Gaza Humanitarian Response Update | 17 - 30 August 2025

Response

• Between 17 and 30 August, partners continued daily convoys to uplift humanitarian food aid from the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings, bringing more than 6,900 metric tons (MT) of wheat flour, food parcels, and bulk food supplies into Gaza through the UN-coordinated aid mechanism. Nearly all of this aid was offloaded by hungry crowds or looted by organized groups along convoy routes,* preventing targeted household distributions and delivery to partner warehouses. 
• Approximately 60 MT of concentrated fodder entered Gaza for the first time in over five months and was distributed to 600 livestock holders in Deir al Balah, who received two 50-kg sacks of fodder each. More fodder is expected to enter in the coming days to support livestock-keeping households to protect the surviving animals, promote local production of fresh nutritious food, and contribute to water and solid waste transportation. 
• As of 30 August, 99 kitchens supported by 19 partners were preparing and distributing 468,000 meals daily across the Gaza Strip – 155,000 in the north and 313,000 in central and southern Gaza. Partners relied on the two per cent of food aid that safely reached warehouses, coupled with resources secured locally from markets. While representing an 80 per cent increase compared to the 260,000 daily meals prepared in early August, this remains far below the over one million meals produced in April with the humanitarian and commercial food stocks and cooking gas entered during the ceasefire. 
• Jointly with the Nutrition, WASH and Health clusters, FSS partners continue integrated Famine response efforts. These include: 
  • scaling up cooked meal provision, including for patients and health workers in medical facilities; enhancing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions in community kitchens, and expanding nutrition service referral mechanisms; 
  • promoting small-scale home gardening and community oven initiatives, and expanding cash and voucher assistance - depending on market conditions - to address severe cooking energy gaps and diversify households’ diets; and 
  • strengthening real-time monitoring and analysis systems.  
• In parallel, intense advocacy continues with the Israeli authorities to increase the volume of humanitarian and commercial goods approved for entry, with a focus on fresh produce and fortified food, nutrition, health, WASH supplies, and cooking gas.   

Challenges

• Since 20 July, when regular food cargo uplifts from Gaza’s crossings resumed, less than 40 per cent of the 2,000 MT of food supplies required daily to meet basic humanitarian food assistance needs could enter the Strip.  
• Daily, civilians continue to be killed and injured by military forces or due to violence erupting among desperate crowds while trying to access aid, including in the militarized zone near checkpoints waiting for aid convoys and at non-humanitarian militarized distribution sites. 
• Despite sustained advocacy, cooking gas has not entered Gaza for more than five months and is no longer available in markets; firewood has also become increasingly unaffordable. Many people are reduced to using waste and scrap wood as alternative cooking sources, exacerbating health and environmental risks.  

Response

• During the reporting period, UNICEF dispatched the following to implementing partners: 
  • over 2,270 cartons of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) sufficient to treat more than 3,000 children suffering from moderate or severe acute malnutrition for approximately six weeks; 
  • more than 1,440 packs of ready-to-use complementary food (RUCF) to support more than 1,400 infants and young children for a minimum of two weeks; 
  • 2,300 boxes of High-Energy Biscuits (HEBs) for 4,600 pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) for two weeks.  
• During the past week, UNICEF safely collected another 14 trucks of nutrition supplies, including 164,926 packs of complementary food, 3,087 cartons of therapeutic food, 4,452 boxes of Lipid-based Nutrient Supplements-Small Quantity (LNS-SQ), and 4,606 boxes of High-Energy Biscuits. The Lipid-based Nutrient Supplements will be distributed to over 150,000 children in northern Gaza over a two-week period to prevent a further deterioration of malnutrition rates. Ongoing population movement from north to south, however, poses a significant risk to planned distribution efforts. Ready-to-use complementary food will be distributed to partners across the Gaza Strip, aiming to support more than 50,000 children over a two-week period. 
• Nutrition Cluster partners continue to actively screen children for early detection and treatment of acute malnutrition. During the first two weeks of August, according to preliminary data, a total of 58,617 children were screened, of whom 5,894 were diagnosed with acute malnutrition, including 1,840 in the most severe form. Since January, a total of 42,306 children has been diagnosed with acute malnutrition, including 8,141 with severe forms. 
• In response to the rising number of severely malnourished children presenting with medical complications, Health and Nutrition cluster partners are working to expand the number of Stabilization Centres from five to eight, to ensure timely and adequate treatment. Between 22 and 30 August, the Ministry of Health reported 65 mortalities linked to malnutrition, including 12 children, 11 of whom were under age 5.    

