Gaza Humanitarian Response | Situation Report No. 66

06 Feb 2026

As of 18:00 on 5 February 2026, unless otherwise noted

This report, issued every Friday, outlines efforts and progress made by the UN and its partners to scale up the humanitarian response across the Gaza Strip under the ceasefire that entered into effect on 10 October 2025. The next report will be issued on 13 February. For all situation reports see here.

HIGHLIGHTS

Although the valve on the Gaza city Mekorot supply line from Israel was reopened on 2 February, Gaza city continues to face a severe shortage of drinking and domestic water.
Since the reopening of the Rafah crossing for the limited movement of people in early February, the UN and its partners supported the medical evacuation of 36 patients and their 62 companions through this route.
The UN and partners are also supporting those returning to Gaza via Rafah. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provided transportation to to 98 retournees from the Israeli checkpoint to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where OCHA and partners are operating a reception area area with protection specialists, psychologists, medical personnel and others provided critical services and guidance tailored to people’s individual needs.
In January, Food Security Sector partners reached approximately 1.6 million people with household‑level general food assistance, which provided them with full monthly rations, ensuring they received complete caloric coverage for the month. Additional families benefited from other food support modalities.
Four new temporary learning spaces and five more child-friendly spaces were established by education and child protection partners in North Gaza, Khan Younis and accessible areas of Rafah.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Between 30 January and 5 February, reports of airstrikes, shelling and gunfire continued across the Gaza Strip, with a reported increase in strikes and fatalities compared with previous weeks. Strikes reportedly resulted in civilian casualties – including children and one health worker – and damage to civilian objects. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza (MoH), 82 Palestinians were killed, and 162 others injured during the reporting period, bringing the total casualty toll reported by MoH since the ceasefire came into effect to 574 killed and 1,518 injured.

On 3 February, about 40 families were reportedly displaced from the vicinity of Al Mahatta and Sanafour, east of At Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza city. The families headed westwards, seeking refuge in schools in Gaza city. By the morning of 4 February, calm had reportedly resumed, with 10 families returning.

Efforts to address immediate weather-related and conflict-related needs through joint distributions continued during the reporting period. Between 29 January and 4 February, 455 displaced families sheltering in Gaza city, Deir al Balah and the Mawasi area of Khan Younis received multisectoral assistance packages, including tents, tarpaulins, bedding and blankets, hygiene kits, cereals, plastic sheeting, and clothing kits. Beneficiaries included 65 families displaced from At Tuffah neighbourhood, 22 families in Khan Younis affected by military escalation on 31 January, and one family in Gaza city affected by an accidental tent fire. The remaining 367 families were affected by flooding and heavy rains.

On 4 February, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported that a Palestine Red Crescent Society paramedic was killed while carrying out humanitarian duties during an attack in the Mawasi area. That day, OCHA reiterated that civilians and civilian infrastructure must always be protected. “They must never be targeted or used to shield military activities. Children and medical personnel are afforded additional protection under international humanitarian law.”

In early February, the Rafah Crossing re‑opened, allowing limited movement of people for the first time since March 2025. The reopening has allowed the World Health Organization and partners to support the medical evacuation of 36 patients and 62 companions through that route, in addition to the medical evacuation of other critical patients through Kerem Shalom. It also allowed the return to Gaza of another 98 Palestinians, who were then offered support by the UN and its partners, including through the installation of a reception area at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where returnees can meet protection officers, psychologists and medical staff, and receive water, basic nutrition items, and information on humanitarian services.

On 5 February, the UN Human Rights office (OHCHR) warned of a pattern reported by returnees of ill-treatment, abuse and humiliation by Israeli forces and armed Palestinians allegedly backed by the Israeli military. Consistent accounts indicate that some of those armed Palestinians handcuffed and blindfolded returnees, conducted searches, threatened and intimidated, and stole personal belongings and money. Upon arrival at the Israeli checkpoint, returnees described a pattern of violence, degrading interrogations, and invasive body searches, in some cases while blindfolded and handcuffed. OHCHR said that taken together, these accounts point to a pattern of conduct that violates Palestinians’ rights to personal security, dignity, and freedom from torture, ill-treatment, and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

The UN is following up on these reports, including by offering support to individuals and engaging with relevant stakeholders to ensure that any future movement is safe and dignified.

