Situation overview

Gaza Strip

While the ceasefire has largely held since 21 May, during the reporting period Palestinian armed groups in Gaza sporadicly released incendiary balloons, causing fires in Israel. In response, on 25 July, Israeli air forces struck military targets in Gaza. On 25 July, the Israeli authorities reduced the permissible fishing zone from 12 to 6 NM off Gaza’s southern shore, affecting up to 50,000 people relying on or working in the fishing sector. The fishing zone off the southern shore had been expanded from 9 to 12 NM on 12 July, and the limit imposed off the northern shore remained at 6 NM throughout the period.

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 escalation resulted in losses of up to US$380 million in physical damage and an additional economic loss of $190 million. The RDNA was conducted by 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 actors in Gaza.

The local authorities in Gaza have finalized a damage assessment of houses that were damaged during the escalation, according to which, 1,255 houses were destroyed, 918 housing units sustained severe damage and are deemed uninhabitable and some 50,000 houses sustained minor damage. In addition, 331 schools and kindergartens operated by the government, UNRWA or private actors, as well as 33 health facilities sustained damage. Ministry of Public works and Housing in Gaza announced that the majority of the rubble generated during the escalation has been removed, and the removal will be completed by the end of this month.

The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster reports that, during the escalation, 290 WASH facilities were damaged or destroyed, including water wells, water pumping stations, and distribution networks.

Due to the reconnection of most electricity lines and the resumption of Qatari-funded fuel into Gaza, designated for the Gaza Power Plant, electricity is available for an average of 14 hours per day across Gaza, compared with twelve hours per day in the previous reporting period and 16 hours per day right before the May esclalation.

While the Israeli authorities have eased some movement restrictions for Palestinian patients since the cessation of the hostilities, two of every three patients who apply for such permits do not get an approval by the time of their scheduled appointment. On 15 July, the Israeli authorities announced that national staff of international organizations with Gaza IDs are allowed to exit Gaza with Israeli-issued permits to Israel or the West Bank. In addition, on 27 July, Israel announced that national staff of international organizations with Gaza IDs and holding Israeli issued permits are allowed to travel abroad through the Allenby bridge with Jordan. Despite these recent announcements, the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza remain prohibited from exiting, as has been the case since the imposition of the blockade 14 years ago.

On 12 July, the Israeli authorities announced the easing of some restrictions at the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing, permitting the entry of medical equipment, fishing and farming equipment, cleaning products and medicine, textiles, shoes, school supplies, and more commodities. Construction materials and items considered to have potential dual civilian/military use remain largely prohibited by the Israeli authorities. On 27 July, the Gaza Municipality warned that Israeli-imposed import restrictions had caused the continuous suspension of 13 infrastructure projects since May, including roads rehabilitation and the repair of sewage networks and other infrastructure.

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 14 July, the Israeli authorities, confiscated 49 structures in the Palestinian herding community of Ras al Tin (Ramallah). Thirteen households, comprising 84 people, including 53 children, were displaced and are at heightened risk of forcible transfer. Indeed, they have not left the area, and are living in borrowed tents. The seized structures included homes, animal shelters and solar power systems. Other items, including water tanks, tractors with trailers and animal fodder were also confiscated by the Israeli forces, with some being reportedly heavily damaged in the process. According to the community members, Israeli officials ordered the community, which is in Area C of the West Bank, to move to Area B.

On 15 July, Israeli forces dismantled and confiscated a tent in Humsa – Al Bqai’a in the northern Jordan Valley. The structure had been installed outside of the Israeli-declared ‘firing zone,’ to accommodate a family of eight, including six children, who had lost their previous home in the mass demolition inside the ‘firing zone’ on 7 July. While the Israeli authorities still forbid any shelter assistance in the community, no other cases of humanitarian access denial have been reported since 13 July. 

Four Palestinians, including two children, died after being shot by Israeli forces before or during the reporting period, and Israeli forces injured at least 1,090 others, including 141 children, in various incidents across the West Bank. Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces killed 50 Palestinians, including 11 children, and injured at least 11,231 others, including 584 children, across the West Bank. For more information about these incidents, please refer to the Protection of Civilian reports. 