Challenges

• WFP’s Blanket and Targeted Supplementary Feeding Programmes remain on hold due to the lack of Lipid-based Nutrient Supplements, leaving approximately 150,000 PBW and 290,000 children without essential nutrition support.   
• The ongoing intensified Israeli military operations in Gaza city risk to completely disrupt nutrition service delivery across the governorate. In North Gaza, all 12 nutrition sites have already closed.   

Response

• UNDP has donated 10 hemodialysis machines and beds to the recently rehabilitated Hind Al-Daghma Specialized Kidney Centre at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. With 35 machines currently operational, the patient-to-machine ratio has improved from 9:1, to approximately 7:1, reducing overcrowding and allowing more patients to be treated in line with international standards—three dialysis sessions per week, each lasting at least three hours.  
• Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has operationalized a Cardiac Catheterization Department at its Al Quds Hospital in Gaza city. With the catheterization centres at the Al Shifa and European Gaza hospitals damaged and non-operational, this facility restores access to cardiac interventions, including central and peripheral vessel catheterizations, enabling timely diagnosis and treatment of acute cardiac conditions.  
• UNICEF has distributed 16,000 packs of diapers to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), maternity wards and partners. Another 20,000 packs have been collected from the crossings and will soon be distributed. Caffeine citrate to treat respiratory illnesses in premature babies was also collected, and coordination is ongoing to dispatch it to health facilities.  
• In response to the critical lack of blood supplies, UNRWA launched a second-round blood donation campaign across five health facilities in Khan Younis.    
• WHO facilitated the medical evacuation of 82 critical patients, of whom 55 children, to the UAE, Jordan, and the UK, alongside their 154 companions.  
• UNFPA distributed to UNRWA and Ministry of Health clinics six types of inter-agency reproductive health (IARH) kits to support an estimated 2,500 PBW, newborns and women and girls of reproductive age, alongside contraceptive pills for approximately 9,000 women. UNFPA also continues monitoring daily deliveries across health facilities; during the last week, 845 deliveries were recorded, including 209 cesarean sections.  
• UNFPA, jointly with WHO, the Ministry of Health and the local NGO Juzoor conducted a three-day training on the Clinical Management of Rape, while the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) launched the first cycle of a family planning training in Gaza city, with two additional cycles planned. The training collectively reached 50 NGO and MoH personnel.   
• As of 30 August, 86 Health Cluster partners were active in Gaza, with 55 directly supporting 229 of the 236 still partially functioning health facilities across the Strip, including 18 hospitals, 10 field hospitals, 68 primary healthcare centres, and 117 medical points.    

Challenges

• UNRWA health facilities continue to serve around 132,000 patients with non-communicable diseases despite facing dire shortages of medical supplies. Insulin stocks will be exhausted within one to two weeks, leaving at least 16,000 diabetic patients without an essential part of their treatment.  
• Acute Watery Diarrhea remains the second most reported health condition, accounting for 37 per cent of total reported morbidity. Shortages and restrictions in the entry of chlorination supplies, including chlorine tablets, continue to undermine household-level water treatment and system-level disinfection (wells, trucking, desalination), directly compromising drinking water safety and contributing to the continuing surge in diarrheal infections.  
• Due to displacement orders in Jabalya, the local NGO Juzoor closed the last two medical points in North Gaza and is relocating to western parts of Gaza city. Presently, only one hospital, one ambulance center, and one medical point remain partially functional in the North Gaza governorate. 
• Despite continued advocacy for the protection of health facilities, attacks on healthcare continue. On 25 August, the Nasser Medical Complex’s main surgical and emergency response building was struck; 20 fatalities were reported, including journalists, civil defense, and health workers. Operating theatres and sterilization departments sustained damage which is currently under assessment. On 30 August, an airstrike also hit the out-patient compound of the Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, with two people reported injured. As of 6 August, WHO had recorded 772 health attacks in Gaza since October 2023, resulting in 929 fatalities and 1,000 injuries.   

