Situation overview

Gaza Strip

No serious incidents have been reported since the ceasefire entered into effect on 21 May. According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), during the escalation, 256 Palestinians, including 66 children and 40 women were killed in Gaza, of whom 128 are believed to be civilians, 62 members of armed groups, and 66 are undetermined. About 245 of these, including 63 children and 40 women, were seemingly killed by Israeli Forces.

Almost 2,000 Palestinians were injured during the hostilities in Gaza, including over 600 children and 400 women, some of whom may suffer from a long-term disability requiring rehabilitation. On 9 June, a nine-year-old boy was killed and his older brother was severely injured by the detonation of an explosive remnant of war (ERW) device, which they discovered near their house in the Az Zaitoun area of Gaza city.

At the height of the escalation, 113,000 IDPs sought shelter and protection at UNRWA schools or with hosting families. There are still about 8,500 IDPs, including 247 people in two UNRWA schools, primarily those whose houses were destroyed or so severely damaged as to be uninhabitable. According to local authorities, an estimated 15,130 housing units sustained some degree of damage, as did multiple water and sanitation facilities and infrastructure, 141 government schools and 33 health facilities.

The Ministry of Education and UNRWA concluded the school year on 3 and 10 June respectively, due to continuing electricity and internet cuts and damage to school infrastructure. Although damaged electricity feeder lines and networks have been reconnected, rolling daily power cuts have increased to 12 hours per day across Gaza since 1 June, also due to the inability of the Gaza Power Plant to resume normal functioning due to lack of fuel. As a result of the long hours of power cuts and damage to infrastructure, an estimated 400,000 people still have irregular access to piped water.

The Israeli authorities have kept the Erez Crossing closed for most Palestinians in Gaza, with the exception of urgent medical referrals, including cancer patients. In the first week of June, they approved some 43 per cent of referrals for patients to exit Gaza to Israel or the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, compared with 13 per cent in the last week of May. 

They have also kept Kerem Shalom Crossing open for the entry of specific basic commodities, including fodder and medical supplies as well as fuel for the private sector and for UNRWA. Al other imports are prohibited. Since 10 May, the Israeli authorities have not authorized the exit of any goods. 

Truckloads of aid, including food and medicine from Egypt and other countries, continue to enter through the Rafah crossing with Egypt on most days, as do food, fuel and construction materials through the Salah Ad Din gate.

Since 25 May, the Israeli authorities have allowed fishing to resume off the Gaza coast, but only up to six nautical miles off shore.

West Bank, including East Jerusalem

During the reporting period, clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians and continued across the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem. In the early hours of 10 June, undercover Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinians and critically injured at least one man during a military operation in Jenin. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, two of the fatalities and the injured man were members of Palestinian security forces, with the full circumstances of the incident still unclear.

On 4 June, Israeli forces injured 293 Palestinians in two separate demonstrations against the construction of new Israeli settlement outposts near Beita and Beit Dajan villages in Nablus. In the Beita incident, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that Israeli forces injured 26 Palestinians with live ammunition and 46 with rubber-coated metal bullets. According to OHCHR, “based on OHCHR’s direct monitoring, use of lethal force did not appear warranted and raises concerns of excessive use of force.”

Search-and-arrest operations by Israeli forces have doubled since the escalation of unrest in East Jerusalem in mid-April, compared with the previous weekly average recorded since the beginning of 2021. During the reporting period, 78 Palestinians, including ten children, were arrested in such operations, with the majority (24) in the Old City of East Jerusalem.

Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians and their property continued to increase in the West Bank, with four Palestinian residents injured in three incidents in the H2 area of Hebron. One Palestinian was also injured and at least ten vehicles sustained damage on Road 60 near Huwwara and Beita villages of southern Nablus, reportedly by Israeli settlers. Additionally, at least 30 olive trees belonging to Palestinians from Nilin village (Ramallah) were set on fire, reportedly by Israeli settlers from a nearby settlement outpost.

