Destruction in Khan Younis, 10 April 2024. Photo by OCHA/Themba Linden

Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #152

12 Apr 2024

The OCHA oPt Flash Update is published three times a week, with an update on the West Bank included once a week. The next update will be issued on 15 April.

Key Highlights

Khan Younis has become marred by profound destruction to homes, schools, hospitals, roads and other infrastructure, a UN inter-agency assessment mission finds.
Many life-saving amputations might have been avoided if the health system in Gaza were still functional, reports Médecins Sans Frontières.
A UNICEF convoy came under fire while en route to northern Gaza to deliver life-saving aid, including therapeutic food for children at risk of malnutrition and preventable mortality.
Some 114 new closures have been erected throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 7 October, further disrupting freedom of movement, access to basic services, workplaces, and markets, as well as movement by aid workers, initial results of a new OCHA closure survey show.

Gaza Strip Updates

Israeli bombardment from the air, land, and sea continues to be reported across much of the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. On 11 April, the Israeli military announced that a ground operation had commenced in central Gaza.
Between the afternoon of 8 April and 10:30 on 12 April, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 427 Palestinians were killed, and 281 Palestinians were injured, including 89 killed and 120 injured in the past 24 hours. Between 7 October 2023 and 10:30 on 12 April 2024, at least 33,634 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 76,214 Palestinians were injured, according to MoH in Gaza.
The following are among the deadly incidents between 7 and 11 April:
- On 7 April, at about 17:50, six Palestinians were reportedly killed when a cleaning supplies store in An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in Deir Al Balah, was hit.
- On 8 April, at about 18:50, five Palestinians, including the mayor of Al Maghazi, were reportedly killed when the building of Al Maghazi Municipality, in Deir Al Balah, was hit.
- On 9 April, at about 22:40, five Palestinians, including children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house east of Jabaliya town, in North Gaza, was hit.
- On 9 April, at about 20:35, 14 Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house in An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in Deir al Balah, was hit.
- On 10 April, at about 16:00, six Palestinians, including three adults and three children, were reportedly killed and one child was injured, when a vehicle in Beach camp was hit.
- On 11 April, at about 7:00, at least three Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when an UNRWA school in An Nuseirat New Camp, in Deir al Balah, was hit.
- On 11 April, at about 11:10, six Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a group of people in Al Junina neighborhood, in Rafah, were hit.
- On 11 April, at about 15:00, at least six Palestinians were reportedly killed when Firas public market in Gaza city was hit.
Between the afternoons of 8 and 12 April, no Israeli soldiers were reported killed in Gaza. As of 12 April, 259 soldiers have been killed and 1,561 soldiers have been injured in Gaza since the beginning of the ground operation, according to the Israeli military. In addition, over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 33 children, have been killed in Israel, the vast majority on 7 October. As of 12 April, Israeli authorities estimate that 133 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld.
Khan Younis has become marred by profound destruction to homes, schools, hospitals, medical centres, roads and other civilian infrastructure, according to a UN inter-agency assessment mission to the area on 10 April that followed the withdrawal of Israeli troops. A UN warehouse and Nasser Hospital warehouse were among the buildings found to be significantly damaged, including substantial amounts of medications and trauma supplies that had been provided as humanitarian assistance. The hostilities have also rendered Nasser, Al Amal and Al Khair hospitals non-functional, with assessments necessary to evaluate if specialized medical devices, CT scanners, oxygen plants, generators and solar panels are able to function again, according to WHO staff who described the destruction as "disproportionate to anything one can imagine.” The UN team, comprised of representatives of OCHA, UNRWA, WHO, WFP, UNMAS and UNFPA, also reported that civilians who have returned to the area and those who stayed during the fighting are facing dire shortages of food, water and other critical supplies, collapsed services, and severe safety risks due to the presence of unexploded ordnance (UXOs), including 1,000-pound bombs found lying on main road intersections and inside schools. Among those at risk are thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who require a range of humanitarian support services, including health, water and sanitation, food, and specialized support for women and disabled people, reports the Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim, Jamie McGoldrick, during a visit on 9 April to an UNRWA school hosting tens of thousands of IDPs in Khan Younis.
Many life-saving amputations might have been avoided and limbs saved with reconstructive surgery if the health system were still functional in Gaza, reported Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on 8 April. Instead, due to the decimation of the health system, the extreme lack of resources and arbitrary constraints on the assistance allowed to enter Gaza, doctors have had to “choose between sedating a patient in order to intubate them and save their life, or treating a seizure as the same medication is needed,” affirms the MSF Deputy Programme Director for the Middle East. Beyond crush injuries to the abdomen and chest, amputations to legs and arms and severe burns caused by bombardments on buildings and tents, and civilians being buried under the rubble, the MSF teams in Gaza have been witnessing cases of children with gunshot wounds caused by quadcopter drones and sniper fire. In a video posted on social media on 11 April, UNICEF spokesperson, Tess Ingram, described her encounter with a nine-year old girl, Juri, who was severely injured when the house of her grandparents was hit and has been at the European Hospital for 16 days with large, open wounds that cannot be treated in Gaza, hoping to be urgently evacuated outside of Gaza. Ingram stressed that all of this “cannot be acceptable to the world.” In a statement issued on 8 April, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) also highlighted the impact of the conflict on health workers, whose deaths have reportedly exceeded the total number of healthcare workers killed in conflicts globally in 2021 and 2022 combined. After six months of relentless conflict, “there is no safe place left in Gaza – not for healthcare workers, not for children, not for civilians, not for aid workers,” stressed MAP. According to MoH in Gaza, 489 health workers have been killed since the onset of hostilities.
Delays, access restrictions, and shootings are among the constraints aid providers face in Gaza, UNICEF said on 10 April when one of its humanitarian convoys was hit by live ammunition while delivering life-saving aid to northern Gaza, including therapeutic food for children at risk of malnutrition and preventable mortality. Between 6 and 12 April, 41 per cent (7 out of 17) of aid missions to northern Gaza were facilitated by the Israeli authorities (including one partially), 41 per cent (7) were denied or impeded including due to nearby hostilities, and 17 per cent (3) were cancelled by aid partners mainly due to logistical constraints. Facilitated missions involved rapid assessments, support to dignified burials at Al Shifa Hospital, and delivery of essential food supplies. Denied missions include two planned for 12 April, one of which planned to deliver about 24,000 litres of fuel to operate back-up generators at Al Ahli Arab Hospital. Moreover, according to UNRWA, it continues to be disproportionately affected by access restrictions and was last able to deliver food to northern Gaza at the end of January. In southern Gaza, 91 per cent (31 out of 34) of aid mission requests to areas that require coordination were facilitated by the Israeli authorities (including one partially) and 9 per cent (3) were denied. On 11 April, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, underscored that the safety of aid workers and civilians in Gaza "remains paramount,” welcoming “all efforts to increase the amount and type of aid delivered for the people of Gaza, whether by air, sea or, most importantly, land.” Since 7 October, more than 20,000 truckloads of goods entered Gaza, constituting about a quarter of the truckloads that could have entered if the pre-crisis daily average of 500 truckloads had been maintained.