While the reopening of the Rafah Crossing represents an important milestone, movement remains highly restricted, requires multiple layers of security checks, and is limited exclusively to pedestrians, with the UN and its partners not allowed to channel any goods or humanitarian supplies through that route.

UNITED NATIONS-COORDINATED AID ENTRY^*

Between 30 January and 5 February, at least 12,452 pallets of aid administered by the UN and its partners were offloaded at Gaza’s crossings, based on data retrieved from the UN2720 Mechanism dashboard at 18:00 on 6 February. About 52 per cent of these pallets contained food supplies, with other key categories being shelter items (27 per cent), water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) assistance (7 per cent), nutrition supplies (5 per cent), education materials (2.5 per cent), and health items (1 per cent).

During the same reporting period, international monitors with the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) deployed at Gaza’s crossings verified the collection of at least 13,313 pallets of aid – 10,727 through Kerem Shalom Crossing and 2,586 through Zikim Crossing. These comprised inter alia over 7,895 pallets of food assistance, more than 3,585 pallets of shelter items including tents, blankets, tarpaulins and kitchenware, 656 pallets of nutrition supplies such as lipid-based nutritional supplements, 576 pallets of WASH items, 137 pallets of health supplies such as medicine and medical supplies, 371 pallets of solid fuel and wood pellets, and 93 pallets, additionally to an estimated 60 tonnes of animal feed.

Overall, between the announcement of the ceasefire on 10 October 2025 and 5 February 2026, at least 283,133 pallets of humanitarian cargo were offloaded, and 285,425 pallets were collected from the various crossings. Some 1,532 pallets, less than one per cent of all uplifted aid, were intercepted during transit within Gaza.

The above data does not include bilateral donations and the commercial sector.

Between 28 January and 4 February, UNOPS distributed 1,033,180 litres of diesel to partners – 721,917 litres in the south and 311,263 litres in the north – to support critical water and sanitation, health, logistics, rubble removal, shelter, site management, telecommunication, education, nutrition and protection operations. More than 806,430 litres of fuel were collected into the Gaza Strip during the same period.

Between 30 January and 5 February, the UN attempted to coordinate with the Israeli authorities 58 humanitarian missions inside Gaza. Of these, 23 (40 per cent) were facilitated, and 11 (19 per cent) – mostly to Rafah – were denied by the Israeli authorities due to reported security and operational reasons. Sixteen other missions (27 per cent) were approved but faced impediments; of these, 11 were eventually fully accomplished despite the impediments and five were only partially accomplished. Another eight missions (14 per cent) were cancelled by the organizers due to operational, logistical, or security reasons.

Since the closure of Nitzana to aid trucks sent by the UN and international NGOs from Egypt, humanitarian partners have faced high return rates through the Karem Shalom Crossing. Since 12 January, only 34 per cent of all trucks manifested through the United Nations-coordinated system were able to offload at Gaza’s crossings.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Food Security

In January, Food Security Sector (FSS) partners reached nearly 320,000 families (approximately 1.6 million people) with household-level general food assistance. The February distribution cycle is currently underway with 3,000 families – or about 15,000 people – reached on the first day with an adjusted ration size covering 75 per cent of the minimum caloric needs, down from 100 per cent in January, due to limited stock availability. Partners continue to provide in-kind and digital cash assistance.
The distribution of three 50‑kg bags of animal feed to approximately 2,050 herders and 200 working‑animal owners, which began on 27 January, was completed on 4 February.
Partners are working to scale up livelihood interventions, such as cash-for-work activities, to generate temporary income opportunities for crisis-affected people.
Stock losses due to spoilage and damage, resulting from exposure to rain while entering the Strip, have been increasing and are expected to continue throughout the winter in the absence of improved access conditions. This has added pressure on partners’ already limited warehouse capacity and has further challenged the constrained disposal mechanisms in the Strip. Food Security partners are working with the WASH Cluster and solid waste management actors to ensure that environmental standards and safety requirements are upheld during the disposal of damaged food, given past incidents in which communities scavenged spoiled products for consumption or resale. FSS partners are developing joint community messaging on the necessity for proper disposal.

