Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #24

KEY POINTS

• On 30 October, significant Israeli ground operations within Gaza continued for the fourth consecutive day, alongside intense bombardments. A total of 304 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on 29 October, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza. This brings the cumulative fatality toll reported by MoH in Gaza since the start of hostilities to 8,309, of whom 70 per cent are said to be children and women.
• For the second consecutive day, the vicinities of two hospitals in Gaza city and northern Gaza have reportedly been bombarded, resulting in damage. All 13 hospitals that are still operational in these areas have received repeated Israeli evacuation orders in recent days. Thousands of patients and medical staff, as well as about 117,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), are staying in these facilities. Remarks delivered to the Security Council today on behalf of the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, stated “we are deeply concerned by allegations of military installations in the close vicinity of hospitals and the request by Israeli authorities for hospitals, including Al Quds and Shifa, to be evacuated – there is nowhere safe for these patients to go, and for those on life support and babies in incubators, moving would almost certainly be a death sentence.”

• On 30 October, a total of 26 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt. While the increase in the volume of aid entering Gaza during the past two days is welcome, current amounts are a fraction of what is needed to prevent further deterioration in the already-dire humanitarian situation, including civil unrest. As stated by Griffiths in his message to the Security Council, it is “urgent for us to replenish fuel supplies, which are vital for powering most essential services, including hospitals and water desalination plants, and to transport humanitarian relief inside Gaza.”
• Water supply from Israel to southern Gaza came to a halt on 30 October for unknown reasons, while the announced repair of another pipeline from Israel to the Middle Area, ahead of its reactivation, did not take place. This follows several days of gradual improvement of water supply in central and southern Gaza following the distribution of limited amounts of fuel available in Gaza to key water facilities, enabling their reactivation. At the time of writing, no water is provided to Gaza from Israel.
• As of 30 October, more than 1.4 million people in Gaza were internally displaced, with nearly 672,000 sheltering in 150 UNRWA facilities. The average number of IDPs per shelter is over three times their intended capacity.
• Palestinian armed groups’ indiscriminate rocket firing towards Israeli population continued over the past 24 hours, with no fatalities reported. Overall, about 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel, according to the Israeli authorities, the vast majority on 7 October.
• On 30 October, as part of their ground operations, Israeli forces released one female Israeli soldier who was held captive in Gaza. This followed Hamas’ release of four civilian hostages on 20 and 23 October. According to the Israeli authorities, 238 people are held captive in Gaza, including Israelis and foreign nationals. Media reports indicated that about 30 of the hostages are children. On 26 October, Hamas claimed that 50 of the hostages had been killed by Israeli airstrikes.
• In the West Bank, Israeli forces killed six Palestinians and an Israeli settler killed another Palestinian between the afternoon of 29 October and 21:00 on 30 October. This brings the total number of Palestinian fatalities by Israeli forces or settlers since 7 October to 121, including 33 children, alongside one Israeli soldier killed by Palestinians.
• Nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced from their homes in the West Bank since 7 October. This includes at least 98 Palestinian households, comprising over 800 people, driven out from 15 herding/Bedouin communities in Area C, amid intensified settler violence and access restrictions. Another 121 Palestinians were displaced following the demolition of their homes by the Israeli authorities on grounds of lack of Israeli-issued building permits or as a punitive measure.

Gaza Humanitarian Overview

Hostilities and Casualties

According to the Israeli military, infantry and armored forces expanded their ground operations within the Gaza Strip overnight. Media reports indicate that such operations have focused on the outskirts of Gaza city, and on the northeast area of the Strip, including clashes with Palestinian armed groups. Bombardment and airstrikes continued over the past 24 hours, and some 600 targets were reportedly attacked.

In one of the deadliest incidents, on 30 October afternoon, airstrikes struck a wedding hall in Nusseirat in the Middle area, killing 26 IDPs, as the structure was being used as an informal shelter. Earlier in the day, airstrikes reportedly struck a residential building in Az Zawayda, also in the Middle Gaza, killing 11 Palestinians. A house was hit in western Khan Yunis, reportedly killing 16 Palestinians and injuring more than twenty.

Since 7 October, 8,309 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 3,457 children* and at least 2,062 women, and about 21,048 have been injured, according to the MoH in Gaza. Among these fatalities, 995 have not been identified yet, including at least 248 children.