On 27 July, a Palestinian man was shot and killed in the city of Hebron reportedly due to a dispute between Palestinian families, followed by civil unrest in the city, involving the use of firearms by the family of the deceased and destruction of properties. Palestinian forces were deployed to the scene and a nightly curfew was declared in the city by the Hebron governor.

During the reporting period in Beita, Nablus, at least 939 Palestinians, including 127 children, were injured by Israeli forces during clashes that erupted during almost daily protests against Israeli settlement expansion and the agreement reached between the Israeli government and Israeli settlers of the newly established Evyatar settlement, erected on Palestinian-owned land near Beita. While the settlers vacated the settlement on 2 July, Israeli forces have since been stationed to guard the buildings erected, awaiting the decision by Israeli authorities if the land can be classified as ‘state land’ and whether a Jewish religious seminary can be established on the site. Since the establishment of the settlement in early May, Israely forces killed five Palestinians, including two children, and injured at least 3,077 others, including 381 children, in similar incidents.

On 18 July, about 1,600 Jewish Israelis, including settlers, accompanied by Israeli police officers, entered the Haram al Shareef/Temple Mount compound in East Jerusalem on the occasion of Tisha B’Av, the annual commemoration of the destruction of the Jewish Temples; it was two days before the Islamic holiday of Eid al Adha. Palestinians wanted to physically prevent the access of Jewish Israelis to the compound and reportedly some threw stones; Israeli forces fired rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas at Palestinians inside the mosque, prevented Palestinian access into the compound for several hours and arrested at least 20 Palestinians, including three women.

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. 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.

The Israeli High Court of Justice is set to hold a hearing on 2 August regarding the forced eviction of four of the families. On 26 July, Israeli authorities issued a demolition order against the solidarity tent erected by the community in the neighbourhood.

On 14 July, the Jerusalem Municipality, accompanied by Israeli forces, took measurements of one of the houses at risk of demolition in Silwan, indicating a possible imminent demolition. Since 8 July, Israeli forces have arrested nine Palestinians in Silwan.

In Beit Hanina, another Palestinian family is at risk of forced eviction by Israeli authorities, having exhausted all domestic legal remedies. Starting from 8 August, some 25 Palestinians may be displaced at any time.

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	2,326,315	7,026,315
USAID	5,527,130	1,451,907	6,979,037
FCDO (UK)		5,956,099	5,956,099
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
Norway	954,000	241,800	1,195,800
SIDA	206,350	916,800	1,123,150
Save the Children International	1,062,550		1,062,550
World Bank		1,000,000	1,000,000
Other funding*	2,766,102	1,753,999	4,520,101
Grand Total	51,060,132	15,561,889	66,622,021
*Other funding includes contributions from donors in the amount below US$900,000, 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), Secours Islamique France (SIF), Swiss Solidarity, UNICEF.

So far, $51 million, or 54 per cent per cent of the amount requested in the Flash Appeal has been raised. Including resources not directly supporting Flash Appeal activities, $66.6 million has been mobilized in support of humanitarian response following the escalation. 

Also, prior to 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 million 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 28 July, the number of people confirmed to currently have COVID-19 across the oPt was 1,172, down from 1,324 in the previous week. Since the outbreak began, about 340,300 of the approximately 345,300 cases have recovered, and 3,869 have died. There are ten patients in intensive care units, with one requiring mechanical ventilation. Fifteen patients are being treated in Corona COVID-19 hospital centres and departments in the West Bank. The Case Fatality Rate, the proportion of deaths among confirmed cases, remains at 1.1 per cent.

In Gaza, as of 28 July, some 945 active cases were reported, down from 1,888 at the beginning of July, 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 116,227, with 114,189 people recovered, and 1,093 deaths recorded. Gaza accounts for about 80 per cent of all active cases in the oPt. 