Health

In January, health partners resumed operations at two health service points (HSPs), one in Gaza city and the other in Deir al Balah, and established four new HSPs across the Gaza Strip, including two primary health-care centres in Gaza city. Throughout the month, health partners provided an average of 164,400 consultations per week, 28 per cent in northern Gaza.
On 28 January, health partners concluded the second round of the catch‑up immunization campaign, which started on 18 January, for children under three years of age. A total of 15,678 children were reached, including 58 zero‑dose children (those who had not received any recommended immunization doses) and 2,878 defaulters (children who had started but were not up to date with their immunization schedule). A third round is set to start in February.
On 29 January, the cluster began a Polio outbreak response assessment, which is expected to conclude on 5 February. It independently evaluates whether vaccination efforts and surveillance systems have been sufficiently robust to interrupt transmission and provides evidence‑based recommendations for the steps towards potential outbreak closure.
Since 1 January 2026, 124 patients and 235 companions have been evacuated outside Gaza. This includes 61 patients and 127 companions evacuated between 28 January and 5 February, of whom 36 patients were evacuated through the Rafah crossing into Egypt and 25 through the Kerem Shalom crossing and taken to Jordan. More than 18,500 patients (including 4,000 children) in Gaza still require specialised medical care that is not available in the Strip, including people suffering from heavy trauma wounds, cancer and chronic diseases.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

The valve on the Gaza city Mekorot supply line from Israel was reopened on 2 February following repairs conducted with access facilitation by the Israeli authorities. However, out of the 14,000 cubic metres reportedly being supplied, only 6,000 cubic metres are arriving, reflecting a significant water loss; the missing 8,000 cubic metres would be sufficient to support over 500,000 people, based on the recommended minimum standard of 15 litres per person per day. The Palestinian Water Authority is planning to conduct a technical assessment as soon as access is granted. The scale of the current loss highlights how fragile water supply services in Gaza are. To compensate for the Mekorot line disruption, WASH agencies have increased both water production and trucked deliveries from groundwater wells and private sector desalination plants. Despite these efforts, however, Gaza city continues to face a severe shortage of drinking water and domestic (non‑potable) water.
The UAE drinking water pipeline from Egypt has been damaged in the overland section that runs through the Rafah governorate. Temporary repairs were completed last week using the last two available pipe clamps. Two additional leaks were fixed with plywood and bolts, a less robust solution. The production and supply of water in Gaza remains highly vulnerable to disruptions, with WASH partners continuing to advocate for the authorities to approve the entry of appropriate spare parts for both the Mekorot and Egypt lines.
The amount of solid waste generated in Gaza has risen in 2026 due to the increase in commodity flows, with collection capacity at approximately 86 per cent. Temporary dump sites located south of Wadi Gaza have only four- to six weeks of remaining storage capacity, with partners requesting to “decongest” to the Sufa landfill site located in the inaccessible Al Fukhari area of Khan Younis, to the east of the “Yellow Line.” In the north, the storage capacity has already been exhausted; a new temporary dump site is expected to start receiving solid waste by mid-February.
Since 22 January, WASH partners have distributed 112,000 water jerry cans, 717,000 bars of soap, 26,000 hygiene kits, 429 household latrines, and 250 anti-lice kits to vulnerable families.