As of 29 October, about 1,950 people, including at least 1,050 children, have been reported missing and may be trapped or dead under the rubble, awaiting rescue or recovery. Rescue teams, primarily from the Palestinian Civil Defense, are struggling to carry out their missions, amid continuous airstrikes, severe shortage of fuel to run vehicles and equipment The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced that, due to the lack of fuel, it was forced to reduce the number of ambulances it operates.

The Palestinian Civil Defense has stated that the decomposition of bodies under collapsed buildings, amid the limited rescue missions, raises humanitarian and environmental concerns.

According to the MoH in Gaza, over two thirds of the fatalities have been reportedly killed in their homes. Relatedly, a total of 192 Palestinian families have lost ten or more of their members, 136 Palestinian families have lost 6 to 9 members, and 444 families have lost two to five of their members, the Ministry says.

Since 7 October, 19 IDPs sheltering in UNRWA premises have been killed and 310 have been injured. In total, 44 UNRWA installations have been damaged since 7 October.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has documented three new attacks on health care since noon on 29 October, with damage to two hospitals and destruction of an ambulance. One of the attacks on 30 October was against the PRCS Al Quds Hospital, in Tel Al Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza city, where damages due to nearby bombardment resulted in severe debris and dust entering the hospital with inhalation and suffocation among patients, staff, and IDPs.

Additionally, on 30 October, Israeli forces continued for the second consecutive day to target the vicinity of hospitals causing damage to An Nasser hospital, the Turkish Friendship Hospital (the only cancer hospital), and an UNRWA health centre. Additionally, the PRCS warehouses next to Al Quds Hospital were hit and damaged.

According to Israeli sources, at least 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel, and at least 5,431 have been injured, the vast majority on 7 October. Israeli media reported that, as of 25 October, the names of 1,135 of these fatalities have been released, including 823 civilians and police, and 312 soldiers. Of those whose ages have been provided, 30 are children.

Displacement

The cumulative number of IDPs since the start of hostilities in Gaza is estimated at over 1.4 million. This figure includes nearly 672,00 people staying in 150 UNRWA facilities, 121,750 sheltering in hospitals, churches, and other public buildings, and nearly 83,000 in 72 non-UNRWA schools. In addition, the Ministry of Social Development estimates that some 700,000 IDPs are residing with host families.

Provision of assistance to about 300,000 IDPs hosted in 100 shelter centres in Gaza city and Northern Gaza is increasingly challenging, due to the intensity of airstrikes and hostilities. At least 117,000 of these IDPs are taking refuge in 13 hospitals and other healthcare facilities. On 29 October, the MoH in Gaza committed to provide services to the latter IDPs, in coordination with the Ministry of Social Development, similar to the services provided in other public shelter centres.

The average number of IDPs per shelter in UNRWA facilities has reached almost four times their intended capacity. The Khan Younis Training Centre is currently the most crowded shelter, hosting 22,100 IDPs, more than 10 times its capacity.

Reports suggest that IDPs are relocating from one area to another based on the availability of means to survive, such as food and water, alongside security concerns. Consequently, the abovementioned figures continuously change.

Over 15 per cent of the IDPs are estimated to have disabilities, yet most shelters are not adequately equipped for their needs. Shelters lack the required medical mattresses and beds, causing ulcers and other medical issues that cannot be treated in unsterilized conditions.

In Israel, hundreds of thousands of people residing near the Gaza Strip, as well as along the border with Lebanon, have fled or been evacuated, with the Israeli authorities providing for the needs of these IDPs (this report focuses on the humanitarian situation in Gaza).

Basic services and livelihoods

Electricity

Since 11 October, Gaza has been under a full electricity blackout, following Israel’s halt of its electricity and fuel supply to Gaza, which in turn triggered the shutdown of Gaza’s sole power plant. This has forced essential service infrastructure to rely on backup generators, which are limited by the scarcity of fuel in the Strip. Goods entering Gaza since 21 October through the Rafah crossing have not included fuel.

Health care

Of the 26 trucks that entered Gaza through the Rafah Crossing on 30 October, at least eight carried medical supplies and two additional trucks carried medical supplies alongside other items. Overall, at least 52 out of the 143 trucks that have entered since 21 October, carried medical supplies. While limited in volume, these supplies play a crucial role in bolstering trauma response and sustaining essential healthcare services.

