CRISIS OVERVIEW
The 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) identified 2.1 million Palestinians as requiring assistance in the OPT, where humanitarian needs have been primarily driven by the protracted Israeli military occupation, 16 years of the Gaza blockade, internal Palestinian political divisions, and recurrent hostilities between Israeli security forces and Palestinian armed groups. This represented 58 per cent of Gaza residents and one quarter of West Bank residents. Since 7 October 2023, the situation in Gaza has changed dramatically and is directly affecting the West Bank.
Gaza
On 7 October 2023, Palestinian armed groups in Gaza launched more than 3,500 missiles and rockets towards Israel and breached the perimeter fence of Gaza in multiple locations. Members of armed groups entered Israeli towns, communities, and military facilities near the Gaza Strip, killing and capturing members of Israeli forces and civilians. The Israeli military declared a “state of war alert” and began striking targets in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli authorities have confirmed that the 7 October attack is the deadliest in Israel in decades, about 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals, including women, children, and older people, were killed in Israel by members of Palestinian armed groups. According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, at least 5,400 people were injured, the vast majority on 7 October. Two hundred forty-two Israelis were taken hostage and are being held captive in Gaza, including women, 30 children, older people, foreign nationals, and Israeli forces, according to media reports.
The United Nations has repeatedly and continues to condemn these horrific attacks and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of those held in Gaza.
Israeli forces responded with air strikes and on 9 October the Government of Israel ordered a “total siege” on Gaza, cutting off water and electricity connections. Between 8 October and 5 November, at least 9,488 Palestinians including 3,900 children and 2,430 women, were killed and 24,173 injured, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Another 2,000 are reported missing in Gaza, including 1,250 children. Most are presumed to be trapped under rubble. By way of comparison, an estimated 9,000 civilians have been killed in six months of war in Sudan and approximately 9,700 civilians in Ukraine since 24 February 2022 when the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine.
The first trucks carrying humanitarian assistance were permitted in on 21 October and the response to date has been limited throughout Gaza due to both insecurity and access constraints. The humanitarian community has not been able to keep pace with the scale and depth of needs, and the mounting sense of desperation is increasing security risks and contributing to a breakdown of law and order. Impediments imposed by the parties have prevented humanitarians from reaching a large portion of the population of Gaza, particularly in areas in the north, and from securing entry of sufficient humanitarian aid into Gaza. Some Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) has been delivered across the Gaza Strip, amid increasing operational challenges, but only for the most essential needs of a fraction of those affected. The situation is driving some elements of the population to looting, including of UN installations, to obtain basic life-saving commodities.
Israeli orders to evacuate north and central Gaza to areas in suth Gaza amid the ongoing military operations have resulted in the displacement of more than two-thirds of the entire population of Gaza. The UN estimates approximately 1.5 million people in Gaza, approximately half women and children, have been internally displaced. Half of these IDPs are sheltering in 149 UNRWA facilities, most of which are at nearly four times their capacity. Others are sheltering in hospitals, mosques, churches, schools and public buildings, and the remainder with host families. Some are simply living on the streets, often close to UN installations in the hopes of being given some protection.
The Government of Israel continues to warn people to evacuate from the north but there is nowhere to accommodate new arrivals; nowhere safe to go. In the north and Gaza City, an estimated 160,000 IDPs are housed in 57 UNRWA facilities even though UNRWA is no longer able to provide services in these areas. There is no current accurate information on their needs and conditions since the first Israeli evacuation order on 13 October.
The massive displacement has also been driven by the loss of homes and extensive damage to residential structures. More than half of the housing stock has been totally destroyed or damaged, including 35,000 unites which are now uninhabitable. Priority will need to be given to rubble renewal.
Half of the 1.5 million IDPs are sheltering in 149 UNRWA facilities, most of which are at nearly four times their capacity. Others are sheltering in 221,000 hospitals, mosques, churches, schools and public buildings, and the remainder with host families. Some are simply living on the streets, often close to UN installations in the hopes of being given some protection. The Government of Israel continues to warn people to evacuate from the north but there is nowhere to accommodate new arrivals; nowhere safe to go. An estimated 160,000 IDPs are housed in 57 UNRWA facilities in the north and in Gaza city although UNRWA is no longer able to provide services in those areas. There is no current accurate information on their needs and conditions since the first Israeli evacuation order on 13 October.
Destruction of basic infrastructure has made life unbearable in Gaza and severely disrupted critical services. Since 11 October, Gaza has been under a full electricity blackout, following Israel’s halt of its electricity and fuel supply to Gaza, which triggered the shutdown of Gaza’s sole power plant. This has forced essential service infrastructure to rely on backup generators, which are limited by the scarcity of fuel in Gaza. Damage to cell towers has severely inhibited internet and communications, preventing effective communications with communities about assistance. Complete disruptions of communications and internet services, including satellite connections, have three times been imposed by Israel, creating panic and severely disrupting access to essential services and humanitarian efforts.