West Bank Updates | 2-8 April

Latest development: in the early hours of 12 April, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians in Al Far'a Refugee Camp and Tubas city.

Between the reporting period of 2 and 8 April, three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces, and one died of wounds sustained when he was shot by Israeli forces during a search-and-arrest operation in Qabatiya town, in Jenin governorate, on 30 March. One was killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli forces in Ya’abad village (Jenin governorate) on 4 April and another was a bystander who was killed while standing on the rooftop of a house during an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinians in Nur Shams Refugee Camp (Tulkarm governorate) on 5 April. In addition, on 8 April, a 17-year-old Palestinian girl was shot at Tayasir checkpoint, in Tubas governorate, and her body has been withheld by Israeli forces; according to the Israeli military, she attempted to carry out a stabbing attack. Since 7 October and as of 8 April, 432 Palestinians, including 109 children, have been killed by Israeli forces, nine by settlers and three by either Israeli forces or settlers, across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In addition, four Palestinians from the West Bank have been killed while perpetrating attacks in Israel.
On 4 April, as reported by the Israeli media, one Israeli man died of wounds sustained on 31 March in a stabbing attack by a Palestinian man in Gan Yavne near Ashdod in southern Israel. Since 7 October, nine Israelis have been killed and 83 injured in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Fatalities include five members of Israeli forces and four settlers, including eight killed by Palestinians and one where it remains disputed whether he was killed by a Palestinian or a member of Israeli forces during an alleged stabbing attack. In addition, eight Israelis were killed and 23 injured during Palestinian attacks in Israel, all by Palestinians except one who was mistakenly killed by a member of Israeli forces.
Some 35 Palestinians, including four children, were injured by Israeli forces during the reporting period, including 43 per cent (15) during a search-and-arrest operation on 6 April in Ad Duheisha Refugee Camp in Bethlehem governorate. Among the injured was a 21-year-old Palestinian who lost his left eye when he was beaten by an Israeli soldier who stopped him for an ID check at Al Muraba'a Checkpoint, one of the secondary southern entrances to Nablus city. Moreover, an Israeli female soldier and one Israeli settler were injured when a Palestinian opened fire at an Israeli settler bus travelling on Road 55 near An Nabi Elyas village in Qalqiliya governorate. Following the incident, the Israeli army carried out multiple search operations and imposed additional movement restrictions in Qalqiliya and Tulkarm governorates, which are in place until now. Since 7 October, some 4,800 Palestinians have been injured, including at least 743 children, the majority by Israeli forces, including around 1,590 injured by live ammunition and 28 by shrapnel from airstrikes or shoulder-fired missiles.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, 14 Palestinian prisoners, including some who hold Israeli citizenship, have died in Israeli prisons since 7 October. On 7 April, the Head of the UN Human Rights office in the occupied Palestinian territory, Ajith Sunghay, stated that since 7 October there has been a “further deterioration in the detainees’ conditions and the scale and intensity of ill treatment, as well as torture.”
During the reporting period, Israeli settlers perpetrated 11 attacks against Palestinians across the West Bank, leading to casualties and/or property damage. Two Palestinian shepherds were physically assaulted near As Safeer and Susiya communities in separate incidents on 2 April. On 4 April, Israeli settlers set fire to four Palestinian seasonal shelters in Ras 'Ein al 'Auja community and vandalized an agricultural room near Qusra village in Nablus. On 3 April, settlers stoned houses, smashing windows, in the H2 area of Hebron city. Moreover, not reported last week, settlers stole more than 50 sheep from a Palestinian shepherd in Barriyet Tuqu’ in Bethlehem on 1 April and demolished with bulldozers five Palestinian seasonal herding structures in Umm Daleen in Jericho on 28 March. Since 7 October 2023, OCHA has recorded 727 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in Palestinian casualties (72 incidents), damage to Palestinian-owned property (578 incidents), or both casualties and damage to property (77 incidents). The most affected governorates are Nablus (175 incidents), followed by Hebron (155) and Ramallah (145). Since 7 October 2023, at least 206 Palestinian households comprising 1,244 people, most of whom are herding families, including 603 children, have been displaced amid settler violence and access restrictions.