Shelter

Between 28 January and 4 February, Shelter Cluster partners reached over 5,648 households with emergency shelter and non-food items (NFI) assistance through in-kind and voucher-based modalities. In-kind distributions included 4,889 tarpaulins, 12,249 bedding items, 617 bedding kits (pre-packaged sets), and 220 clothing kits.
According to the Gaza January Snapshot on Shelter and NFIs, in January, more than 85,850 households were reached with 7,919 tents, 40,343 tarpaulins, 163,487 bedding kits and items, 16,488 kitchen sets and vouchers, 4,994 clothing kits and vouchers, and 1,862 sealing-off kits, while the intersectoral joint response to storm-related incidents reached 5,549 households affected by heavy rainfalls.
The Arab and International Organization to Construct in Palestine (AIOCP) is implementing an integrated damage assessment across all areas of the Gaza Strip. The project aims to establish a precise and reliable digital database to support the planning of reconstruction programmes and to enable relevant authorities to direct assistance to the most affected families and areas. Out of 226,817 buildings identified across the Gaza Strip through high‑resolution aerial imagery, 2,452 buildings have been assessed so far, comprising 11,465 housing units. Of these, 5,050 (44 per cent) were classified as destroyed and 6,415 (56 per cent) as damaged, including 2,031 houses that are deemed uninhabitable. The assessment focused on areas prioritized due to the high prevalence of buildings that are damaged but not destroyed.

Site Management

As of 1 February, Site Management Cluster (SMC) partners recorded 1,004 active displacement sites across Gaza, of which only 399 or 40 per cent are reported to have a SMC partner presence, reflecting a high coverage gap that continues to present challenges for coordination and service delivery. Geographically, most sites remain concentrated in central and southern Gaza; of the 1,004, 46 per cent are in Khan Younis, 29 per cent in Deir al Balah, 16 per cent in the Gaza governorate, 7 per cent in North Gaza and only 2 per cent in Rafah. Makeshift sites account for 81 per cent of all registered sites, underscoring the predominance of spontaneous, sub-standard shelter types. The rest are divided between collective centres (15 per cent) and scattered sites (just above 1 per cent).
Between 19 December and 4 February, partners reported the establishment of 47 new sites: 31 in the Gaza governorate, nine in Khan Younis, five in Rafah and one each in Deir al Balah and North Gaza. Strengthening site monitoring systems, improving population data completeness, and expanding site coverage by SMC partners remain critical priorities for the cluster.
On 3 February, the SMC launched a site assessment sweep aimed at systematically verifying site status and improving the accuracy of population data across all reported locations. This initiative, which relies on more than 200 trained enumerators and is expected to conclude on 25 February, will strengthen the cluster’s capacity to monitor displacement dynamics and address most urgent needs.

Protection

General Protection
- Between 29 January and 4 February, partners reached more than 14,700 people across Gaza, including children, caregivers, women, people injured or living with disabilities, frontline workers, and communities in displacement sites and shelters, with protection‑related services. This includes 8,790 people reached with mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), psychological first aid, and individual counseling; 2,300 people supported with winterization items, assistive devices, food parcels or cash-based assistance, either directly or through referrals; 675 people reached with specialized case management and follow‑up; 2,260 people assisted through protection and explosive ordnance risk education awareness activities, and 700 persons with disabilities who received targeted psychosocial and rehabilitation services. In addition, 14 site‑level protection monitoring and safeguarding visits were conducted, during which 380 community members were interviewed to assess and inform response to protection needs. Across all governorates, protection service demand continues to outpace available capacity, especially for individual MHPSS, specialized psychosocial care, and sustained case management. Overcrowding in displacement sites, loss or damage of tents, and lack of private spaces, pose challenges to service delivery and confidentiality.
Child Protection
- Between 29 January and 4 February, child protection partners delivered child protection and MHPSS services to more than 6,900 children and caregivers through child‑friendly safe spaces, structured activities, psychosocial support, parenting sessions, awareness‑raising, case management, referrals, and winter assistance, with 3,816 vulnerable children in total receiving clothing. In Khan Younis, five new child‑friendly spaces were established in Al Karama, Al Amin, Al Mughni, Al Midan Al Filastini, and Al Burasi sites, providing structured recreational, psychosocial, and guidance activities for children and caregivers.
- Monitoring visits to childcare institutions and children’s homes also continued during the reporting period.
Gender-Based Violence
- Between 29 January and 4 February, partners addressing gender-based violence (GBV) assisted 5,333 women, girls, including those with disabilities across Gaza city, Deir al Balah, and Khan Younis through psychosocial support, case management, individual counseling, GBV prevention and awareness activities, hotline services, and the distribution of nearly 670 dignity and menstrual hygiene management kits and additional relief items, including blankets and mattresses. Niney-four members of organizations that do not specialize in GBV also participated in sessions about GBV in emergencies to strengthen their rapid response capacity, including training of field monitors on GBV-response guiding principles and safe referrals.
Mine Action
- Between 29 January and 4 February, mine action partners conducted 209 explosive hazard assessments in support of debris removal activities and provided ordnance-related expertise during three inter-agency missions to Rafah, Gaza city and the Zikim Crossing.
- Explosive ordnance risk education sessions continued, reaching more than 10,800 people across Gaza city, Deir al Balah, and Khan Younis between 1 and 5 February.
- During the same period, one incident where explosive ordnance detonated was recorded in Gaza city, injuring three people. Overall, 33 explosive ordnance incidents have been reported since October 2025, resulting in nine deaths and 65 injuries.

