UNRWA Situation Report #131 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem

Ongoing strikes by Israeli Security Forces (ISF) continue, with aerial, land and maritime bombardments across the Gaza Strip, resulting in civilian casualties, displacement and the destruction of residential structures and public infrastructure.
According to OCHA, Israeli Security Forces (ISF) have issued 16 evacuation orders in August so far, impacting approximately 12 per cent of Gaza’s population (258,000 people). The latest orders in Deir al Balah have also displaced humanitarian staff from different UN agencies, NGOs, and service providers, along with their families, severely hindering their ability to deliver essential support and services. Specifically, the order issued on 25 August, impacted 15 UN and NGO premises, as well as four UN warehouses. Since October 2023, only about 11 per cent of the Gaza Strip has not been placed under evacuation orders.
According to UNFPA, the continued displacement due to fighting and frequent evacuation orders have had a devasting impact on maternal health and protection services in Gaza, with at least 17 health facilities facing operational disruptions in August. One safe space for women and girl, that provided support to those at risk of gender-based violence, has been forced closed.
According to WHO, the health system continues to be dismantled, with reduced health service availability. Only 16 out of 36 hospitals (or 44 per cent) are partially functional and 58 out of the 132 (44 per cent) primary health care facilities are functional as of 20 August. 
UNRWA remains a major actor in the health sector, providing health services across 10 primary health centres and up to 100 medical points across the Gaza Strip.
According to the UN, at least 1.9 million people (or nine in ten people) across the Gaza Strip are internally displaced, including people who have been repeatedly displaced (some up to 10 times).
As of 26 August, the total number of UNRWA team members killed since 7 October is 212.
Several challenges stand in the way of collecting much needed humanitarian supplies from the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing point in southern Gaza. These include deteriorating law and order, the war and insecurity, damaged infrastructure, fuel shortages and access restrictions. According to OCHA, between 1 and 12 August 2024, an average of only 76 humanitarian trucks entered the Gaza Strip per day. This is well below the pre-crisis average of 500 trucks per working day.
The latest information on supplies entering Gaza can be accessed through the below link:
Gaza Supplies and Dispatch Tracking | UNRWA

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 21 August 2024, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This includes a total of 128 Palestinians, including 26 children, have been killed in airstrikes in the West Bank from 1 to 21 August alone. Separately, UNICEF[1] reported that 143 children have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 7 October 2023 until 22 July 2024.
Between 19 and 25 August, there were 183 recorded ISF search and arrest operations across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. At least 113 Palestinians, including Palestine Refugees, were detained by the ISF during this period.
During the same period, there were 10 recorded Palestinians killed, including two Palestinians who were killed in an ISF drone strike on Tulkarm Camp in northern West Bank on 22 August, during an ISF operation. Another Palestinian was killed and at least four camp residents were injured during the operation, which also caused extensive damage to camp infrastructure and rendered an estimated 21 houses uninhabitable.
Numerous instances of Israeli settler violence were recorded during the reporting period, with two Palestinians reportedly kidnapped by armed settlers near Nab’ Al’Auja in central West Bank on 23 August. On 25 August, clashes took place between settlers and Palestinians near Al Buweib in southern West Bank, after settlers reportedly threw stones and physically assaulted residents. Six Palestinians and three settlers were injured, with nine Palestinians detained by the ISF. On the same day, armed settlers reportedly attacked residents and property in Beit Furik in the northern West Bank, injuring at least one Palestinian. New Israeli settlement outposts were recorded across the West Bank, near Beit Furik, Deir Quruntul, and al Maniya.

[1] Child casualties in the West Bank skyrocket in the past nine months – UNICEF

Overall Situation

The Gaza Strip

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, and as reported by OCHA, between 7 October 2023 and 26 August 2024, at least 40,435 Palestinians were killed and 93,534 were 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.
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 22 August, several ISF tanks and military personnel reportedly entered an UNRWA school in Deir El-Balah, east of Salah El Deen Road. Based on initial reports, ISF fired at persons moving in the area.
- On 24 August, two bullets reportedly hit a container and the north-western wall of the Khan Younis Training Centre during an ISF operation in the area. Only minor damage was reported to the container with no persons injured.
- On 25 August, bullets reportedly hit the northeast wall of the Khan Younis Training Centre. No injuries were reported.
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.

UNRWA Response

The Gaza Strip

Health

As of 25 August, 80 medical points and 10 (out of 27[2]) UNRWA health centres were operational. These health centres provide primary health care, including outpatient services, non-communicable disease care, medications, vaccinations, antenatal and postnatal health care and dressings for the injured. The number of health facilities fluctuates constantly based on demand, access and security.
On 25 August, almost 1,100 UNRWA health staff continued to work in operational health centres and medical points across the Gaza Strip, providing 14,953 medical consultations on that day.
On 25 August, 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 543 cases in health centres and at medical points through individual consultations, awareness sessions and in support of cases of gender-based violence (GBV).
On 25 August, medical teams provided medical care for 394 post-natal and pregnant women at high risk.
According to the Health Cluster, UNRWA remains one of the largest health actors operating in the Gaza Strip, contributing to over half of the people reached with health services since 7 October 2023. Between 7 October 2023 and 18 August 2024, UNRWA provided over 5.2 million medical consultations in health centres and medical points across the Gaza Strip. In addition, the Agency (in partnership with and support from other UN agencies, including UNICEF and WHO) continues to provide vaccines, with over 130,000 children vaccinated against different childhood diseases since the start of 2024 up until mid-July 2024.

Psychosocial support (PSS)

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.
More than 600,000 children have been out of school since the beginning of the war. As of 1 August, UNRWA has begun to roll out its first phase response across up to 45 UNRWA schools now turned shelters[3] by expanding ongoing psychosocial support activities, focusing on arts, music and sports and raising awareness on the risks of explosive ordnance. UNRWA remains the largest provider of Education in Emergencies across the Gaza Strip. Prior to the launch, a specialized training was held from 29 to 31 July to help teachers in Gaza cope with stress and enhance their capacity to provide activities to children. The training involved 998 teachers from all areas and equipped them with self-care skills, psychosocial support techniques, and knowledge on preventing risks from war remnants. The training was conducted by counsellors and assistant counsellors and supervised by mental health specialists.
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 to date. Between 6 and 18 August, a total of 14,816 IDPs, including 9,713 children, have benefited from these services. During the same period 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 157,437[4] 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 1,332 GBV survivors and 1,795 children, including 875 unaccompanied children, covering reunification, safe sheltering, medication, dignity kits and non-food items through referrals. The team also supported 17,996 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 107,485 IDPs.

Food Security

To date, a total of 380,225 families (nearly 1.9 million people) have been reached with two rounds of flour and 353,354 of those families have received three rounds.
UNRWA continues to distribute food parcels in the southern governorates. These include[5] flour, rice, chickpeas, lentils, cheese, hummus and fish, and are designed to cover approximately 90 per cent of daily 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 distributes food parcels on behalf of other UN organizations, reaching around 1.4 million people.

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 maintain 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 in 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. In addition to water provision, UNRWA distributed chlorine tables 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. Many 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.

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

[3] Phase 1 will aim to reach 45 schools/shelters and back to learning will gradually expand to 94 schools in future phases.

[4] Results from 7 October – 25 August.

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

Quote from a girl currently displaced in an UNRWA school in the Gaza Strip:  

“I used to love school a lot, but now I don’t like it because of the displacement. Tents, sewage. It’s disgusting. My brothers are so cramped that they sleep outside the classroom. And we are like sardines, all squished together.”