Sheikh Jarrah

In East Jerusalem, Palestinian families still face the threat of forced eviction by the Israeli authorities from their homes in the Karm Al Jaouni area of Sheikh Jarrah, due to court cases initiated by Israeli settler organizations. On 7 June, the Israeli Attorney-General announced that he would not intervene in the High Court proceedings with respect to the pending eviction of four of these families. The High Court must now schedule a hearing on the families' leave to appeal request and issue a ruling accordingly.

Since 3 May, Israeli forces have been stationed at all five entrances to Karm Al Jaouni, allowing entry only to the 114 Palestinian neighbourhood residents (some 29 families, including 37 children), who are ordered to present identifying documents, as well as to Israeli settlers, journalists, ambulances and UN vehicles. These checkpoints were reinforced on 16 May after a Palestinian rammed his car into seven members of Israeli forces, injuring them, and was subsequently shot dead. According to the community, access by Israeli settlers has been permitted without ID checks by Israeli forces.

On 5 June, Israeli police physically assaulted and arrested a journalist while she was covering a protest in Sheikh Jarrah. She was released several hours later and received a 15-day restraining order, barring her entry to the neighbourhood. On 6 June, Israeli forces arrested three Palestinian activists from Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan and summoned another for interrogation. Palestinians staged a protest outside of Salah Ad Din Detention Centre in East Jerusalem, which led to clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces, with at least 11 Palestinians injured by rubber bullets and stun grenades. The two Palestinian activists from Sheikh Jarrah were released by Israeli police the same day.

On 10 June, the Jerusalem District Court postponed until 8 July its decision on an appeal against an eviction order related to two residential buildings, comprising three apartments, in the Batan al Hawa neighbourhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem, challenging a 23 December 2020 ruling issued by the Jerusalem Magistrate Court, which upheld their eviction orders and called for their evacuation from their properties by 1 March 2021. If the eviction were to proceed, a total of three Palestinian families, comprising 20 persons, including 12 children, will be forcibly displaced from their homes.

Funding

On 27 May, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the oPt, Lynn Hastings, launched the inter-agency Flash Appeal, requesting $95 million to support emergency humanitarian and early recovery responses over a three-month period. 

A slightly updated version was posted this week, with minor changes. The response plan envisages a swift transition to an early recovery phase, including the rehabilitation and reconstruction of infrastructure services and networks, and then to a medium- and long-term reconstruction and recovery framework. The plan complements the $417 million appealed for in the 2021 oPt Humanitarian Response Plan, covering pre-existing humanitarian needs.

So far, $12.6 million, or 13 per cent per cent of the amount requested in the Flash Appeal has been raised. Including resources outside the Flash Appeal, $13.7 million have been mobilized in support of humanitarian response activities in the oPt.

Also, before the reporting period, the Humanitarian Coordinator released $18 million from the oPt Humanitarian Fund, with 95 per cent of the funding allocated to Gaza, and five per cent to health, protection and shelter activities in the West Bank. The Emergency Relief Coordinator in New York released $4.5 for the Gaza humanitarian response, including for the safe removal of ERW, rental subsidies for refugees whose homes were destroyed, and the restoration of basic services such as healthcare and water.

Total funding for Flash Appeal response by donors

Donor Name	Outside the Response Plan	Through the Response Plan	Total in US$
MDM	1,100		1,100
Qatar Red Crescent (QRC)	35,000		35,000
Secours Isalmique France (SIF)	35,295		35,295
Le Centre de crise et de soutien - CDCS (The Crisis and Support Centre - France)		40,000	40,000
SIDA	64,707		64,707
Alliance 2015	67,204		67,204
Human Appeal - UK	70,000	22,000	92,000
Bank of Palestine	100,000		100,000
Norway	170,000		170,000
Oxfam	173,000		173,000
Save the Children International	228,550		228,550
Qatar Charity	232,000		232,000
Anera	275,000		275,000
UNICEF		300,000	300,000
Canada	620,000		620,000
CDCS	700,000		700,000
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs - NMFA	744,000		744,000
World Bank		1,000,000	1,000,000
WHO		1,200,000	1,200,000
TBC	610,000	800,000	1,410,000
CERF	1,450,000		1,450,000
ECHO	1,100,000	500,000	1,600,000
UAE	2,700,000		2,700,000
Japan	3,000,000		3,000,000
oPt HF	3,400,000		3,400,000
Grand Total	15,775,856	3,862,000	19,637,856

