors

Donor	Inside the Response Plan	Outside the Response Plan	Total in US$
oPt HF	18,000,000		18,000,000
ECHO	4,700,000	500,000	5,200,000
FCDO (UK)		4,504,192	4,504,192
CERF	4,500,000		4,500,000
Germany	4,300,000		4,300,000
Japan	3,000,000		3,000,000
UAE	2,700,000		2,700,000
Canada	2,320,000		2,320,000
France - CDCS	1,024,000	714,970	1,738,970
WHO		1,200,000	1,200,000
World Bank		1,000,000	1,000,000
Norway	954,000	241,800	1,195,800
Other funding*	3,477,002	2,296,391	5,773,393
Grand Total	44,975,002	10,457,353	55,432,355
*Other funding includes contributions from donors in the amount below US$900,00, as follows: AECID, Alliance 2015, Anera, Bank of Palestine, Danida Emergency Response Fund (DERF), Diakonia/NAD, DOP, Dutch Relief Alliance, Fundo Alava Emergencia, Human Appeal – UK, Islamic Relief Worldwide, MDM, Oxfam, Qatar Charity, Qatar Red Crescent (QRC), Save the Children International, Secours Islamique France (SIF), SIDA, Swiss Solidarity, UNICEF.

So far, $45 million, or 47 per cent per cent of the amount requested in the Flash Appeal has been raised. Including resources not directly supporting Flash Appeal activities, $55.4 million has been mobilized in support of humanitarian response following the escalation. 

Also, before the reporting period, the Humanitarian Coordinator released $18 million from the oPt Humanitarian Fund, with 95 per cent of the funding allocated to Gaza, and five per cent to health, protection and shelter activities in the West Bank. The Emergency Relief Coordinator in New York released $4.5 for the Gaza humanitarian response, including for the safe removal of explosive remnants of war (ERW), rental subsidies for refugees whose homes were destroyed, and the restoration of basic services such as health care and water.

COVID-19

As of 7 July, the number of people confirmed to currently have COVID-19 across the oPt was 2,041, down from 2,420 last week. Since the outbreak began, about 338,000 of the approximately 344,000 cases have recovered, and 3,845 have died. The number of patients in intensive care units is six, with no one requiring mechanical ventilation. Eleven patients are being treated in Corona hospital centres and departments in the West Bank. The Case Fatality Rate (CFR), the proportion of deaths among confirmed cases, remains at 1.1 per cent.

In Gaza, as of 7 July, some 1,888 active cases were reported, down from 2,268 last week, who were isolated either at home or in hospitals designated for COVID-19 treatment by the Ministry of Health (MoH). The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases is 114,956, with 111,995 people recovered, and 1,073 deaths recorded. Gaza continues to account for more than ninety per cent of all active cases in the oPt. 

The West Bank continues to witness a decline in confirmed COVID-19 cases, only 153, hospital occupancy rates and related deaths. During the reporting period, additional cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant were confirmed, spreading rapidly among those who are not yet vaccinated. The MoH is encouraging members of the public to take the COVID-19 vaccination; however, the vaccination rate has dropped, with around 24 per cent of the expected turnout in Hebron governorate. A four-day lockdown in Anin village in Jenin was implemented to control the spread of the Delta variant. The MoH will implement additional preventive measures in the event of an upsurge in the number of confirmed cases and hospital admissions.

 As of 1 July, about 530,000 Palestinians have been vaccinated, including about 110,000 Palestinian workers who have been vaccinated by the Israeli authorities.

For latest World Health Organization COVID-19 update, see here.

Humanitarian response & ongoing needs

Protection

Priority needs

• There is an urgent need for mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS) including: structured PSS and non-structured PSS; individual counselling; stress release sessions, particularly for women and children; case management services and referrals; and recreational activities for children.
• The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) needs to assess the presence of explosive hazards in 155 sites, including residential areas, markets, health clinics and schools. At least 16 deep buried bombs (DBB) need to be excavated, and the sites made safe.

Responses already implemented

• In Gaza, Cluster partners provided structured psychosocial support activities, including individual and group counselling sessions. One partner-run helpline received 45,098 calls and responded to 34,926. Awareness sessions on sexual violence against children, positive disciplining for parents, awareness-raising sessions on how to prevent the spread of COVID -19, and sessions on how to deal with children to reduce the level of distress during public health crises, were also provided.
• UNMAS continued to carry out Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) responses at UNDP rubble removal sites; 25 reconstruction housing units for displaced families were assessed for explosive hazards. Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) sessions were delivered to humanitarian partners and to the affected population
• In the West Bank, partners provided 74 sports sessions to 700 vulnerable children from five neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem, as well as individual MHPSS, family therapy, group therapy and PFA sessions to 20 vulnerable children and 14 adults.

