Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory 2026

Introduction

The 2026 Flash Appeal seeks to mobilize US$4.06 billion to deliver urgent, life-saving support to 3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance across the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Under the current conditions, humanitarian partners will prioritize the most vulnerable, ensuring a coordinated and principled response to address critical needs in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

The magnitude and severity of death, destruction and extreme deprivation in the Gaza Strip have generated profound human suffering and humanitarian needs. In the West Bank, demolitions, operations by Israeli forces, settler violence, and movement restrictions continue to trigger displacement and drive a range of humanitarian needs. The erosion of community resilience mechanisms has further intensified needs across all sectors.

Delivery of an appropriately scaled humanitarian response depends on a conducive operating environment. While there have been improvements in the volume of supplies brought into Gaza and the ability of aid actors to expand the delivery of critical services since the ceasefire took effect on 10 October, humanitarian actors continue to face a range of bureaucratic impediments, access restrictions, and anti-UN rhetoric, which collectively constrain humanitarian space and the ability to operate. Genuine efforts to enable humanitarian assistance to and throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory will require full compliance by parties with international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians, and critical changes in the operating environment. This includes:

• Humanitarian actors must have safe and sustained access to all people in need across the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Particularly, the work of UNRWA and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), must be allowed to continue unimpeded, including by returning to the previous system of registration.
• All parties must facilitate, not obstruct, humanitarian operations and restoration of essential services.
• Reaffirmation of and support to the centrality of the UN-led coordination system in Gaza to ensure that all humanitarian efforts remain guided by international humanitarian law and established humanitarian principles.
• Appropriate quantities and types of humanitarian goods must be allowed to enter Gaza. This requires the sustained and predictable opening of additional crossings into Gaza for humanitarian goods and personnel, as well as commercial deliveries.
• Entry of critical humanitarian items must be allowed to enter.
• Funding must be timely and flexible to allow humanitarian actors to adapt programming to a highly dynamic context.
• Visas and permits for UN and INGO staff to support Gaza from Jerusalem, for staff to move within the West Bank, and facilitated entry to Gaza for staff and specialized personnel, including emergency medical teams (EMTs).