Humanitarian Situation Report | 4 September 2026

Highlights

• Children continue to be killed by airstrikes and other attacks affecting populated areas in the Gaza Strip.
• Most of Gaza’s 2.1 million are approaching the rainy season in overcrowded displacement sites, at risk of flooding and disease, while efforts to help them prepare are constrained by funding shortfalls and access restrictions.
• A water well and desalination plant in Deir al Balah was damaged by a nearby strike, while a temporary suspension of desalination in Israel reduced water provision to 1 million people across the Strip.
• In the West Bank, settler violence continues at high levels, resulting in Palestinian casualties, damage to property and livelihood assets, and disruptions to access, including to water and other essential infrastructure.
• More than 2,500 Palestinians have been displaced so far in 2026 due to settler attacks and related access restrictions.
• Funding shortages continued to constrain humanitarian assistance amid worsening food insecurity, with WFP announcing a reduction in food assistance from 400,000 to 200,000 people in the West Bank.

Overview

Palestinians across the Occupied Palestinian Territory continue to face violence and restrictions with little to no protection. Displacement remains widespread and growing, with more families losing their properties and shelters each day, while humanitarian efforts continue to be constrained.

Gaza Strip

The reporting period for this section is 24-30 August unless otherwise specified.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remained critical as military activities continued to cause civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure. As the rainy season approaches, concerns are mounting over the vulnerability of displaced people in damaged and makeshift shelters, while the continued deterioration of essential infrastructure – including roads as well as water and sanitation systems – is expected to increase humanitarian needs. Severe access and security constraints as well as funding shortfalls continue to impede humanitarian efforts, particularly preparations for the imminent winter.

According to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, which operates under the de facto authorities, 31 Palestinians were reported killed, including those who died of wounds and had their bodies retrieved from under the rubble, and 86 people were injured between 26 August and 2 September. This brings the overall reported casualty toll since the announcement of a ceasefire agreement on 10 October 2025 to 1,334 fatalities and 4,429 injuries, according to MoH.

On 28 August, UNICEF stated that at least four children had been reported killed in the preceding five days and many others injured, including children sustaining life-changing injuries. On 2 September, UNICEF added that three children had reportedly been killed and at least five others injured in the preceding 24 hours with a total of seven children reportedly killed between 23 August and 2 September 2026.

Meanwhile, humanitarian facilities and services continue to be affected by ongoing strikes and general insecurity. On 24 August, a UNICEF-supported water well and desalination facility in Deir Al Balah was severely damaged by a nearby strike, disrupting access to safe drinking water for more than 4,000 people, including about 2,000 children. That day, airstrikes hit close to humanitarian facilities in Ash Shati’ Camp, Al Bureij and two locations in Deir Al Balah, shattering the windows at a guesthouse used by humanitarian partners. Also that day, a humanitarian warehouse in Deir al Balah was destroyed by a nearby strike, which damaged more than US$770,000 worth of UNICEF nutrition supplies intended to support more than 40,500 children, as well as 4,900 pregnant and breastfeeding women. On 27 August, an explosive munition detonated about 30 metres from a UN convoy returning with fuel from the Kerem Shalom crossing, as it crossed the “Yellow Line” in Rafah. The explosion caused a minor mechanical issue involving one of the vehicles in the convoy.

On 29 August, an Israeli drone strike reportedly hit a warehouse within the Al Aqsa Hospital compound in Deir al Balah, according to the hospital director, as reported by the media. Israeli authorities stated that the strike targeted a Hamas commander hiding in the compound.

Water and Sanitation

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conditions remain critical in Gaza amid severe infrastructure constraints. According to the latest Light Touch Monitoring Survey conducted by the WASH Cluster, 91 per cent of assessed households continued to experience moderate-to-high water insecurity in early August, up from 90 per cent in July and 84 per cent in the June round, with overcrowding at water collection points emerging as the most commonly reported barrier to accessing clean drinking and domestic water.

On 31 August, after the reporting period, a temporary halt to desalination in Israel reduced the water available to about 1 million people in Gaza who rely on the Israeli grid. As of 3 September, the problem persisted. Humanitarian partners have used alternative sources to partially compensate for the reduction.

On 24 August, an airstrike damaged a reverse osmosis unit at the J32 well in Deir al Balah, according to the WASH Cluster. After debris clearance, partners repaired the facility, which provides purified drinking water for an estimated 100,000 people.

At the same time, UNICEF and partners are working to restore operations at the Sheikh Ajleen wastewater treatment facility in Gaza city. The facility used to serve about 700,000 people but was damaged extensively in the conflict and is discharging sewage into the Sheikh Radwan Lagoon, originally designed for storm water management. The rehabilitation effort comes against a backdrop of a broader wastewater crisis, with all six wastewater treatment plants currently non-operational and 70 per cent of sewage pumping stations out of service. As a result, more than 150,000 cubic metres of untreated wastewater are discharged into the environment each day, increasing public health risks and the potential for further water contamination.

Preparations for the Winter

With the rainy season approaching, humanitarian actors are increasingly concerned about the heightened risk of flooding and further deterioration of living conditions across Gaza. Urgent preventive and mitigation measures are needed to protect vulnerable communities, critical infrastructure and essential services from the anticipated impact of seasonal rains.