The distribution plan for these supplies is based on the needs confirmed on the ground by technical officers, by WHO, and by PRCS in Gaza. After delivery into Gaza and reception, the technical officers accompany the supplies to each hospital. Post-delivery monitoring is carried out regularly to assess consumption.

Hospitals are facing an unprecedented level of devastation, primarily driven by the overwhelming number of injuries, critical shortages of vital resources and concerns of being targeted by airstrikes.

Since the start of hostilities, over one-third of hospitals in Gaza (12 of 35) and nearly two-thirds of primary health care clinics (46 of 72) have shut down due to damage or lack of fuel, increasing the pressure on the remaining health facilities that are still operational. All 13 hospitals still operational in Gaza city and Northern Gaza have received evacuation orders.

Nine UNRWA health centres (out of 22) are still operational in the Middle and South areas. On 28 October (last available figure) they received 4,400 patients’ visits.

The ongoing hostilities have displaced most of the medical professionals in Gaza, forcing the hospitals to operate with less than one-third of their normal staffing levels, according to MoH in Gaza. The hospitals continue to suffer from a severe fuel shortage, leading to stringent rationing and limited use of generators for only the most essential functions. Moreover, maintaining and repairing backup generators, originally not intended for continuous operation, is growing increasingly challenging due to the scarcity of spare parts.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)

On 30 October, as of 14:00, water supply from Israel to western Khan Younis stopped for the first time since this line was reactivated on 15 October; the reasons remain unknown. This line previously supplied 600 cubic metres of drinking water per hour.

The resumption of water supply from Israel to the Middle Area, through the reactivation of a second pipeline to provide some 500 cubic metres of drinking water per hour, is yet to start. On 29 October, the Israeli authorities informed the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) of their intention to do that and authorized them to repair the damage sustained by the relevant pipeline; however, no repairs have taken place. A third pipeline from Israel to northern Gaza remains is also closed since 8 October.

On the other hand, in the Middle Area and southern Gaza, the operation of two seawater desalination plants at about 40 per cent of their capacity, alongside 120 water wells and 20 pumping stations, has continued. This has been enabled by the delivery of small amounts of fuel by UNRWA and UNICEF. As a result, households still connected to the water network have been receiving water for a few hours a day, while others have received water by trucks.

By contrast, access to water in Gaza city and northern Gaza is far more challenging than in the south. Neither the water desalination plant nor the Israeli pipeline supplying those areas is operational. While UNRWA and UNICEF have also provided limited amounts of fuel to a number of water wells, water is provided by trucks only. On 30 October, water trucking activities came to halt due to the ongoing military operations.

Overall, out of the 143 trucks that have entered Gaza since 21 October, at least 15 carried drinking water (jerrycans and bottles), water tanks, water purification equipment, and hygiene kits.

Food security

As of 30 October, only one of the bakeries contracted by the World Food Programme (WFP), and eight additional local bakeries (one in Rafah, four in Khan Younis, and three in the Middle area) are operational and supplying bread to shelters. UNRWA continued to cooperate with these local bakeries and supply them with flour, allowing them to offer bread to families at half the cost. However, the shortage of fuel is the primary obstacle preventing these bakeries from meeting local demand. Unless fuel is allocated to them, most bakeries will shut over the next few days.

Since 7 October, ten bakeries were struck and destroyed; six in Gaza city, two in northern Jabalia, and two in the Middle Area (Maghazi Camp and Nusseirat). As a result, people are struggling to obtain bread. Hours-long queues are reported in front of bakeries, where people are exposed to airstrikes.

WFP estimates that current stocks of essential food commodities in Gaza are sufficient for about seven more days. However, at the shop level, the available stock is expected to last for five days. Retailers are facing significant challenges when restocking from wholesalers due to widespread destruction and lack of security.

Whenever possible, UNRWA has been distributing hot meals to IDPs in shelters, mostly donations received from host communities. While limited, this assistance plays an important support role, given the limited access to the local market and the inability of many IDPs to prepare hot meals at their shelters.

Of the 26 trucks that entered Gaza through the Rafah Crossing on 30 October, at least 13 carried food, including ready-to-eat food, such as canned tuna, canned meat, and other non-perishables. Overall, at least 58 out of the 143 trucks that have entered since 21 October, carried food. All food items are being distributed in UNRWA shelters. With delivery, WFP began the distribution of corned beef and canned tuna at a DES in the Khan Younis Training Centre.

