Latest updates on country situation
15 May 2024
By 13 May 2024, nearly 360,000 people had fled Rafah amid the continuing Israeli bombardment and following the Israeli evacuation order issued on 6 May for parts of eastern Rafah to relocate northwest to Mawasi, an area that Israel had designated as a ‘safe zone’. Mawasi, home to around 64,000 people before 7 October 2023, is a narrow strip of land spanning 1km in width and less than 13km in length. Before the evacuation order, it was sheltering over 400,000 people, far exceeding its capacity. The area has nine sites for displaced people, with three clinics and six warehouses. It lacks the necessary infrastructure to shelter a huge number of displaced people and is itself facing frequent bombardment by Israel. The recent evacuation order places a total of 76% of the Gaza Strip under evacuation orders. (UN 13/05/2024, Euro-Med Monitor 08/05/2024, OCHA 06/05/2024)
21 April 2024
Humanitarian access in Gaza remains severely restricted in 2024, with the targeting of aid workers majorly constraining service provision. As at 21 April, over 200 aid workers, including 180 from UNRWA, had died in Gaza since 7 October 2023, with Israeli aerial bombardments killing the vast majority. Humanitarian conditions remain severe, and famine conditions continue to materialise in April 2024. The latest IPC assessment published in March projected famine to occur in Gaza any time before May. (AWSD accessed 17/04/2024, UNRWA 09/04/2024, IPC 18/03/2024)
20 March 2024
Famine conditions in northern Gaza have continued to materialise in March 2024, with some reports emerging of children dying from malnutrition and dehydration. The latest IPC assessment projects famine to occur any time before May. Famine means extreme food unavailability for households even after they exhaust all coping strategies, leading to starvation, death, and critical acute malnutrition. As at mid-March, two-thirds of the households in the north were going days without eating at least ten times in the past 30 days. The starvation conditions are mainly resulting from the Israeli military restricting humanitarian access and destroying essential infrastructure, with around 70% of buildings in northern governorates damaged or destroyed as at March 2023. These include essential infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools, and WASH facilities. As at mid-March, humanitarian and commercial access remained highly restricted in these governorates since October 2023. (IPC 18/03/2024, OCHA 19/03/2024, UNICEF 15/03/2024)
20 February 2024
Between 16 October 2023 and 13 February 2024, around 312,700 acute respiratory infections, 222,600 acute watery diarrhoea cases, and 74,700 scabies and lice cases were reported in the Gaza Strip. It is estimated that around 93% of children under five had one or more diseases, more than 70% had diarrhoea, 60% had acute respiratory infections in the two weeks leading to 31 January. Deteriorating nutrition conditions and limited access to clean drinking water and WASH services are among the main drivers. As at January, 90% of children under two were experiencing severe food insecurity, consuming food with limited variety and low nutritional value. In the southern Gaza area of Rafah, 5% of children under two are acutely malnourished. In northern Gaza, where humanitarian access is severely restricted, around 15.6% of children under two are acutely malnourished. (WHO 19/02/2024, Health Cluster/WASH Cluster 20/02/2024, Global Nutrition Cluster 18/02/2024)
05 February 2024
As at 5 February 2024, school closures and attacks on the education sector in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023 had affected more than 625,000 students and 23,000 teachers. These attacks on schools and civilian infrastructure in general had led the Ministry of Education to suspend the school year in Gaza on 7 November. (OCHA 05/02/2024, UNICEF accessed 05/02/2024, Al Jazeera 24/01/2024)
05 February 2024
As at 5 February 2024, the current conflict in Gaza continues to affect pregnant women in the Gaza Strip with additional challenges in accessing special foods, medicine, and vitamins. The Israeli siege and indiscriminate targeting of civilian infrastructure have exposed them to unstable shelter and inadequate nutrition. They face challenges in accessing special food items, medicine, and vitamins, as well as in reaching health facilities, with some having had to give birth in shelters with no proper medical equipment. (Al Jazeera 24/12/2023, OCHA 06/02/2024, WFP 02/02/2024)
09 January 2024
As at 9 January 2024, only 15 of the 36 hospitals in Gaza (nine in the south and six in the north) were functional with partial capacity. The southern hospitals were operating at three times their capacity while facing basic supply and fuel shortages. The six northern hospitals were offering maternity, trauma, and emergency services with shortages in medical staff, supplies, fuel, food, and drinking water. From 7 October 2023 to 5 January 2024, the Israeli military operation resulted in more than 300 attacks on the health sector in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the targeting of 94 healthcare facilities and damaging 26 hospitals. The attacks also targeted 76 ambulances, with 38 sustaining damage. As at 29 December 2023, Israeli forces had detained or arrested 65 health workers in Gaza since 7 October, aggravating the challenges facing the health sector in the enclave. (UN 05/01/2024, WHO 29/12/2023, OCHA 09/01/2024)
current crises
in
Palestine
These crises have been identified through the INFORM Severity Index, a tool for measuring and comparing the severity of humanitarian crises globally.
PSE003 - Conflict in West Bank
Last updated 19/04/2024
Drivers
Conflict
Displacement
Socio-political
Violence
Crisis level
Country
Severity level
3.5 High
Access constraints
4.0
PSE004 - Conflict in Gaza
Last updated 19/04/2024
Drivers
Conflict
Displacement
Socio-political
Violence
Crisis level
Country
Severity level
4.2 Very High
Access constraints
5.0
PSE002 - Conflict
Last updated 19/04/2024
Drivers
Conflict
Socio-political
Violence
Crisis level
Country
Severity level
4.4 Very High
Access constraints
5.0
Analysis products
on
Palestine
11 May 2024
Palestine: Operations in Rafah, Gaza
DOCUMENT / PDF / 470 KB
This report analyses the multisectoral impact of Israel’s operations in and forced evacuation of Rafah since 7 May 2024. It emphasises pre-existing needs in Rafah, in locations to which the population of Rafah is being displaced, and across Gaza, all of which will face the impact of the disruption to humanitarian operations in Rafah and the closure of Rafah Crossing.
03 May 2024
Palestine: impact of the war in Gaza on women and girls
DOCUMENT / PDF / 375 KB
This report highlights the impact of the conflict that started on 07 October on the SRH rights of the people of Gaza. It aims to consider their immediate needs and challenges, as well as some of the longer-term effects of the lack of SRH services.
08 March 2024
Palestine: humanitarian access to and within the Gaza Strip
DOCUMENT / PDF / 349 KB
This report consolidates all available information on access into and within the Gaza Strip. The aim is to create awareness around access limitations and to support advocacy efforts to scale up the response.
08 March 2024
Egypt: potential impacts of the conflict in Gaza and tensions in the Red Sea
DOCUMENT / PDF / 537 KB
This report aims to provide an overview of the anticipated impacts of the conflict in Gaza and the Red Sea tensions on Egypt’s economy, including analysis of the factors and events with the potential to trigger a deterioration in affected people’s humanitarian situation. It also explains the possible resulting humanitarian conditions for affected Egyptian households, existing refugees, and newly displaced Gazans.
05 March 2024
Palestine: risk of famine in pockets of the Gaza Strip
DOCUMENT / PDF / 353 KB
People in Gaza are facing extreme challenges in meeting their basic needs, including food, because of significant access constraints stemming from insecurity. At the same time, these constraints are preventing humanitarian responders from reaching the affected population.