Response

• As of 30 August, 38 WASH Cluster partners continued to truck approximately 15,303 cubic metres (m3) of drinking water per day to 1,615 water collection points across the Gaza Strip. This represents a 13 per cent increase in drinking water distribution compared to the previous two weeks. The trucking operation remains the most versatile means of water supply; it can rapidly adapt to population movements and changes in water production, but its continuity and expansion hinges on securing sufficient funding for fuel and the entry of critical spare parts and consumables for generators, treatment systems and vehicles.   
• During the reporting period, a desalination plant able to generate eight m³ of drinking water per day was installed and commenced operations in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis; two domestic water wells with a capacity of 13.5 m³/day were also rehabilitated in two separate neighborhoods of the same governorate.   
• WASH Cluster partners distributed household-level hygiene kits to 6,124 families (approximately 30,000 people) across 37 displacement sites in the North Gaza, Gaza, Deir al Balah and Khan Younis governorates, as well as specialized hygiene kits for 381 children and newborns. Partners also disseminated Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials to raise awareness of water, sanitation and hygiene issues across three municipalities of Khan Younis.  
• Between July and August, approximately 1,500 communal latrines were installed or rehabilitated in 28 sites across seven municipalities of the Gaza Strip; these include shelters, schools, and other locations hosting displaced households.   
• Limited solid waste management operations continued in the Gaza, Deir al Balah and Khan Younis governorates, with primary waste collection ongoing in 30 neighborhoods, and secondary collection taking place in eight municipalities. As access to official landfills remains restricted, partners are utilizing seven temporary dumping sites, four of which are in Deir al Balah, two in Gaza and one in Rafah.   
• In partnership with the United Arab Emirates, the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) completed the installation of a 6.7-kilometre main water trunkline connecting the UAE-funded seawater desalination plant on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing to southern Gaza. The system is currently under trial operation and is not yet delivering at full capacity. The plan is to distribute water to displaced households through 50 water tanks of five m3 each, positioned across IDP locations, to install three water trucking filling stations and to supply the water network in Khan Younis. 

Challenges

• Only one of the three Mekorot water lines supplying Gaza from Israel remains operational - the Al Muntar line in Gaza city. The Bani Saeed line in Deir al Balah has been out of service since it was damaged on 22 January, though repairs have been approved and are currently underway. The Bani Suhaila line in Khan Younis was damaged on 13 August, and repair work has yet to be approved. Seawater and brackish desalination plants, along with groundwater wells, remain operational, but restricted access to key facilities and lack of spare parts and consumables are reducing water production and distribution capacity.   
• The displacement order issued in Gaza city on 26 August undermined access to seven critical WASH facilities: three water wells, three wastewater pumping stations, and the Sheikh Radwan Pond, which served as Gaza city’s main rainwater-collection basin. The Pond has reached critical levels several times due to limited fuel for pumping and is now contaminated with untreated sewage. Without sustained access to the site and reliable operation of the pumping stations that empty it, even limited rainfall could trigger overflow, potentially flooding surrounding neighborhoods and significantly increasing the risk of waterborne disease outbreaks and groundwater contamination.   
• Due to lack of fuel, infrastructural damage and restricted access, all wastewater treatment plants in Gaza have been out of service since October 2023, forcing partners to divert sewage into stormwater basins and the sea. Over 130,000 metres of pipelines are damaged, most pumping stations are non-functional, and untreated sewage continues to flow into streets, shelters, and residential areas, posing significant public health risks.  
• Restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on the entry of reverse osmosis membranes and spare parts – including generators, pipes, fittings, and other essential components – continue to severely hinder WASH partners’ ability to repair and maintain critical WASH services. 