COVID-19

As of 10 June, the number of people confirmed to currently have COVID-19 across the oPt was 4,216. Since the outbreak began in the oPt, about 331,000 of the 339,385 cases have recovered, and 3,788 have died.  The number of patients in intensive care units is 16, with two people requiring mechanical ventilation. The Case Fatality Rate (CFR), the proportion of deaths among confirmed cases, remains at 1.1 per cent.

In Gaza, follow-up on COVID-19 prevention measures, as well as testing and vaccination, was severely disrupted during the conflict, with testing limited to symptomatic people reporting to hospitals. As of 10 June, some 4,216 active cases were reported, up from 3,700 last week, who were isolated either at home or in hospitals designated for COVID-19 treatment by the MoH. The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases is about 111,000, with 105,826 people recovered, and 1,030 deaths recorded. Gaza now accounts for 90 per cent of all active cases in the oPt.

The West Bank continues to witness a decline in confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths, with Nablus and Jenin recording the highest number of active accumulated cases. According to the Ministry of Health in Tulkarm, the PRCS hospital is treating its last two cases. The Palestinian Authority (PA)’s vaccination campaign is ongoing, with the vaccine rollout for teachers almost complete. The Ministry of Education has decided to resume in-person learning for the new academic year, beginning 16 August.

The PA’s COVID-19 vaccination programme has resumed after being disrupted by the recent escalation. On 3 June, UNICEF Palestine delivered 9,600 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Gaza through the COVAX facility. This is the fourth such shipment of vaccines delivered to health authorities in Gaza. Some 30,000 doses of Sputnik V from a private donation also arrived in Gaza earlier this week, according to the MoH.

As of 10 June, about 369,000 Palestinians have been vaccinated, of whom 240,000 have received a second dose, representing about seven per cent of the population, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). These include about 110,000 Palestinian workers who have been vaccinated by the Israeli authorities.

For latest WHO COVID-19 update, see here.

Vaccine Tracking (as of 1 June 2021)

Humanitarian response & ongoing needs

Protection

Priority needs

• There is an urgent need for increased education programmes, particularly for vulnerable children and youth in Gaza, due to their education being suspended during the latest hostilities, in addition to the repeated interruption of education due to COVID-19 restrictions. 
• Cluster partners are reporting a large volume of calls to the national helpline, with one partner-run helpline receiving over 4,300 calls between 1 and 6 June. A mass scale-up of all in-person and remote Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services for children, families and service providers is required. More children in Gaza are being referred to family centres, as they display symptoms of trauma.
• Support for IDPs, particularly vulnerable women and girls, is needed through the provision of dignity kits, protection information, personal protective equipment, cash and voucher assistance for women at risk of gender-based violence (GBV), updated referral pathways and GBV detection and referrals through multi-sectoral counter-GBV services. UN personnel require Emergency Trauma Bag training to mitigate the impact of risk from explosions. More than 14 deep buried bombs have been located and require excavation and clearance to ensure the safe return of residents and humanitarian staff. Partners have received requests for more than 150 risk assessments, including in health clinics, schools, and residential areas.
• In East Jerusalem, there is a growing need for MHPSS services for children suffering from trauma and anxiety due to exposure to continuing violence.