Education

A total of 2,500 students benefited from 240 school-in-a-carton kits that entered Gaza at the end of January. On 5 February, partners also distributed 56 recreation kits and a further 121 school-in-a-carton kits to four schools in western Gaza city, reaching an additional 4,845 students (50 per cent girls). Further staggered distributions are planned for next assuming the arrival of additional supplies. However, projected entries remain inconsistent due to the continued return of humanitarian aid trucks to Egypt (see above in the “humanitarian aid entry” section), delaying offloading.
Four new temporary learning spaces (TLSs) were established through the installation of 25 high performance tents with an area of 48 square metres each, targeting more than 5,500 students. Three of these TLSs were established in accessible areas of Rafah and in North Gaza, where education facilities remain extremely limited. Overall, 450 TLSs are operational. Seven additional sites have been identified for the establishment of new learning spaces. In addition, the cluster is expanding existing facilities and supporting community-led initiatives. The gradual arrival of supplies is expected to reinforce these efforts. One learning space has been provided with furniture produced from recycled wooden pallets, now serving 540 school-aged children. This intervention has substantially improved classroom conditions, but remains limited to one site, with hundreds more students in the surrounding area still requiring similar support.
Since the October 2025 ceasefire, 101 classrooms have benefited from light rehabilitation works, with efforts continuing in eight additional classrooms across 11 schools in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. About 140 classrooms are planned for renovation by the end of March. However, the continued use of many of these schools as shelters remains a significant constraint, slowing rehabilitation activities and limiting their overall scale.

Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA)

In January, Cash Working Group (CWG) partners reached 133,462 households – or almost 750,000 people - with multi‑purpose cash assistance (MPCA). This reflects a consistent capacity to scale up cash assistance, aligned with the new target of 100,000 households per month throughout 2026. As of 3 February, 2,318 households had been placed in the payment pipeline through internal systems for this month, with numbers expected to increase significantly by the end of the week.
Increased commercial truck entries into Gaza and measures to address severe liquidity shortages are needed. Commercial goods remain essential for sustaining the scale‑up of cash assistance over the longer term, while the shortage of hard currency is being addressed through efforts to expand digital payment systems, with the goal of ensuring that all vendors accept digital transfers.
An analysis of the Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB) and the prices of core commodities is ongoing to assess whether current transfer values remain appropriate across the Gaza Strip. At present, cash assistance is set at 1,250 NIS (approximately US$402) per household to cover the most urgent and basic needs.

* All figures solely refer to UN and partner assistance dispatched through the UN-coordinated system and are preliminary. Supplies entering through bilateral donations and the commercial sector are not reflected.