Response

• Mine Action – Mine Action partners participated in six inter-agency missions and conducted six explosive hazard assessments to support the safety of humanitarian operations and reduce explosive-ordnance (EO) related risks for communities. Partners also reached 38,123 people, including 2,813 children, through 1,428 Explosive Ordnance Risk Education & Conflict Preparedness and Protection (EORE-CPP) sessions in Gaza, Deir al Balah, and Khan Younis governorates. Since October 2023, a total of 119 EO-related incidents have been documented, resulting in 46 fatalities and 228 injuries.  
• Child Protection (CP) – In response to large scale population displacement from Gaza city due to the ongoing intensified Israeli military offensive, CP partners are establishing safe spaces in Mawasi for displaced children arriving from the north, distributing ID bracelets, and deploying trained volunteers to help prevent family separation and enable rapid reunification efforts. Two-way referral mechanisms with Health and Nutrition partners are active, ensuring children with malnutrition, distress, or neglect receive specialized follow-up. 
• CP actors continued to provide case management services for an average of 45-50 highly vulnerable children a day, including child survivors of violence and GBV, unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), and children with conflict-related injuries; delivered Psychological First Aid and structured psychosocial support to 6,500 children and caregivers, and reached around 200 caregivers daily with awareness sessions on child protection and caregiving in crisis.  
• In August alone, 73 children, of whom 34 girls, were reunified with their families and caregivers through partners’ efforts.  
• To further strengthen frontline response capacity, CP actors trained 132 Health Cluster partners on safe identification of children with protection concerns and referral pathways, 57 CP staff on Remote Case Management to improve service delivery in hard-to-reach areas, and 31 call center operators, of whom 28 females, on child safeguarding, child-sensitive communication, and safe referrals.  
• Gender-based violence (GBV) – In response to the military escalation in Gaza city, partners successfully relocated GBV survivors from a safe shelter in Gaza city to the south to prevent high-risk cases from being caught in the hostilities. They are working with the Shelter Cluster and other partners to request tents and secure food distributions for vulnerable protection cases. 
• Operating through 14 Women and Girls Safe Spaces (WGSSs) and mobile teams across Gaza, GBV partners provided: 
  • psychosocial support to 1,570 women and girls, including 23 persons with disabilities 
  • case management to 38 GBV survivors  
  • legal awareness, mediation, and counselling services to more than 1,075 people, of whom 905 women and girls, alongside individual legal consultations for 24 GBV survivors, and follow up to 11 custody cases. 
  • Psychological First Aid and mental health awareness sessions to 480 women and girls, and community awareness workshops for an additional 218 participants 
  • jointly with UNFPA, hygiene and dignity kits were also distributed to 189 women and girls to address the most urgent needs in overcrowded settings 
• The GBV Area of Responsibility (AoR) trained 22 frontline responders from 11 organizations on GBV Case Management in Deir al Balah, focusing on strategies to adapt service delivery amidst repeated displacement, limited services, and insecurity. This was the first face-to-face GBV case management training since October 2023 
• Legal Task Force (LTF) – In light of the intensified military operation in Gaza city and the potential forced displacement of its population, the LTF has been prioritizing contingency planning to sustain operations despite rapidly changing conditions: 
  • collaboration with document preparers and lawyers to provide provisional documentation and attestations, building on simplified procedures used during previous escalations; 
  • prioritizing urgent cases related to loss or destruction of civil/legal documents; 
  • adaptive service delivery combining remote modalities, flexible staffing, and partner coordination to ensure continuity of services both in Gaza city and in receiving locations should displacement occur. 

Challenges

• Connectivity disruptions, overcrowding, and lack of safe spaces in displacement sites. 
• Shortages of supplies, fuel, and funding limit case management and threaten the continuity of lifesaving child protection and GBV services. The restricted entry of essential items like tents limits safe accommodation for displaced women and girls. 
• High transport costs and lack of dedicated storage space in the south hinder relocation of services and supplies. 
• Staff are exhausted, themselves affected by displacement, and there is a shortage of trained case workers, trauma counsellors, and protection professionals. 

