Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #25

KEY POINTS

• The 25th day of hostilities witnessed the largest Israeli ground operation to date, primarily in northern Gaza and the outskirts of Gaza city, alongside intense bombardments. Between 30 October (15:00) and 31 October (noon), 216 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza. The fatality toll reported by MoH in Gaza since the start of the hostilities is 8,525, of whom 67 per cent are children and women.
• On 31 October, 59 trucks carrying water, food and medicines entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt. This is the largest convoy since delivery of aid resumed on 21 October, bringing the total number of trucks that entered to 217. Entry of fuel, which is desperately needed to operate life-saving equipment, remains banned. Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, which prior to the hostilities was the main entry point for goods, remains closed.

• The UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated on 31 October that the “level of humanitarian assistance that has been allowed into Gaza up to this point is completely inadequate and not commensurate with the needs of people in Gaza, compounding the humanitarian tragedy.” Guterres also reiterated his “appeal for the immediate and unconditional release of those civilians held hostage by Hamas,” as well as “for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.”
• Assisting an estimated 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in shelters and hospitals in Gaza city and Northern Gaza is increasingly challenging, due to the hostilities and related inability of humanitarian actors to access them. Martin Griffiths, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, who visited Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, stated that “people are becoming increasingly desperate, as they search for food, water and shelter amid the relentless bombing campaign that is wiping out whole families and entire neighbourhoods.”
• The two passenger crossings with Egypt (Rafah) and Israel (Erez) have remained closed since 7 October, preventing civilians seeking a safe haven to flee the Gaza Strip. The closure has also prevented the transfer of patients and critically wounded people to hospitals outside Gaza.
• As of 30 October, more than 1.4 million people in Gaza were internally displaced, with over 689,000 sheltering in 150 UNRWA facilities. In recent days, tens of thousands of IDPs, who were previously staying with host families, have relocated into public shelters, seeking food and basic services, putting pressure on already overcrowded shelters. The average number of IDPs per UNRWA shelter is nearly four times their intended capacity.
• On 31 October, Israeli media reported that three Israeli soldiers were killed fighting in the north of Gaza. Meanwhile, 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.
• According to the Israeli authorities, 240 people are held captive in Gaza, including Israelis and foreign nationals. Media reports indicated that about 30 of the hostages are children. On 30 October, Israeli forces reportedly rescued one female Israeli soldier who was held captive in Gaza. On 20 and 23 October, Hamas released four civilian hostages. On 26 October, Hamas claimed that 50 of the hostages had been killed by Israeli airstrikes.
• In the West Bank, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians, including one child, between the 30 October (afternoon) and 31 October (noon). This brings the total number of Palestinian fatalities by Israeli forces or settlers since 7 October to 123, including 34 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 armoured forces massively expanded their ground operations within northern Gaza. Media reports indicate intense clashes in the southern and northwestern outskirts of Gaza city. Bombardment and airstrikes continued over the past 24 hours, and some 300 targets were reportedly attacked.

Despite Israel’s repeated calls on residents of Gaza city and northern Gaza to move to southern Gaza for safety, strikes in the Middle Gaza and two southern governorates continued. The strikes in the Middle Gaza have been particularly fierce over the last 48 hours.

On 31 October, at about 14:00, heavy airstrikes hit Jabalia Refugee Camp, reportedly destroying an entire quarter with 30 residential buildings. Initial reports indicated at least 50 people killed and many being trapped under the rubble. At around midnight ending 30 October, an airstrike reportedly hit the Abu Shamala family house, in Az Zawayda (Middle area), killing 18 Palestinians and injuring several others. In this incident, an entire family of three generations, mostly children and women, was reportedly killed. Shortly thereafter, another airstrike reportedly struck Abu Sariyah family house in Az Zaytoun neighbourhood of Gaza city, killing at least 15 Palestinians.

Since 7 October, 8,525 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 3,542 children and 2,187 women, and about 21,543 have been injured, according to the MoH in Gaza. Among the 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. Anecdotal evidence indicates that, due to the shortage of ambulances and the lack of fuel to run vehicles, the evacuation of injured people is increasingly relying on donkey carts.

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 six to nine 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. As of 31 October, 67 UNRWA staff have been killed during the hostilities; this is the highest number of UN aid workers to be killed in such a short period of time.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says that 31 journalists have been killed thus far since the start of the hostilities, including 26 Palestinians, four Israelis and one Lebanese.

According to Israeli sources, at least 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel, and at least 5,400 have been injured, the vast majority on 7 October. Since Israeli forces began its ground assault, three Israeli soldiers have reportedly been killed. Israeli media reported that, as of 31 October, the names of 1,138 of these fatalities have been released, including 826 civilians and police, and 315 soldiers. Of those whose ages have been provided, 31 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 689,000 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. The remaining 550,000-600,000 IDPs are residing with host families, with as many as 150,000 having relocated to shelters in the past few days, seeking food and basic services.

Provision of assistance to about 300,000 IDPs hosted in 100 shelters and public buildings in Gaza city and Northern Gaza is increasingly challenging, due to the intensity of 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. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Development has appealed to humanitarian agencies to provide food, water, including drinking water, as well as relief assistance to IDPs in those areas.

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 ten times its capacity.

Poor sanitation conditions and consumption of unsafe water among IDPs raise serious concerns about potential public health risks. Limited resources generate frustration and tensions among IDPs, exacerbating risk of abuse and gender-based violence.

Healthcare services are maintained in the 92 UNRWA shelters in the Middle and Southern

areas, with the support of mobile medical units and medical teams, serving 9,100 people on 30 October.