Health facilities are overwhelmed, and medical stocks are in short supply as hospitals and health care are increasingly targeted by attacks. WHO has documented 102 attacks on health care damaging 39 health-care facilities and 31 ambulances. Nearly half of the 35 hospitals with inpatient capacities and 71 per cent of all primary care facilities across Gaza are not functioning due to damage or lack of fuel, including 74 per cent of those located in Gaza City and 92 per cent of those in north Gaza. All operating hospitals and clinics are affected by the severe fuel shortages, leading to stringent rationing.
The inability to access potable water is driving people to rely on unhealthy water sources. The unsanitary conditions across Gaza, especially in heavily overcrowded IDP locations and the lack of availability of basic personal and domestic hygiene items, create a high-risk environment for public health. Of particular concern is an outbreak of infectious acute watery diarrhea (AWD); reports of escalating diarrhea cases, upper respiratory infections and skin diseases are already common. Since the onset of the bombardment the water utility is only able to operate half of the groundwater wells, when fuel is available, and the drinking water sources have been closed or intermittently operated. Damage from strikes has severely impacted the ability to distribute water and no viable operation of water production is taking place north of Wadi Gaza, forcing distribution to rely on trucking when fuel is available, or animal transportation to critical IDP and host population centres. Sanitation and solid waste management is currently extremely limited, sewage overflow is reported in many areas adding to the public health risk across Gaza.
Gaza’s food system has been stretched to the breaking point. More than half of the population of Gaza has been experiencing acute food insecurity since 2022, according to FAO. Food production has virtually halted as fishers cannot access the sea, farms are suffering huge damages, farmers cannot access the fields safely, and animals cannot be fed. Food value chains and markets are being disrupted by the decline of production, halt to imports, depletion of productive inputs, and impossibility to move goods safely. Estimations of essential food commodities in the market are calculated in days, and security often inhibits transfer to shops. Hours-long queues are reported in front of the limited bakeries that remain operational, where people are exposed to airstrikes.
Nowhere is safe in Gaza. More than 625,000 children and adolescents in Gaza have been without access to education or safe spaces since 7 October. More than half of all school buildings have been damaged. These facilities, including those run by UNRWA, have in cases sustained direct hits. Children comprise more than half the population of Gaza and have been impacted disproportionately. Prior to the hostilities, Gaza already bore a heavy mental health burden, particularly among children. The level of toxic stress under which children and young people live is having a clear and significant impact on their psychosocial well-being.
West Bank
While attention since 7 October has primarily been focused on Gaza, the situation in the West Bank has been deteriorating and becoming increasingly volatile. Before 7 October, the UN recorded three “settler related incidents” a day – up from two each day in 2022 and one in 2021. Since 7 October, the average number of settler related incidents per day stands at eight. The level of intensity and brutality has also intensified, with reports of elevated use of live ammunition by settlers, arson, physical assaults, threats, blocking community entrances and attacks on Palestinian communities. Israeli settler violence has increased and includes the use of live ammunition, threats, the blocking of community entrances and attacks on Palestinian communities. Direct threats and violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians are causing displacement and further aggravating an already coercive environment in Area C. Within two weeks, 111 households, comprising 905 people, including 356 children, were displaced from more than 15 different communities in the West Bank due to Israeli settler violence. This accounts for almost 55 per cent of all settler-related displacements since 2022. The olive harvest season in the West Bank will largely be lost due to fear to venture into the fields.
Excessive force is being reported in relation to the increased number of Israeli military operations, clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces, and in response to Palestinian protests and demonstrations. This has resulted in fatalities, injuries and a high number of arrests in the West Bank. The escalation in the West Bank has been marked by the utilization of airstrikes, drone strikes, and off-shoulder missiles on refugee camps which are densely populated urban areas. Since 7 October, 136 Palestinians, including 43 children, have been killed by Israeli forces (124) or settlers (eight). A total of 2,300 Palestinians, including 241 children, have been injured by Israeli forces, the majority of which occurred in the context of demonstrations.
Severe access restrictions have been imposed throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. These restrictions are particularly severe in areas near Israeli settlements and in the seam zone, isolating Palestinian communities and severely limiting their access to essential services including health and education. Access measures have also manifested in revoked access rights, as workers and traders with valid permits, are prevented from entering Israel and East Jerusalem through any checkpoints, this includes national staff members of humanitarian organizations.
By constraining movement and reducing the presence of humanitarians providing assistance, the closures are contributing to an increased coercive environment, and making it increasingly challenging to provide essential assistance to respond, exacerbating protection issues.
The full closure of the West Bank prevents an estimated 200,000 Palestinian workers from entering Israel, which will deprive the West Bank economy an estimated NIS 1.5 to two billion monthly. At the same time, clearance revenues from Israel to the Palestinian Authority are expected to drop significantly in October and November 2023, jeopardizing the Palestinian Authority’s ability to pay salaries. The private sector in the West Bank is estimated to be working at 50 per cent capacity and trade with Israel or outside Palestine, which accounted for one-third of the GDP of the West Bank economy, is lost. As a result, an increasing economic hardship in the West Bank is already prompting demand for humanitarian assistance and essential services among vulnerable and marginalized communities.