Response

• Only 208 tents have reached Gaza since 16 August when Israeli authorities lifted the ban on the entry of shelter items. These arrived on 30 August via Kerem Shalom. Shelter Cluster partners are ready to receive shelter items and NFIs, and have the capacity to distribute them as soon as materials flow in. Most partners have already identified existing sites and beneficiaries along the Strip.  
• To ensure an effective response amid massive needs, the Cluster: 
  • published a Targeting and Prioritization Guidance Note to support partners in identifying the most vulnerable households in existing displacement sites; 
  • activated a joint Information Management Cell with the Site Management Cluster to enhance coordination and fast-track the response;  
  • set up a Rapid Reporting Tool for partners to report immediately on any response activities or materials received; 
  • worked with the Protection Cluster to expand its internal referral system and ensure that cases in urgent need of shelter assistance are directly referred to the Shelter Cluster.  
• Over the past two weeks, Shelter partners distributed clothing vouchers to 1,450 targeted households in Gaza city, and 1,200 households in central and southern Gaza.  

Challenges

• More than 86,000 tents, over 1 million tarpaulins and sealing-off kits, and some 5 million non-food items are currently in the Shelter Cluster pipeline awaiting clearance and entry into Gaza. 

Response

• Between 17 and 30 August, partners distributed Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) to 6,800 households, prioritizing newly displaced families or those identified as being highly vulnerable through existing programme databases. Each household received 1,000 NIS (approximately US$295), delivered via payment codes or direct transfers to their digital wallets. Since the beginning of August, thanks to the entry of limited commercial supplies, digital payment acceptance partially increased across the supply chain. 

Challenges

• Persistent liquidity shortages, coupled with lack of transportation due to exorbitant fuel prices and movement restrictions, continued to hinder MPCA recipients’ access to the scant goods available within the Gaza Strip.   
• Market prices remain highly volatile and purchasing power is severely compromised, leaving most families unable to afford even basic necessities. While the price of flour decreased to between 7 and 14 NIS per kilogram, vegetables remain inaccessible to most. Diapers and tomatoes remain among the most expensive items, with prices recorded at 170 to 300 NIS per pack and 50 to 130 NIS per kilogram, respectively. Prices continue to fluctuate daily due to instability in market supply, largely driven by ongoing access constraints. Sustained, large-scale deliveries of humanitarian and commercial goods are urgently required to stabilize availability, pricing, and affordability of essential items.  Cash withdrawal fees remained elevated at 33 per cent. 

Response

• Following the Israeli-announced intensified military operations in northern Gaza, the Site Management Cluster conducted a rapid intention survey among already displaced communities in Gaza city to identify key risks and priority needs for different population groups, and has set up population flow monitoring points in strategic locations to collect real-time data on displacement movements and inform operational planning and contingency preparedness.  
• A total of six reception points have also been established, one of which is currently operational on Ar Rasheed Road, to provide immediate support to people on the move. Jointly with the WASH and Protection Cluster, water tanks and handwashing stations have been installed and a Protection Desk has been set up at these locations to assist separated and unaccompanied children at risk.  

Challenges

• Rodents and insects continue to spread in and around displacement sites due to the accumulation of rubble and high temperatures. Rodents, including rats, have contaminated food supplies belonging to displaced families, posing serious health and safety risks. 

Response

• As of 30 August, 295 out of 626 Temporary Learning Spaces (TLSs) were operational, of which 102 are in Khan Younis, 99 in Deir al Balah, 88 in the Gaza governorate, and six in North Gaza. The Education Cluster has now identified 37 locations for the establishment of new TLSs.  Of these, seven sites with the capacity to support 14,000 school-aged children have already been set up in Gaza city and are ready to begin students’ enrolment.
• An initial allocation of 6,000 litres of diesel has been secured for Education Cluster members, with the distribution split between north and south. While weekly allocations will depend on quantities received, the current provision will enable partners’ mobility, limited printing of teaching materials needed for the new academic year, and the transportation of any available supplies for the reopening of learning spaces.   