Key constraints/gaps

• The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Gaza continues to challenge direct interventions and face-to-face delivered services with children and family members.

Funding

• No additional funding has been reported.

Health

Priority needs

• Pre-positioning of supplies and ensuring preparedness for Trauma and emergency care.
• MHPSS support to the affected population.
• Access to essential health services, including primary health care, maternal and child health, non-communicable disease management, and sexual and reproductive health.
• COVID-19 response including supporting testing, case management, infection prevention and vaccination.

Responses already implemented

• Partners continue to mobilize resources for the procurement and supply of some essential drugs, disposables and equipment for responding to current needs, as well as pre-positioning.
• Continuing support to COVID-19 response, including diagnostics, case management, infection prevention and vaccinations.
• Partners have continued to provide first aid and emergency services to those injured in clashes across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Key constraints/gaps

• Funding for the escalation response and for COVID-19 remains a challenge.
• Concerns over potential surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant as the number of cases detected in the West Bank increases.

Funding

• No additional funding has been reported.

Shelter

Priority needs

• Temporary shelter solutions for IDPs through cash assistance, alongside support for host families.
• Repair of uninhabitable homes to reduce displacement and meet the growing need for homes.
• Repair of damaged homes and assistance for the most vulnerable, including female-headed households, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.
• Provision of essential non-food items (NFIs).

Responses already implemented

• Coordination with the relevant local authorities to better estimate the number of housing units destroyed or damaged and the number of IDPs.
• Since the start of the escalation, NFIs kits, hygiene kits, e-vouchers and multipurpose cash have been distributed to some 6,000 households.
• UNRWA assessed 1200 totally destroyed and severely damaged refugee housing units and provided families with Transitional Shelter Cash Assistance (TSCA) for 6 months rental support and one-off reintegration cash. Two designated emergency shelters (DES) have emptied, and the affected IDPs supported with TSCA.
• UNDP completed the field damage assessment of 689 totally destroyed, 286 severely damaged, and 9,287 partially damaged housing units of non-refugee families throughout the Gaza Strip. UNDP will provide 500 eligible cases with TSCA and reintegration cash.

Key constraints/gaps

• Inadequate access to construction materials, due to import restrictions on Gaza.
• Longstanding housing shortage in Gaza makes rent unaffordable for displaced families.
• IDPs are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, due to overcrowding and the use of shared facilities.

Funding

• No additional funding has been reported.

Education

Priority needs

• Supporting the MHPSS well-being of students, parents, and educators in Gaza.
• Ensuring that children can access safe and inclusive learning opportunities through the emergency repair of education facilities and the provision of non-formal education services during the summer break.
• Rehabilitation of 59 UNRWA schools used as temporary shelters, before they can re-open in August.

Responses already implemented

• The Cluster has established temporary thematic working groups to coordinate the school rehabilitation response and summer programmes for vulnerable children. 
• Partners implemented remote MHPSS interventions targeting children and their parents.
• The minimum standards for summer programmes have been developed and circulated to all implementing partners to coordinate summer activities among the various service providers.
• Cluster partners have started the rehabilitation of damaged schools.  Partners and Ministry of Education have secured all the needed resources to rehabilitate direct damage, but resources are insufficient for the elimination of protection hazards at schools, the rehabilitation of WASH facilities and to ensure that schools are inclusive for children with disabilities.

Key constraints/gaps

• Children’s ability to access education, both at school and at home, is undermined by Gaza’s chronic electricity deficit, worsened due to the escalation. Electricity cuts particularly undermine the 12th grade examination process, which started on 24 June.
• The timeframe for rehabilitating schools in Gaza, considering the new academic year begins in mid-August.
• Insufficient funding allocated for Education in Emergencies, including the rehabilitation of education facilities and for summer activities.

Funding

• Some $1.8 million allocated from Education Cannot Wait to UNRWA and UNICEF to rehabilitate damaged schools and implement summer programmes.
• $100,000 from ECHO for rehabilitation of schools.
• $137,000 from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for summer programmes.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Priority needs

• Rapid repair of affected WASH infrastructures so that water and sanitation services in the most vulnerable communities can be restored.
• Support critical WASH facilities, such as water desalination plants, wastewater treatment plants, sewer and water pumping station by providing operational and maintenance materials, including chemicals and consumables.
• Provide the most vulnerable households with assistance in maintaining household WASH facilities affected during the escalation.
• Provide IDPs and host families with hygiene items due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Responses already implemented

• In Gaza, partners are delivering 900,000 litres of emergency fuel, chemicals and chlorine to support the operation of 300 main WASH facilities, benefitting over 1.3 million people.
• Partners are providing 26,000 households with trucked water, hygiene material and other WASH items. 
• Partners are coordinating with the Ministry of Social Development (MOSD) and the Shelter Cluster to target 1,760 families in Gaza with the rapid rehabilitation of household WASH facilities. 

