UNRWA Situation Report #119 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem

According to the UN, up to 1.9 million people (or nine in ten people) across the Gaza Strip are internally displaced, including people who have been repeatedly displaced nine or 10 times.
Ongoing strikes by Israeli Forces continue, with aerial, land and maritime bombardment across the Gaza Strip. These result in civilian casualties, displacement and the destruction of residential structures and civilian infrastructure. The Israeli Forces’ ground offensive continues to expand, with new evacuation orders issued for parts of Khan Younis, impacting a quarter of a million people, deepening the humanitarian crisis and further destabilizing humanitarian aid flows.
According to Save the Children[1], some women in Gaza are inducing labour to avoid giving birth while on the move, while others fear seeking essential prenatal care due to the threat of bombings. Some pregnant women have died from lack of access to medical care. Over the past nine months, in total an estimated 50,000 babies have been born in Gaza, often in traumatic, unsanitary and undignified conditions without basic services.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warns that Nasser Hospital, the last tertiary hospital in southern Gaza, risks being overwhelmed with casualties following the closure of the European Gaza Hospital due to Israeli evacuation orders. MSF teams at Nasser Hospital report severe shortages of medical supplies, jeopardizing essential healthcare. Patient numbers at Nasser Hospital are surging daily, surpassing bed capacity in all departments. On 3 July, the pediatric department, designed for 56 beds, had 100 patients. The orthopedic department has also seen patient numbers double in recent days.
According to NRC, there is a severe cash shortage in Gaza, intensifying hardships. Limited internet access and unequal access to mobile phones hinder cashless banking, exacerbating the situation. Less than 10 per cent of the ATMs and bank branches are operational due to the on-going war and continued damage to infrastructure.
The deteriorating law and order situation is severely hindering humanitarian actors from collecting aid at the Kerem Shalom Crossing for distribution inside Gaza. This adds to existing operational challenges including insecurity, damaged infrastructure, fuel shortages and restricted access. The latest information on supplies entering Gaza via Kerem Shalom and Rafah can be found below:

Gaza Supplies and Dispatch Tracking | UNRWA

As of 7 July, the total number of UNRWA colleagues killed since 7 October is 197, an increase of three from the last update.

[1] Women self-inducing labour and facing life-threatening complications in pregnancy after nine months of Gaza conflict - occupied Palestinian territory | ReliefWeb

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem update is now once a week.

According to OCHA, between 7 October 2023 and 1 July 2024, 539 Palestinians, including 131 children, were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Between 1 and 7 July there were at least 160 recorded Israeli Security Forces (ISF) search and arrest operations across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. More than 149 Palestinians, including Palestine refugees, were detained by the ISF during this period.

During this period, 17 Palestinians were reported killed. Of those, seven were killed during an ISF operation in Jenin Camp and city on 5 July, during which drones and missiles were used. Four were killed in Nur Shams Camp on 2 July in an ISF drone attack. Another Palestinian was killed in an ISF drone strike in Tulkarm Camp on 1 July. The use of drones and other airborne munitions has become more common in ISF operations since late 2023, particularly during operations inside camps in the northern West Bank.

Following reports that a number of Israeli settlement outposts were to be “legalized” by Israeli authorities, settler violence and harassment directed at Palestinian communities persisted across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In Umm Safa, in the central West Bank, settlers sabotaged the water lines providing water to the village. In the South Hebron Hills, armed settlers attacked Palestinian farmers, bulldozed land, and reportedly placed caravans to advance settlement expansion. In the northern West Bank, clashes took place in Jabal Sbeih and Dhaher al ‘Abed with settlers lighting Palestinian agricultural land on fire.

Overall Situation

The Gaza Strip

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, as of 8 July, at least 38,193 Palestinians have been reported killed in the Gaza Strip since 7 October. Another 87,903 Palestinians have been reported injured.

