Palestine

26 June 2024

On 22 June 2024, around 39,000 students in Gaza missed the General Secondary Examination as a result of the continuing hostilities. This has prevented those students from obtaining their high school diploma and undermined their chances in enrolling in local and international higher education this year. By June 2024, more than 625,000 students had been out of school in Gaza since October 2023 because of the impact of conflict on education access and the educational system. Israeli military targeting has put around 85% of educational facilities in Gaza out of service, with around 76% of schools requiring full construction or major rehabilitation to be functional. Until 11 June 2024, an estimated 378 educational staff had been killed in Gaza since October 2023. (OCHA 21/06/2024, AA 23/06/2024, AJ 15/06/2024)

12 June 2024

On 8 June 2024, an Israeli military operation to rescue four Israelis held captive in Al Nuseirat refugee camp killed over 274 Palestinians and injured 698. The casualties were a result of intensive land and air strikes during the operation that targeted the main camp's market and at least 89 inhabited houses and residential buildings without prior notification. Majority of the casualties were transferred to Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, which is operating at nearly five-fold its capacity prior to the 7 October 2023 conflict. (OCHA 10/06/2024, AJ 11/06/2024)

29 May 2024

In Gaza, displacement camps are facing repeated bombardment. On 26 May 2024, an Israeli air strike hit an IDP camp in northwestern Rafah, resulting in destruction and trapping people in fire. The attack injured around 249 people and killed 45, including 23 women, children, and older people. On 28 May, an attack hit a camp in Mawasi, an area that Israeli forces had designated as a safe zone, resulting in 21 deaths. More than 85% of the Gazan population has been displaced since October 2023, many of them multiple times. Between 6–26 May, more than one million were displaced, including 945,000 from Rafah following the intensification of hostilities and Israeli evacuation order to Mawasi. Humanitarian conditions and access remain catastrophic given the Israeli forces' military operation and blockage of humanitarian aid. The IPC projects famine to occur in Gaza any time before the end of May. (OCHA 27/05/2024, NYT 28/05/2024, IPC 18/03/2024)

22 May 2024

Between 6–18 May 2024, nearly 812,000 people fled Rafah amid the continuing Israeli bombardment and following the Israeli evacuation order issued on 6 May for parts of eastern Rafah. During the same period, another 100,000 people (almost everyone) were displaced from northern Gaza under due to the intensification of hostilities and Israeli evacuation orders. Some of the immediate needs of those displaced include shelter, water, food, and health assistance. (OCHA 20/05/2024, UN 18/05/2024)

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)