Key constraints/gaps

• Families hosting IDPs in Gaza have insufficient access to water. 
• Shortage of raw materials required for the local production of WASH items, such as plastic pipes and fittings.
• Reduced availability of WASH materials due to the overcrowding at the Kerem Shalom crossing point, which has resulted in an increase in custom clearance fees.
• WASH service providers in Gaza report that their stocks of maintenance materials are running out, including materials that cluster partners supplied prior to the escalation as emergency preparedness measures.

Funding

• WASH Cluster partners have secured $8.12 million, targeting 1,300,000 people.

Food Security

Priority needs

• In Gaza, ensure the opening of Kerem Shalom crossing to ensure entry and exit of agricultural inputs and products, including the entry of agricultural machinery and materials needed to rehabilitate damaged agricultural facilities and to support fishers.
• Ensuring humanitarian access to agricultural land in Gaza to assess damages and losses.
• Expanding the fishing zone for fishermen from nine up to 20 nautical miles. 
• Rehabilitate damaged agricultural facilities, including water wells, irrigation systems, greenhouses, and livestock farms.
• Provide food assistance to IDPs and other new and existing food-insecure people.
• Conduct an inventory of the stored pesticides and fertilizers that were destroyed.
• Provide assistance to rebuild the productive capacities of small holders and small food factories (conditional cash-for-work activity).

Responses already implemented

• An initial assessment by the Ministry of Agriculture of damage to agricultural wells, ponds, reservoirs, greenhouses, and livestock farms is ongoing.
• Cluster partners continued providing cash assistance, in the form of food e-vouchers and multipurpose cash assistance to over 130,000 people to the value of $3 million. 
• Cluster partners continue providing food assistance to severely food insecure people in Gaza. 

Key constraints/gaps

• Funding gaps are hindering the rehabilitation of damaged agricultural facilities. 
• Power shortages, coupled with damage to solar powered systems, are hindering farmers from irrigating their crops and breeders from providing water to livestock and poultry. This is placing some 35,000 families at risk of losing their livelihoods.
• The nine nautical mile fishing restriction is limiting fisher livelihoods.
• As a result of fodder shortages, poultry meat prices continue to increase, severely reducing the purchasing power of Gazan households and forcing many to adopt negative copying strategies, such as skipping meals or eating less. 
• Access limitations imposed by local authorities to certain areas hinder the verification and triangulation of data about damage sustained during the escalation.

Funding

• FAO has secured $1,610,000 to provide urgent fodder to affected livestock and poultry breeders. 
• The Humanitarian Fund will soon allocate $3 million for food and cash assistance and another $3 million to support livelihood of farmers and breeders with fodders and agricultural inputs.
• WFP requires around $22 million to continue providing regular food assistance until December 2021 to more than 435,000 vulnerable people in the oPt who rely on its regular support.
• WFP urgently requires $9.3 million able to provide emergency and recovery assistance over the coming three months to affected people in Gaza.
• WFP received a contribution of EUR 6.5 million from Germany, $2.7 from the United Arab Emirates, $1.65 from Canada, and EUR 500,000 from France.

Coordination and support services

Priority needs

• Deliveries of life-saving humanitarian items into Gaza, including medicine and medical supplies, vaccines, food commodities and construction materials.

Responses already implemented

• The Logistics Cluster continued following up on the Kerem Shalom Crossing and the number of trucks crossing for the private sector. Between 1 and 6 July, 937 trucks entered Gaza, containing medical supplies and materials for human and animal consumption. 58 Qatari Fuel Trucks also entered Gaza. In addition, 50 trucks containing vegetables, clothes, plastics boxes and pallets exited Gaza.
• On 29 June, the Logistics Cluster held a meeting with humanitarian actors where several issues and constraints were identified and discussed.

Key constraints/gaps

• The restrictions on the border crossings remain a major challenge, including a lack of clarity about which items required for humanitarian activities are allowed.
• Several partners are facing customs issues and quality/technical assurance, as the Israeli Customs authorities often add additional layers of controls, particularly for pharmaceutical and medical items. Recently, these authorities are sampling each item entering Gaza, causing delays for partners or the blocking of entire shipments upon finding faulty items. 
• Donation process are slow and may reach up to 60 days.

Funding

• No additional funding has been reported.