Responses already implemented

• Members of the Gender-Based Violence Sub-Cluster (GBV SC) are distributing cash, voucher and in-kind assistance, as well as dignity kits. They also provide MHPSS services, including Psychological First Aid, self-care and wellbeing sessions, and raise awareness to GBV legal aspects thereof.
• Cluster partners are providing EOD risk assessments, clearance, and ERW risk messaging to vulnerable populations, particularly IDPs, through online platforms and social media.
• Cluster partners are continuing to provide child protection and specialized MHPSS responses for some 2,100 children and 300 caregivers. Between 1-6 June, some 560 children received psychological first aid via partner run Family Centres as well as counselling and other sessions to some 320 children and individual case management to 41 additional children. Some 800 children and 400 caregivers have received recreational kits.
• Cluster partners are focusing on trauma response and to establish new trauma services (therapeutic, training, and research) and training of graduates and professionals with the latest interventions for treating trauma, as well as conducting surveys and evaluations on trauma as an epidemic disorder in the oPt. 
• Explosive risk assessments continue, including at school sites where the presence of DBD were confirmed on 3 June. UNMAS completed an assessment of an MSF clinic and confirmed low explosive risk, enabling the organization to continue its operations. 
• In East Jerusalem, partners continued to deliver child protection services to vulnerable and affected children, including bi-weekly training sessions to 242 students, Psychosocial support (PSS) and specialized therapeutic services to 35 children, as well as the delivery of sports and recreational trainings to over 300 children, including 20 children with disabilities.
• In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the month of May alone, child protection partners child protection partners provided legal assistance to 102 children detained by Israeli forces in hot-spot neighbourhoods where clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinians frequently occur.

Key constraints/gaps

• Infrastructure damage alongside recurrent electricity cuts and internet disconnection across Gaza is undermining outreach and remote service modalities.
• In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, access remains a key challenge due to the closures of village entrances by Israeli forces, checkpoints, Israeli settler demonstrations and sporadic clashes. The absence of international protective presence, due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions, remains a major concern.

Health

Priority needs

• Trauma and emergency care.
• Mental Health and Psychosocial Support.
• Access to essential health services.
• Stronger partner coordination and information management.

Responses already implemented

• Partners continue to mobilize resources for the procurement and supply of some essential drugs, disposables and equipment.
• There is ongoing support to deploy surgical teams to MoH hospitals.
• A Gaza Health Cluster Meeting was held focusing on the current situation and responses.
• Response activities related to COVID-19 have-intensified, including diagnostics, case management, infection prevention and vaccinations.
• Partners have continued to provide first aid and emergency services to those injured in clashes across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Key constraints/gaps

• Multiple resource limitations requiring funding as articulated in the recent Flash Appeal and increased COVID-19 needs, as highlighted in April.

Funding

• During the reporting period Health Cluster partners provided support worth about $350,000.

Shelter

Priority needs

• Temporary shelter solutions for IDPs through cash assistance, alongside support for host families.
• Repair of uninhabitable homes to reduce displacement and meet the growing need for homes.
• Repair of partially damaged homes and interventions for the most vulnerable groups, including female-headed households, the elderly, and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
• Provision of essential non-food items (NFIs).

Responses already implemented

• Coordination with the relevant local authorities to better estimate the number of housing units destroyed or damaged and the number of IDPs.
• Since the start of the escalation, NFIs kits, hygiene kits, e-vouchers and multi-purpose cash have been distributed to some 4,000 households.

Key constraints/gaps

• In Gaza, adequate access to construction material is still a challenge, due to import restrictions.
• Longstanding housing shortage in Gaza makes rent unaffordable for displaced families.
• IDPs are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, due to overcrowding and the use of shared facilities.

Funding

• The Government of Japan announced a contribution of $3 million to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for damage assessment and the removal of rubble in the most affected areas of Gaza.

Education

Priority needs

• Supporting the mental health and psychosocial well-being of students, parents, and educators in Gaza, through MHPSS support.
• Ensuring that children can access safe and inclusive learning opportunities through the emergency repair of education facilities and the provision of non-formal education services during the summer break.
• 59 UNRWA schools used as temporary shelter need rehabilitation before they can re-open in August.

