Critical Needs and Funding Requirements as of May 2023

Humanitarian organizations in the occupied Palestinian territory face an impossible situation.

In June, unless immediate funding is received, the World Food Program will suspend food aid to more than 200,000 Palestinians in Gaza; by August, it may have to stop food and cash assistance entirely.

UNRWA, the largest provider of assistance and employer in Gaza, will be unable to sustain programming and pay staff.

Response to the most critical needs is at stake.

In May, the humanitarian community undertook a rapid review of the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan to re-prioritize activities and identify the most time sensitive funding requirements. While humanitarian actors were able to effectively respond to the most recent escalation in Gaza, their ability to continue programming and to ensure their ability to respond to subsequent escalations is in question.

This document sets out the top priorities as identified in this latest review. Upon its release, donors and Member States were called upon to allocate the required resources to ensure the ability of humanitarian organizations to ‘stay and deliver.’

Funding, however, is not enough to reduce the needs over time. The humanitarian community looks to Members States to help ensure its ability to operate and access the people in need.

The depth and breadth of needs will only continue to increase in the absence of political engagement to address the root causes of this crisis. Violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by all duty bearers must stop; the closure regime and other movement restrictions lifted; the Palestinians must reconcile; and repeated escalations must end to arrive at a sustainable political solution.