Movement and access

Twenty-six trucks with humanitarian supplies entered on 30 October through the Rafah crossing with Egypt after passing through Nitzana crossing between Israel and Egypt (about 40 kilometres south of Rafah) for security checks by the Israeli authorities. The trucks contained mattresses, food, medical and WASH items.

Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, which prior to the hostilities was the main entry point for goods, as well as the Erez passenger crossing connecting Gaza with Israel and the West Bank, have remained closed.

Access to the sea along Gaza’s shore has been prohibited by the Israeli military, and all fishing activity ceased when the hostilities began. Access to areas near Israel’s perimeter fence remains prohibited, and it has expanded from 300 to 1,000 metres from the border, barring entry to key agricultural areas.

Humanitarian operations

All humanitarian agencies and personnel have faced significant constraints in providing humanitarian assistance, due to ongoing hostilities, movement restrictions and shortages of electricity, fuel, water, medicines, and other essential items. Humanitarian partners cannot safely access people in need and warehouses where aid supplies are stored.

On 28 October, thousands of people entered several UNRWA and one WFP warehouses and took food supplies and hygiene kits. One of the warehouses, in Deir al Balah, is where UNRWA stores supplies from the humanitarian convoys coming from Egypt.

Despite these challenges, humanitarian actors are working around the clock to support the most vulnerable. The major operation entails the hosting of IDPs in UNRWA schools, where basic food, medicine and support is provided to retain dignity and a glimmer of hope. Other interventions include the distribution of food and cash assistance to IDPs and emergency fuel to WASH facilities, psychosocial support helplines, and a mass media campaign to raise awareness about the risks of unexploded ordnance (for further detail, see Humanitarian Needs and Responses).

West Bank Humanitarian Overview

Casualties

In the West Bank, between the afternoon of 29 October and 21:00 on 30 October, Israeli forces killed six Palestinians and an Israeli settler killed another one. This brings the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers since 7 October to 121, including 33 children. Of these 113, including 32 children, were killed by Israeli forces; and eight, including one child, by Israeli settlers. One member of Israeli forces was killed by Palestinians.

The deadliest incident, which resulted in four of these fatalities, occurred during a search-and-arrest operation in Jenin Refugee Camp on 30 October, which involved armed clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces. During the incident, Israeli forces launched an airstrike using a drone, which destroyed two homes and displaced two households. Extensive damage to infrastructure and public buildings was also reported.

One fatality was recorded on 30 October during confrontations that erupted during a protest in solidarity with Gaza near Zif junction (Hebron). In East Jerusalem, a Palestinian man reportedly stabbed and injured an Israeli police officer and was subsequently shot and killed.

Another Palestinian man died of wounds sustained after armed Israeli settlers opened fire at a vehicle near Ras Karkar in Ramallah on 24 October.

Out of the Palestinian fatalities since 7 October, almost 50 per cent were killed during confrontations that followed Israeli search-and-arrest operations; 35 per cent were in the context of demonstrations in solidarity with Gaza; and most of the remaining 10 per cent were killed while attacking or allegedly attacking Israeli forces or settlers, and in settler attacks against Palestinians.

Since 7 October, Israeli forces and settlers have injured 2,156 Palestinians, including at least 201 children, an additional 52 Palestinians have been injured by settlers, including nine with live ammunition. About 1,200 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli forces in the context of demonstrations. Some 27 per cent of the injuries have been caused by live ammunition. The number of Palestinian injuries from live ammunition is almost eight times higher than the average of such injuries between 1 January and 6 October 2023.

Settler-related Violence

The most severe incidents of settler violence during the past 24 hours were reported in southern Hebron. In one, Israeli settlers, reportedly from Havat Ma’on, broke into a home in Tuba, physically assaulted its residents, stole their mobile phones, and killed six sheep. Reportedly, the settlers threatened the family to leave the community, or they would be killed.

In another incident, a group of masked and armed settlers physically assaulted Palestinian farmers harvesting their olives near Qawawis (Hebron). The settlers threatened to kill the harvesters if they didn’t leave. Israeli forces who arrived injured three Palestinians farmers and detained them for several hours.

The already high level of Israeli settler violence recorded during the first nine months of 2023 has sharply increased since the escalation of hostilities. Since 7 October, OCHA has recorded 171 settler attacks against Palestinians, resulting in Palestinian casualties (26 incidents), damage to Palestinian property (115 incidents), or both casualties and damage to property (30 incidents). This reflects a daily average of seven incidents, compared with three since the beginning of the year.