The West Bank witnessed a stable number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, only 159, 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 continues to encourage the public get  vaccinated and to observe safety measures, such as social distancing and use of facemasks. The MoH is exploring ways to encourage higher vaccine uptake by the public, especially in southern West Bank. The administration of a third round of vaccination for the most vulnerable groups is being discussed, including for pregnant and lactating women and people with chronic disease.

As of 28 July, about 582,700 Palestinians have been vaccinated, including about 110,000 Palestinian workers vaccinated by the Israeli authorities. Among the vaccinated, about 412,100 received two doses.

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

Status: Arrived from all sources: 1,061,020 doses in total
Vaccine	No. of doses	Source	Notes
Moderna	4,500	IL
Sputnik V	120,000	RU/ UAE/ PA	62,000 to Gaza
Sputnik light	229,200	PA/ UAE	79,200 to Gaza
AstraZeneca	251,000	COVAX/ PA	58,000 to Gaza
Pfizer	556,920	COVAX/ PA	118,170 to Gaza
Sinopharm	110,000	China/ Jordan	20,000 to Gaza
Status: In pipeline: Donation (estimated)
Vaccine	No. of doses	Source	Notes
Sinopharm	15,000	Jordan	Bilateral donation from Jordanian private company
Sputnik V	10,000	UAE	Donation to Gaza
Moderna	500,000	USA	Donation from USA
Status: In ipeline: Bilateral Deals (estimated)
Vaccine	No. of doses	Source	Notes
Pfizer	4,000,000	PA purchase	MoH confirmed in a meeting with WHO that the deal is concluded. 205,000 doses expected Q2; 1.8 million Q3 and 2.0 million Q4
Sputnik V	500,000	PA purchase	Under negotiation
Moderna	1,000,000	COVAX	To be procured via cost sharing agreement with COVAX

Humanitarian response & ongoing needs

Protection

Priority needs

• Excavation of at least 16 deep buried bombs.
• Capacity building for high-risk groups in Gaza to recognize and mitigate explosive hazards, particularly for displaced people and those living in or passing through areas affected by the escalation, workers engaged in rubble removal activities and scrap metal collectors.
• Sensitization of affected populations about how to protect themselves during an escalation of hostilities and how to mitigate explosive hazards, through messaging of conflict preparedness and protection (CPP) and Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE).
• Scale-up of mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS) and supply of hygiene kits, NFIs and cash assistance for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) survivors. The Ministry of Health (MoH) reports an increase in high-risk GBV cases in need of medical and shelter services. The number of suicide attempts is also increasing. 
• Cluster partners are reporting needs related to self-care activities for front-line workers, non-structured psychosocial activities for children and families, including recreational activities and open days, MHPSS services for children and adolescents, specialized child protection case management services and distribution of PSS kits to affected families.

Responses already implemented

• In Gaza, Cluster partners have provided structured psychosocial support activities, including individual and group counselling sessions with a partner-run helpline receiving 160 calls. Specialized child protection case management services have been provided with ERW risk reduction sessions and awareness-raising sessions on child protection. Additionally, awareness-raising sessions on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and how to engage with children to reduce the level of distress during  the public health crises, have been provided.
• Specialized mental health services were provided for 528 adults and for 62 children, while 171 professionals and caregivers received supportive supervision and stress management sessions.
• UNMAS continued to carry out Explosive Ordnance Disposal responses at UNDP rubble removal sites; 24 reconstruction housing units for displaced families were assessed for explosive hazards. EORE sessions were delivered to humanitarian partners and to the affected population, while Conflict Preparedness and Protection sessions were delivered to some 2,500 people. Explosive Remnants of War safety and safeguard messages during air strikes were delivered to children participating in the UNRWA event ‘Keeping Kids Cool’.
• Cluster partner organized a support and recreational day in Gaza for 65 facilitators and Community Based Organizations staff and provided psychological first aid services to 733 families in coordination with the Ministry of Social Development.

Key constraints/gaps

• The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Gaza continues to challenge direct interventions and in-person delivery of services with children and family members.
• Some of the households affected by the escalation have moved temporarily to other locations, making it difficult for Psychological First Aid facilitators to reach them.