Challenges

• During the reporting period, at least two schools serving as shelters for internally displaced people were hit by airstrikes in Gaza city. These incidents further compound the widespread destruction of education infrastructure, undermining what remains of the education system and carrying grave implications for the humanitarian response.
• As of 26 August, according to the Ministry of Education, at least 739 education personnel and 17,085 students had been killed, while 3,091 education personnel and 25,213 students had been injured since October 2023.
• Ongoing restrictions on the entry of educational supplies, such as notebooks, pens, pencils and play items, are critically limiting children’s ability to learn.  
• While the Ministry of Education has progressed with plans to administer the Tawjihi (secondary school completion) exams, serious barriers remain. While to date, 25,000 out of 35,000 students from the academic year 2023/24 have registered, many lack the necessary devices, internet access, or electricity to take the exams online. Partners have secured some tablets to support candidates, but these remain blocked in the West Bank.

Response

• Between 17 and 28 August, the Logistics Cluster collected 8,675 pallets of aid into Gaza from the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem and Erez West (Zikim) crossings on behalf of four partners. 
• The Logistics Cluster’s Back-to-Back (B2B) transport facilitation service from Amman at no-cost to users, was extended until 30 September 2025.  
• During the reporting period, the Logistics Cluster facilitated access to three Government-to-Government (G2G) convoys from Jordan for a total of 13 trucks on behalf of one partner; of the 13, only 10 offloaded food items at Erez West (Zikim), following repeated rejections. In addition, one Back-to-Back (B2B) convoy was facilitated on behalf of one partner for a total of eight trucks carrying shelter items, which all offloaded at the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem platform. 

Challenges

• The worsening security conditions inside Gaza continue to heavily impact humanitarian logistics operations, with all Logistics Cluster convoys facing looting and security incidents. 
• Since the limited aid resumption 19 May, only ten organisations have been authorized by the Israeli authorities to manifest their trucks. This remains the fundamental impediment for partners to mobilize aid to Gaza.  
• In Egypt, the number of trucks returned daily remains high. No clear explanation is provided except for the congestion at the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing. The scanning capacity in Ashdod continues to be severely affected by the Israeli authorities’ requirement to physically inspect all aid cargo containers, with only very limited quantities of aid cleared daily.  
• The previous suspension of the B2B convoy from Jordan and subsequent restrictions on aid types on this modality by the Israeli authorities, has reduced the number of B2B convoys facilitated by the Logistics Cluster to only one during the month of August.   
• The West Bank route remains highly restricted. As of 28 August, three organisations had been able to send 59 trucks of food and health items to Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem. Organizations’ bilateral coordination with Israeli authorities is required. 

Response

• Secure Very High Frequency (VHF) radio communications between Deir Al Balah and Jerusalem, previously disrupted by technical delays and escalation of hostilities, have been re-established. ETC, UNDSS, and partners are refining the system and preparing user training to enhance the safety and security of humanitarians in Gaza.  
• The ETC’s US$1.2 million fuel support for the telecommunications sector in Gaza, which was initiated in July, was entirely depleted as of 29 August. ETC is working with partners to source the urgent funding needed for fuel to sustain critical telecom services. 

Challenges

• Continued hostilities have caused significant damage to telecommunications infrastructure in Gaza, resulting in severe disruption of connectivity services. Access impediments and restrictions on importing vital ICT equipment further impede recovery efforts, limiting the ETC's capacity to implement its planned services in support of humanitarian operations.  

Protection against sexual abuse and exploitation (PSEA) remains a cross-cutting priority for all clusters. Aid distribution must be delivered with dignity and respect. Any wrongdoing can be reported through SAWA’s toll-free number 164. SAWA will assist and provide services free of charge and with the utmost confidentiality.

To promote accountability to affected people, the online Humanitarian Service Directory provides information on aid services, helplines, and key messages, and is available via hyperlink and QR code.

* Asterisks indicate that a figure, sentence, or section has been rectified, added, or retracted after the initial publication of this update.