Out of the 171 settler attacks, more than one-third involved threats with firearms, including shooting. Almost half of all incidents involved Israeli forces accompanying or actively supporting Israeli settlers while carrying out the attacks. Many of the latter incidents were followed by confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians, where three Palestinians were killed, and dozens injured. Affected properties included 24 residential structures, 42 agricultural/animal-related structures, 74 vehicles and more than 670 trees and saplings.

Displacement

Since 7 October, 76 Palestinians, including 35 children, have been displaced following demolitions in Area C and East Jerusalem, due to lack of permits, and another 23, including 13 children following punitive demolitions, targeting the family homes of perpetrators and alleged perpetrators of fatal attacks against Israelis.

In addition, there has been an increase in the displacement of Palestinians amid settler violence and access restrictions. Since 7 October, at least 98 households comprising 828 people, including 313 children, have been displaced in this context. The displaced households are from more than 15 herding/Bedouin communities.

On 28 October, 24 Palestinians households, comprising 141 people, half of them children, were displaced from Khirbet Zanuta herding community in Hebron, after a series of settler attacks including the injury of three Palestinians on 12 October, vandalizing solar panels and vehicles at night on 21 October, and vandalizing four residential structures, water tanks and solar panels on 26 October. Additionally, settlers pointed guns at residents, threatening to kill them if they didn’t leave. On 28 October, the families dismantled about 50 residential and animal structures and left the area along with their 5,000 livestock.

HUMANITARIAN NEEDS AND RESPONSES

Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA)

Priority Needs

• · Access to basic needs and services is severely halted by the lack of resources and the security situation. IDPs outside formal shelters have extremely limited access to assistance. Those are prioritized for Emergency MPCA.
• · Banks are temporarily closed, limiting access to cash. The capacities of financial service providers are severely limited and change by the hour (partners currently using PalPay).
• · Depletion of stocked items to be purchased is worsening.

Response to Date

• · Some 17,874 households (HH) started receiving Emergency MPCA (NIS754 or $187 per household) as of 26 October. Redemption rates were reported as up to 86 per cent.

Protection

Priority Needs

• An estimated 20,000 people in need of specialized mental health services, including mental health drugs, who are in precarious situations with the disruption to mental health services.
• Documentation of violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law.
• Opening roads, safe access to basic needs, medicines, mental health support, and ambulance services in the West Bank.

Response to Date

• Some 3,000 IDPs have received psychosocial support and social work intervention services from UNRWA social workers and counsellors since the crisis began.
• In the West Bank, UNRWA provided psychosocial support services to 155 Palestinian workers from Gaza, in Hebron, Ramallah, and Tulkarm, and to 240 students at Nur Shams Boys’ schools.
• One partner reached at least 4,000 IDPs in shelters in Gaza and provided psychological first aid (PFA) and needs assessment for non-food items (NFIs) and assistive devices.
• Partners provided about 700 psychological, social, and legal consultations for gender-based violence (GBV) incidents. Furthermore, 1,144 first psychiatric medical services were provided for GBV cases.
• UNICEF is leading the mapping of orphanages and shelters which host children with a view to support Unaccompanied and Separated Children (UASC) registration, to facilitate identification, reunification, and alternative care options at national level (both Gaza and WB).

Shelter

Priority Needs

• Urgent need to provide services and basic shelter and NFI to IDPs.
• Provision of NFIs and house maintenance for people displaced in urban centers and with host families.
• Provision of shelter cash assistance for IDPs (reintegration package and belongings loss compensation) for at least 25,000 families.

Response to Date

• Nearly 672,000 IDPs are hosted at 150 UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip.
• Distribution of 20,000 NFIs in Rafah and Khan Younis, including bedding sets and dignity kits.
• Distribution of 820 hygiene kits to displaced families.
• ICRC/PRCS distributed 15,500 NFIs for displaced families, mainly mattresses and blankets.

