The ongoing blockade on land, air and sea imposed by Israel following the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007 will enter its 13th year in June 2019 in the context of ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territory.  Long-standing restrictions on movement of people and goods have led to a de-development of Gaza and have had a devastating effect on people’s lives.  Today, just over one million Palestine refugees out of a total population of 1.4 million are reliant on UNRWA food assistance, as compared to just 80,000 in 2000.

In addition, repeated hostilities in recent years have caused tremendous levels of destruction of physical infrastructure, loss of human life, and have contributed to serious deterioration of the social fabric. Already high levels of psychosocial stress, especially among children, have been further exacerbated in the context of the high human costs of the so-called Great March or Return demonstrations (hyperlink) on the Gaza side of the security fence separating the Gaza Strip and Israel that began on 30 March 2018.

• Update on UNRWA Operation in Gaza, April 2019 (Fact Sheet)
• UNRWA Gaza Emergency Appeal (Fact Sheet)

Longstanding restrictions on the movement of people and goods to and from Gaza have undermined the living conditions of 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza. Israel prevents all access to and from the Gaza Strip by sea and air. Movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza is restricted to three crossings: Rafah crossing, Erez crossing and Kerem Shalom crossings. 

Rafah crossing is controlled by the Egyptian authorities and allows for the movement of a number of authorized travellers, Palestinian medical and humanitarian cases. Erez crossing is controlled by Israeli authorities and technically allows for the movement of aid workers and limited numbers of authorized travellers, including Palestinian medical and humanitarian cases. Kerem Shalom crossing, also controlled by Israeli authorities, technically allows for the movement of authorized goods only.

As the largest UN organization in the Gaza Strip and the only UN Agency that implements services directly, UNRWA has been and continues to be in a unique position to deliver emergency assistance to Palestine refugees in Gaza. In addition to its human development services, primarily in the fields of education and health, critical emergency interventions provided by UNRWA in 2019 focus on:

The 2014 hostilities caused significant destruction in Gaza with 141,650 Palestine refugee housing units damaged, including 12,950 that were severely damaged or totally destroyed. In addition, the hostilities further weakened electricity, water, and sanitation systems, already suffering through years of neglect due to blockade and internal divide... more