UNRWA Situation Report #130 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem

• UNRWA is working to verify the details of incidents reportedly affecting UNRWA premises. Further information will be provided once it becomes available. 
• During the reporting period, three incidents, impacting UNRWA installations and internally displaced people (IDPs) sheltering there, have been reported. While the verification of details and casualty figures are ongoing, initial reports indicate impact to UNRWA facilities:
  • On 19 August, a section of an UNRWA school in Deir El Balah (Middle Areas) was reportedly hit by an ISF drone strike. No injuries were reported.
  • On 21 August, a section of another UNRWA school in Deir El Balah was reportedly hit by an ISF strike. Major damage to the southeastern building of the school was reported. No injuries were reported.
  • On 21 August, ISF fired one missile hitting the eastern building of an UNRWA school in Gaza City. Four Palestinians were killed, and 18 others were injured.

• 464* 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 74* incidents of military use and/or interference at UNRWA premises. 190* Agency installations have been impacted by munitions or subjected to armed actor interference through these incidents. UNRWA estimates that, in total, at least 563* IDPs sheltering in UNRWA installations have been killed and at least 1,790* injured since the start of the war. UNRWA is verifying the number of casualties caused by incidents that impacted its installations. 

*Since the start of the war, latest figures are continuously under review as UNRWA gains access to locations that were previously inaccessible and as further verification occur. Total summary figures will be published once further verification has been conducted, noting that these numbers are subject to change once verifications have been conducted. 

Health

• With the support of over 500 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 over 450,000 children, have benefited from a total of 246,188 PSS sessions/activities. Between 6 and 18 August, a total of 14,816 IDPs, including 9,713 children, have benefited from these services. UNRWA counsellors provided 404 individual consultations and 168 group awareness sessions for caregivers. Additionally, 453 recreational activities for children were conducted and 368 explosive ordinance risk education (EORE) sessions to adults and children.
• Since the onset of the conflict, UNRWA’s social work team has provided services to 146,751 IDPs, including psychological first aid, PSS, family and individual interventions, as well as case management. These efforts aim to address family issues and strengthen relationships. Furthermore, protection services were provided to 1,244 GBV survivors and 1,592 children, including 842 unaccompanied children, covering reunification, safe sheltering, medication, dignity kits and non-food items through referrals. The team also supported 17,387 persons with disabilities with PSS; 7,445 of these individuals received assistive devices and rehabilitation services. Awareness sessions on GBV, child protection, disability and special needs, and managing social and psychological stressors were conducted for 106,812 IDPs.

Food Security

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Since October 2023, UNRWA has provided emergency WASH activities across the Gaza Strip.  Main activities have included the operation and continued maintenance of water wells, desalination systems and direct provision of water through water trucking and distribution of bottled water. In addition to direct provision and improved access to water, UNRWA continues to distribute hygiene kits and maintaining hygiene at UNRWA managed shelters and sites through cleaning supplies, community based solid waste management, and vector/pest control

UNRWA continues to be one of the largest WASH actors inside the Gaza Strip. Since the beginning of the war, UNRWA has maintained and rehabilitated eight wells, reaching over 600,000 IDPs with access to water. Between June and August, UNRWA reached 50,000 IDPs with hygiene kits.

Between 1-15 August, three water wells in Jabalia and Khan Younis were rehabilitated and made operational, and water was distributed across 101 emergency shelters, reaching nearly half a million people, only within UNRWA designated shelters.  In addition to water provision, UNRWA distributed chlorine tablets to over 110 shelters to prevent water contamination and improve water quality. Another 43,000 IDPs were reached with hygiene kits, including soap, in addition to 1,320 jerry cans and 432 plastic buckets.  Over 200,000 IDPs benefited from cleaning campaigns in different areas of operations. Much more hygiene supplies are needed.

Throughout the Gaza Strip, hundreds of thousands of tons of solid waste are piling up in streets, between tents in displaced tented areas, and next to the rubble in back alleys. The collapse of solid waste management since the war began is worsening the public health crisis. Between 1 and 22 August, a total of 7,000 tons of solid waste was collected by UNRWA and transferred to temporary dumping sites.