Health

Priority Needs

• Improve the nutritional status, particularly of about 283,000 children under five and pregnant or lactating women, in response to the concerning food security and water situation in Gaza.
• Ensuring the provision of Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies, including preventive nutrition interventions, cash voucher assistance, curative nutrition interventions, intact nutrition supplies pipeline, and a functional nutrition coordination mechanism.
• Addressing shortages of medical supplies impacting case management.
• Fuel supply for hospitals and ambulances.
• Urgent need to restock medical supplies given depletion of stocks in the local market.
• Need for short and long-term mental health and psychosocial support services for large numbers of psychologically traumatized people.
• Access to mobile clinics for 29 communities in Area C locations in Hebron, Jenin and Qalqiliya who have not had access since escalations began.

Response to Date

• UNRWA continues to provide primary healthcare services in the shelters, through 95 mobile medical units and medical teams.
• PMRS has eight mobile health teams also providing primary healthcare services to IDPs and expects to increase the number to twelve.
• Partners are continuing to mobilize resources in Cairo; with support from WHO, the Health Cluster has deployed a logistics team based in Cairo to assist partners with health coordination.

Food Security

Priority Needs

• Electricity, fuel, and water sources to maintain agriculture.
• Many shops have food supplies to last less than a week.
• Safe access to farms, livestock, fisheries, and other livelihoods.
• Urgent import of fodder.

Response to Date

• WFP reached some 550,000 people with emergency food and cash assistance since the crisis began, most of them IDPs in UNRWA DES. On 29 October, 16,663 displaced persons in UN shelters received fresh bread. As of 29 October, 32,852 people redeemed WFP’s cash-based transfer assistance in active shops.
• Oxfam covered 189 HHs in Gaza governorate.
• Dan Church Aid (DCA) covered 18,000 HHs sheltering in UNRWA DES in the Gaza governorate.
• Islamic Relief Palestine provided food assistance to 10,000 IDPS HHs in non-URWA shelter or with host families.
• Anera provides hot meals to a total of 120,000 people. Food Parcels, 80% to UNRWA DES shelters, 20% to hosting communities and other smaller scale shelters. 2,000 HHs in North Gaza and 12,000 HHs in Khan Yunis have already been covered. 10,000 HHs in Middle Area are still ongoing. Vegetable baskets to host families and small-scale shelters, for a total of 2,000 IDPs (UN shelter) in Khan Younis and 2,000 IDPs (UN shelter) in Middle Area. Planning food parcels distributed covering 1,000 IDPs in collective shelters and host families.

Education

Priority Needs

• Safe access to schools and communities.

Planned Responses

• Provision of school-based psychosocial support and recreational activities for at least 70,000 children and school staff as soon as the situation allows.
• Emergency rehabilitation for at least 20 damaged schools, following a cluster rapid needs assessment.
• Provision of emergency supplies and learning kits to 10,000 children in DES and 50,000 children in schools once they reopen.
• Provision of catch-up classes, especially to displaced children (at least 20,000 children).

WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)

Priority Needs

• Provision of clean drinking water.
• Provision of alternative power supply and 20,000 litres per day of emergency fuel to sustain the operation of WASH facilities, along with replenishing the chlorine supply for water treatment plants.
• Support to restore disrupted municipal services, including solid waste management, water, and sanitation operations, as appealed by the Gaza Strip municipalities.
• Delivery of essential WASH services and provisions to IDPs in collective centers, including drinking water and hygiene kits.

Response to Date

• Some 9,000 hygiene kits were distributed to families in the UNRWA IDP centres since 7 October.
• 1,950 cubic metres of drinking water have been trucked to IDP centres and host families since 7 October.
• 175 cubic metres of bottled water distributed among IDPs in UNRWA shelters since 7 October.
• Four water storage tanks, with a capacity of 10 cubic metres, and twenty others, with a capacity of 1.5 cubic metres each, to be used at community and IDP centres were received through Rafah crossing.
• 8,000 units of ten litres of water capacity were delivered through Rafah crossing
• 4,000 water purification tools for the hosted families in vulnerable communities and IDP centers were delivered through Rafah crossing.

Protection against sexual abuse and exploitation (PSEA) remains a cross-cutting priority for all clusters. The SAWA helpline, reachable at 121 and through WhatsApp at +972 59-4040121 (East Jerusalem at 1-800-500-121), operates 24/7. This toll-free number is widely disseminated across all areas of intervention to report cases of SEA and to facilitate emergency counseling and referrals for affected communities to access life-saving services. The PSEA Network monitors calls daily and will increase the number of counselors if necessary.

* This figure has been rectified following the publication of this update.