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 for people unable to move and other medical issues that cannot be treated in unsterilized conditions.

In recent days, UNRWA, in cooperation with the ‘Humanity and Inclusion’ NGO, provided 2,600 persons with disabilities, injured persons, children and the elderly with hygiene kits, assistive devices, eyeglasses, first aid kits and baby kits.

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

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 hit by airstrikes.

During the past 24 hours, there have been three attacks affecting health facilities, including one resulting in the destruction of a primary care clinic, alongside damage to two hospitals, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). One of the affected hospitals is the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, the main cancer treatment centre in Gaza city, which was hit for the second night in a row. The hospital was directly hit in an aerial bombardment, with damage to the third floor and smoke causing suffocation and panic among the staff and people sheltering there. On 30 October, WHO’s Director-General stated that “cancer patients are already fragile, and it’s imperative to do everything possible to ensure they’re receiving the care they need. It’s truly a matter of life or death.”

All 13 hospitals that are still operational in Gaza city and northern Gaza have received repeated Israeli evacuation orders. Thousands of patients and medical staff, as well as about 117,000 IDPs, are staying in these facilities, and for some it is impossible to move.

Since 7 October, 37 health care facilities (including 21 hospitals) and 28 ambulances have been damaged in attacks and 16 health care workers on duty have been killed and another 30 injured.

Since the start of the hostilities, over one-third of the hospitals in Gaza (12 of 35) and nearly two-thirds of all 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 30 October, they received some 4,300 patients’ visits.

Of the 59 trucks that entered Gaza through the Rafah Crossing today (31 October), at least 19 carried medical supplies. Overall, at least 75 out of the 217 trucks that have entered since 21 October, carried medical supplies.

On 31 October, UNICEF delivered content of three trucks that entered Gaza on 30 October to An Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. The trucks carried dozens of pallets of, primarily disposables and antibiotics. Another six trucks brought by UNICEF carrying similar items could not be delivered to hospitals due to the hostilities; they were supposed to reach Al Aqsa Hospital in the Middle Area and Shifa hospital in Gaza city. Since the hostilities began, UNICEF delivered 17 trucks to different hospitals, which in addition to medicines and consumables, also included blankets and special tents for triage centers.

The distribution plan for these supplies is based on the needs confirmed on the ground by technical officers, by PRCS, WHO, and UNICEF 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.

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)

As of 17:00 on 31 October, one out of the three water supply lines from Israel, servicing the Middle area, was restored for the first time since it was cut off on 8 October. While water provision resumed in Nuseirat, Bureij, Maghazi, and Zawaida areas, the volumes received have yet to be assessed. On the other hand, on 30 October, two main water wells in Nuseirat were struck and seriously damaged.

Additionally, the second supply line from Israel to western Khan Younis, which stopped on 30 October was not restored. This line previously supplied 600 cubic metres of drinking water per hour. The third pipeline from Israel to northern Gaza remains also closed since 8 October.

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.

Almost all water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) support is largely limited to southern Gaza, while access to water in Gaza city and northern Gaza is far more challenging. 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. Over the past two days, water trucking activities came to a halt due to the ongoing military operations.

On 31 October, three trucks out of the aid convoy were carrying about 3,700 hygiene kits and 22,000 bottles of water, which are set to be distributed among the IDP centres in the south of Gaza. Overall, out of the 217 trucks that have entered Gaza since 21 October, at least 18 carried drinking water (jerrycans and bottles), water tanks, water purification equipment, and hygiene kits.

Food security

On 30 October afternoon, Israeli airstrikes reportedly hit and damaged a bakery in Al Amal neighbourhood of Khan Yunis, injuring ten people. This brings to eleven the number of bakeries that were struck and destroyed since 7 October (six in Gaza city, two in Jabalia, two in the Middle Area and one in Khan Younis). As a result, people are struggling to obtain bread. Hours-long queues are reported in front of bakeries, where people are exposed to airstrikes.

As of 31 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 at half the cost. The shortage of fuel is the primary obstacle preventing these bakeries from meeting local demand.

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.

Forty of the trucks that entered Gaza through the Rafah Crossing on 31 October carried food items, including ready-to-eat food, such as canned tuna, canned meat, and other non-perishables. Overall, over 100 out of the trucks that have entered since 21 October, carried food.

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.

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 30 October and 21:00 on 31 October, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians, including one child and an elderly man. This brings the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers since 7 October to 123, including 34 children. Of these 115, including 33 children, were killed by Israeli forces; and eight, including one child, by Israeli settlers. One member of Israeli forces was killed by Palestinians.

On 30 October, Israeli forces shot and injured with live ammunition a 14-year-old child during confrontations over the course of a search-and-arrest operation near Zawata junction in Nablus city; the boy succumbed to his wounds the following day. On 31 October, a bystander elderly man was shot and killed during a search-and-arrest operation in Tubas city that involved exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinians.

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 2,157 Palestinians, including at least 201 children, with 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

On 30 October, a group of Israeli settlers broke into the Isfey al Tahta herding community in southern Hebron, and set fire to a donor-funded residential structure. This community is located within an area declared closed for Israeli military training (Firing Zone 918), where some 1,300 Palestinians are at high risk of a forcible transfer.

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 178 settler attacks against Palestinians, resulting in Palestinian casualties (26 incidents), damage to Palestinian property (121 incidents), or both casualties and damage to property (31 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 25 residential structures, 42 agricultural/animal-related structures, 74 vehicles and more than 670 trees and saplings.

Displacement

No new displacements were recorded over the past 24 hours.

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.

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.