Between 2 and 8 April, four residential structures, two under construction, were demolished due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, resulting in the displacement of six people, including three children, in Jabal al Mukabbir in East Jerusalem and As Samu’ in Hebron. Since 7 October, some 280 Palestinians have been displaced on average every month due to demolitions (all types), compared to a monthly average of 128 Palestinians displaced in the first nine months of 2023.
Initial results of a new OCHA closure survey show that some 114 new closures have been erected throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023. These closures, which include checkpoints, earth mounds, roadblocks and road gates, have further disrupted Palestinians’ access to basic services, workplaces, and markets, as well as movement by aid workers to carry out assessments or deliver assistance. This brings to 759 the total number of movement obstacles in the West Bank. Intensified checks and more stringent access measures have also been reported since 7 October 2023, particularly at the entrances to Nablus and Tulkarm cities, and 29 permanent military checkpoints in H2 area of Hebron where non-registered civilians remain barred from accessing the area, except on Fridays during the month of Ramadan, and checkpoints only allow the movement of residents on foot between 7:00 and 19:00. Moreover, since 7 October, at least 81 Palestinians, including eight children, have been detained in or at checkpoints leading to H2 area and three Palestinian schools have remained closed, impacting at least 350 boys and girls.
Humanitarian organizations and local sources estimate that 12,000 Palestinians holding West Bank IDs crossed via checkpoints into East Jerusalem on the last Friday of Ramadan, which coincided with the ‘night of destiny’ (5 April), compared with about 98,000 last year. Measures announced by the Israeli authorities stipulated that access of Palestinians holding West Bank IDs to Friday prayers at Al Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem was limited to children under 10 years of age, women over 50, and men over 55, with a valid one-day permit and magnetic card. In 2023, men over 55, women of all ages and children under 12 were allowed entry without a permit on Fridays during Ramadan. According to the Islamic Waqf, some 120,000 worshippers performed Friday noon prayers at Al Aqsa Mosque on the last Friday of Ramadan and about 200,000 performed the night and Taraweeh prayers.

Funding

The Flash Appeal for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), which requests US$1.23 billion to meet the critical needs of 2.7 million people across the oPt (2.2 million in the Gaza Strip and 500,000 in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem), was extended through the end of March 2024. As of 7 April, Member States have disbursed nearly $1.27 billion for the updated Flash Appeal (103 per cent); this includes about $649 million out of $629 million (103 per cent) requested for October-December 2023 and about $623 million out of $600 million (104 per cent) requested for January-March 2024. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard. The Humanitarian Country Team plans to launch on 17 April an updated flash appeal to cover the period through the end of 2024, taking into account continued access constraints and security challenges.
The oPt Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) has a total of 118 ongoing projects, for a total of $72.5 million, addressing urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (85 per cent) and West Bank (15 per cent). In light of the updated Flash Appeal, the HF has additionally allocated $20 million to bolster selected ongoing HF-funded projects in Gaza to enhance the operational capacity of humanitarian partners as well as ensure the continuity and expansion of essential services amid escalating challenges. In the West Bank, the oPt HF has launched a repositioning funding allocation for $5 million for key partners to enhance system readiness and responsiveness to sudden-onset emergencies. Since 7 October, the oPt HF has mobilized $88 million from Member States and private donors, designated for programmes throughout Gaza. For a summary of the oPt HF activities and challenges in March 2024, please follow this link. Private donations are collected directly through the Humanitarian Fund.

For the Humanitarian Needs and Cluster Response Update for the period between 2 and 8 April, please visit: Humanitarian Needs and Cluster Response Update: 2– 8 April 2024. It is updated throughout the week to reflect new content.