Health

Priority needs

• Provision of emergency medical services during clashes across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
• 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 continue to provide first aid and emergency services to those injured in clashes across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Key constraints/gaps

• Concerns over potential surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant, as the number of cases detected in the West Bank increases.

Shelter

Priority needs

• Temporary shelter solutions for IDPs through cash assistance and provision of essential non-food items, 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.

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, NFI kits, hygiene kits, e-vouchers and multipurpose cash have been distributed to some 6,800 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. The process is still ongoing.
• UNDP completed the field damage assessment of 644 totally destroyed, 267 severely damaged, and 11,639 partially damaged housing units of non-refugee families throughout the Gaza Strip. UNDP provided 44 families with TSCA and 60 will receive it in the coming days, out of the 500 eligible families UNDP plan to provide 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.

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 and when schools re-open.
• Rehabilitating 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 are implementing 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 are rehabilitating 100 damaged schools, while the Ministry of Education (MoE) will rehabilitate the remaining 36 schools through the Joint Funding Agreement support. The rehabilitation process of some 70 affected kindergartens has commenced through the World Bank. An additional 10 kindergartens will be rehabilitated by Cluster partners.
• Cluster partners are implementing summer activities in Gaza reaching some 190,000 children. The activities include MHPSS, recreational and sports activities and learning support.

Key constraints/gaps

• While the summer programs for children in Gaza started and is targeting some 190,000 children, insufficient funding is hindering partners from reaching all children in need. 
• The timeframe for rehabilitating schools in Gaza is posing issues.Rehabilitation works will need to continue into the new academic year, due to start in mid-August. 
• Insufficient funding allocated for eliminating protection hazards at schools, rehabilitating WASH facilities and ensuring that schools are inclusive for children with disabilities.

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.
• $80,000 from Penny Appeal/Canada

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 disinfectants and chemicals.
• 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 supporting the WASH service providers in desludging accumulated wastewater in the residential areas. 
• Partners provided over 17,000 hygiene kits for the most vulnerable families affected by the escalation.
• Partners are coordinating with the Ministry of Social Development (MOSD) and the Shelter Cluster to target 2,200 families in Gaza with the rapid rehabilitation of household WASH facilities. 

Key constraints/gaps

• Unavailability of several WASH and raw materials required for the reconstruction projects.
• 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.

Food Security

Priority needs

• In Gaza, ensure the pre-escalation arrangements 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 six up to 20 NM. 
• Rehabilitate damaged agricultural facilities, including water wells, irrigation systems, greenhouses, and livestock farms.
• Local authorities in Gaza should facilitate humanitarian access to agricultural land in Gaza to enable the finalization of the damage and losses assessment, using remote sensing to complement and triangulate the data obtained by other field base assessments.
• Continue providing food assistance to IDPs and other new and existing food-insecure people.
• 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. The World Bank report estimated damages in the agricultural sector at US$ 45 million and losses at $10-15 million. 
• 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 newly imposed six 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 million from the United Arab Emirates, $1.65 million from Canada, EUR 500,000 from France, EUR 6.5 million from Germany, and $500,000 from the UN Country Based Pooled Fund.

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 8 and 26 July, 325 trucks containing medicines and food items, 184 Qatari Fuel Trucks, four trucks with medical equipment and supplies, 2,200 trucks containing fertilizers, food and raw material entered Gaza. In addition, 50 trucks containing vegetables, clothes, plastics boxes and pallets and fish exited Gaza.
• The Logistics Cluster held bilateral face to face meetings with the key partners for the Gaza rehabilitation projects. 
• The Gaza rehabilitation projects matrix has been updated and additional information have been added to better understand the difficulties partners are facing during the importation of goods into Gaza. Initial discussions have been held with the Global Logistics Cluster HQ on how to bring the Matrix online to have a more friendly and interactive platform. The plan is to have a new system functioning in a months’ time.

Key constraints/gaps

• Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) using contractors directly coordinated by the private sector face issues when these cargos are blocked. NGOs are demanding that COGAT finds a solution and speeds up the process when cargos are blocked to ensure that humanitarian goods reach those in need.