Humanitarian Access, Protection of Civilians

The Gaza Strip

UNRWA is working to verify the details of incidents reportedly affecting UNRWA premises. Further information will be provided once it becomes available.
Three incidents have been reported impacting UNRWA installations and internally displaced people (IDPs) sheltering there. While verification of details and casualty figures is ongoing, initial reports indicate:
- On 5 July 2024, ISF fired one missile hitting the area in front of a distribution centre in the Middle Area. Three UNRWA team members working as guards were killed as a result of the strike.
- On 6 July 2024, a displaced child was killed, three other displaced children and a displaced young man were injured as a result of an airstrike that hit the first floor and staircase of a school in Nuseirat camp, in the Middle Area.
- On 6 July 2024, one of the temporary structures inside a school in Nuseirat camp was hit by an airstrike. As a result, 14 people were reportedly killed and 70 others were injured, including IDPs sheltering in the school. Partial damage in the school was reported.
453* incidents impacting UNRWA premises and the people inside them have been reported since the beginning of the war (some with multiple incidents impacting the same location), including at least 72 incidents of military use and/or interference at UNRWA premises. 188* different UNRWA installations have been impacted.
UNRWA estimates that in total at least 524* IDPs sheltering in UNRWA shelters have been killed and at least 1,606* injured since the start of the war. UNRWA continue to verify the number of casualties caused by incidents that impacted its installations, and notes that these figures do not include some reported casualties where the number of injuries could not be determined.

* Numbers continue to be subject to change once further verifications have been conducted.

UNRWA Response

The Gaza Strip

Health

As of 3 July, 92 medical points and eight (out of 26[1]) UNRWA health centres were operational. These health centres provide primary health care, including outpatient services, non-communicable disease care, medications, vaccination, antenatal and postnatal health care and dressing for the injured.
On 3 July, almost 1,050 staff continue to work in operational health centres and medical points across the Gaza Strip, providing 17,147 medical consultations.
As of 3 July, UNRWA provided mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services in the Middle and Khan Younis areas with teams of psychiatrists and supervisors to assist special cases referred from health centres and shelters. UNRWA teams responded to 655 cases. UNRWA teams responded to cases in health centres and at medical points through individual consultations, awareness sessions and support for cases of gender-based violence. UNRWA teams provided medical care for 460 post-natal and pregnant women at high risk.
According to the Health Cluster, UNRWA remains one of the largest health actors operating inside the Gaza Strip, contributing to over half of the people reached with health services. Between 7 October – 3 July, UNRWA has provided over 4.5 million medical consultations in health centres and medical points across the Gaza Strip. In addition to medical consultations, UNRWA continues to provide vaccines with over 120,000 children vaccinated.

[1] Pre-conflict UNRWA had 22 health centres, following the conflict an additional temporary health centres have been established.

Psychosocial support (PSS)

With the support of more than 300 counsellors, UNRWA continues to provide lifesaving psychosocial support (PSS) services in Gaza, including psychosocial first aid, individual and group counselling, fatigue management sessions, recreational activities, Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) and protection cash assistance, reaching children, youth and adults.
Since the onset of the conflict, around 700,000 IDPs, including 450,000 children, have benefited from a total of 235,666 PSS sessions/activities. From 23 June – 7 July 2024, a total of 61,798 IDPs, including 26,645 children, benefited from these services.

Food Security

As of 20 June, UNRWA continued to distribute flour in the southern governorates. To date, a total of 380,225 families (nearly 1.9 million people) have been reached, of whom 367,768 families have received two rounds of flour and another 300,978 families have received three rounds.
As part of its emergency response, UNRWA distributes food parcels in the southern governorates. UNRWA food parcels include [1] flour, rice, chickpeas, lentils, cheese, hummus and fish and are designed to cover approximately 90 per cent of the calorific needs. To date, nearly 1.15 million people have been reached, of whom nearly 215,000 people have received two rounds of food parcels since the war started.
In addition to the distribution of UNRWA food parcels, the Agency distributed other food parcels on behalf of other UN organizations, reaching around 1.4 million people.

[1] Note the composition of the food parcel may change based on food item availability.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Due to the security situation, in combination with challenges to internet connectivity, we have been unable to provide any additional updates since Sitrep 67.

Quote from Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General:

"The longer this war goes on, the deeper the rift will become, and the more suffering people will endure. Enough is enough.”