Responses already implemented

• The findings from a school assessment carried out by the Palestinian Authority (PA) were disseminated to relevant stakeholders. Assessments of private schools, higher education facilities and kindergartens are ongoing.  
• The Cluster has established temporary thematic working groups to coordinate the school rehabilitation response and summer programmes for vulnerable children.
• The minimum standards for summer programmes are being developed and will be circulated to all implementing partners to coordinate summer activities among the various service providers.
• Partners are implementing remote MHPSS interventions, targeting children and their caregivers.

Key constraints/gaps

• Children’s ability to access education, both at school and at home, is undermined by Gaza’s chronic electricity deficit, worsened due to the escalation. Electricity cuts will particularly affect the 12th grade examination process, starting on 24 June.
• The timeframe for rehabilitating schools in Gaza remains of concern, considering the new academic year begins in mid-August.

Funding

• There is a severe lack of funding allocated for Education in Emergencies, including the rehabilitation of education facilities and for summer activities.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Priority needs

• Rapid repair of affected WASH infrastructures so that water and sanitation services in the most vulnerable communities can be restored.
• Support critical WASH facilities, such as water desalination plants, wastewater treatment plants, sewer and water pumping station by providing operational and maintenance materials. 
• Provide IDPs and host families with hygiene items.

Responses already implemented

• In Gaza, partners are delivering 338,500 litres of emergency fuel chemicals and chlorine to support the operation of 113 main WASH facilities, benefitting over one million people.
• Partners are providing 10,200 households with trucked water, hygiene material and WASH items. 
• Partners are coordinating with the Ministry of Social Development (MOSD) and the Shelter Cluster to target 1,250 families in Gaza with the rapid rehabilitation of household WASH facilities. 

Key constraints/gaps

• Power cuts in Gaza are severely affecting WASH operational capacities.
• WASH service providers in Gaza report that their stocks of maintenance materials are running out, including materials that Cluster partners supplied prior to the escalation as emergency preparedness measures.

Funding

• WASH Cluster partners have secured $5.8 million, targeting 600,000 people.

Food Security

Priority needs

• In Gaza, ensure the entry of animal fodder and other agricultural inputs, so farmers can start the planting season.
• Expanding the fishing zone for fishermen from six up to 20 nautical miles. 
• Rehabilitate damaged agricultural facilities, including water wells, irrigation systems, greenhouses, and livestock farms.
• Conduct a needs assessment of agricultural damage and losses. 
• Provide food assistance to IDPs and new and existing food insecure.
• Conduct an inventory of the stored pesticides and fertilizers that were destroyed.
• Provide assistance to rebuild the productive capacities of small holders and small food factories (conditional cash for work activity).

Responses already implemented

• An initial assessment by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) of damage to agricultural wells, ponds, reservoirs, greenhouses, and livestock farms, amounting to US$ 204 million, is ongoing.
• Cluster partners continued providing cash assistance, in the form of food e-voucher and multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) to affected households. 
• Cluster partners have supported nearly 300,000 people in need in Gaza through emergency e-voucher assistance and in-kind food assistance.
• Cluster partners are providing the remaining 235 IDPs in emergency shelters with food items.

Key constraints/gaps

• Funding gaps are hindering the rehabilitation of damaged agricultural facilities. 
• Power shortages, coupled with damage to solar powered systems, are hindering farmers from irrigating their crops and breeders from providing water t livestock and poultry.
• The six nautical mile fishing restriction is limiting fisher livelihoods.

Funding

• FAO has secured $610,000 to provide urgent fodder to affected breeders. Another $1 million is earmarked for the same purpose through the Humanitarian Fund. 
• WFP received a contribution of $2.7 million from the United Arab Emirates.

Coordination and support services

Priority needs

• Deliveries of life-saving humanitarian items into Gaza including medicine and medical supplies, vaccines, food commodities, first aid kits and fire extinguishers.

Responses already implemented

• The Logistics Cluster continued following up on the Kerem Shalom Crossing and the number of trucks crossing for the private sector. Between 3 and 9 June, some 555 trucks entered Gaza Strip, containing medical supplies and materials for human and animal consumption.

Key constraints/gaps

• The restrictions on the border crossings remain a major challenge.

Funding

• No funding received so far.