Lessons from last winter underscore the urgent need for additional covered storage and handling space on the Israeli-controlled Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, where humanitarian supplies were damaged or spoiled after exposure to rain while awaiting collection. The requirement for additional covered storage space to protect perishable goods at Kerem Shalom has been raised as part of the 2026-27 Winterization Plan developed by the humanitarian community, and WFP as the Logistics Cluster Lead Agency has temporary warehouse structures available in Jordan that may be used to support this requirement, should permission to install them be granted. This issue has been raised with Israeli authorities, so far no way forward has been identified.

At the same time, preparations for the winter remain constrained by depleted humanitarian stocks of shelter materials and non-food items (NFIs), driven by continued access restrictions and funding shortfalls.

During the reporting period, Site Management Cluster partners conducted safety audits across approximately 230 displacement sites hosting at least 187,462 people (31,782 households). The assessments found inadequate lighting around pathways and WASH facilities, deteriorated shelters requiring urgent winterproofing, unsafe latrines and open pits, wastewater hazards, poor drainage in low-lying areas, and overcrowding. Other recurring issues included fire risks, pests and stray animals, limited safe spaces for women and girls, and exposure to security incidents in some locations.

While site-level improvement works like drainage clearance, pathway repairs, pit covering, lighting installation, and community clean-up activities are urgently needed, only limited interventions could thus far be implemented. Where resources, including funding, are available, Site Management partners are undertaking small-scale interventions, including community clean-up and waste removal, very limited manual rubble and debris clearance, minor repairs and basic site maintenance, as well as minor, locally implementable flood mitigation and drainage measures, with some activities implemented through cash-for-work initiatives. However, the shortage of toolkits and related materials, caused by funding shortages hampering the procurement of these supplies and restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities slowing the entry of the limited available stocks, represents a major impediment to the rapid scale-up of site-level works. As a result, many identified risks are expected to worsen ahead of the winter season.

Efforts are also constrained because most of Gaza’s land remains inaccessible, including areas that are less vulnerable to flooding and could be used to set up tents for temporary and preventive relocation of internally displaced personsat high risks.

Forinformationon delays in securing Israeli approval for the entry of winter-related shelter supplies, see below under “Incoming Supplies.”

Incoming Supplies

According to data collected by the Logistics Cluster, the UN and partners’ aid offloading rate, representing the proportion of truckloads successfully offloaded at Kerem Shalom against those authorized to be manifested each day, stood at 88 per cent, consistent with the previous reporting period. The Egyptian corridor continued to face the highest levels of truck returns and rejections, with an offloading rate of 72 per cent, in line with the previous reporting period. The Ashdod route remained the most utilized entry route for UN and partners’ humanitarian cargo, accounting for 55 per cent of all truckloads entering Gaza. Since the closure of the Zikim Crossing in northern Gaza on 24 May, Kerem Shalom continues to represent the only operational crossing point for cargo.

This is the line to fix: The entry of items that Israeli authorities label as having “dual use” continues to be extremely limited. These goods require a longer approval process that often leads to rejections. Of the approved items labelled as having “dual use,” the Israeli authorities are only allowing 15 truckloads to enter each week. They also limit the offloading of such items at the Kerem Shalom crossing to one day per week.

For example, timber products and tools have often been classified by the Israeli authorities as having “dual use.” On 26 August, the Israeli authorities rejected the entry via the Egypt corridor of 36,960 pieces of timber and 660 Emergency Shelter Kits (ESKs) comprising framing materials and basic construction tools, which had been approved in August. The same cargo was manifested a second time on 2 September, following coordination with the Israeli authorities, but was again rejected. Meanwhile, over 442,000 pieces of timber – representing 80 per cent of all timber available in the Shelter Cluster pipeline – and 15,800 ESKs submitted for entry via the Jordan corridor are pending Israeli customs clearance. These delays are restricting the availability of critical humanitarian supplies: materials needed for emergency shelter repairs and winterization activities.

The Shelter Cluster estimates that at least 400 truckloads would be required to bring into Gaza all urgent and critically needed humanitarian shelter items currently awaiting clearance in the Jordan corridor. These include 141,000 tarpaulins, 7,540 tents, 3,500 sealing-off kits, 2,923 ESKs, as well as over 442,000 pieces of timber, 19,500 toolkits and tens of thousands of pieces of plywood, ropes, tapes, fixing materials and plastic film. Given that most critical shelter inputs – including tents, tarpaulins, timber, ropes and tapes, tools, kitchen sets and solar systems – are classified as having “dual-use,” current restrictions continue to severely limit the scale-up of shelter assistance. At the present rate of entry, many of these materials are unlikely to reach Gaza in time to support an effective 2026-2027 winter response.

On the commercial front, data from the Gaza Chamber of Commerce, shared with the Cash Working Group, indicates that 865 commercial truckloads were collected into the Gaza Strip between 24 and 30 August by the private sector. The composition of cargo remains a concern. According to that data, of the 865 truckloads, shelter materials accounted for 99 truckloads, followed by hygiene items (41), stationery supplies (11), baby care items (3), medicines (3), and animal feed (1). The data further indicates that the remaining trucks were divided roughly equally between food and non-essential commodities, meaning that non-essential goods entering Gaza continue to compete with more critical humanitarian and recovery-related supplies. Overall, in August, a total of 3,627 commercial truckloads were collected into Gaza, exceeding the July total by 116 trucks, according to the Chamber of Commerce. Despite this light improvement, reported supply levels remain very highly insufficient to fully address the scale of needs across the Strip.

According to Cash Working Group market monitoring data, inflation remains high at 206 per cent above pre-October 2023 levels. During the reporting week, the price of several fresh food items, including apples, onions, bananas, cucumbers and tomatoes decreased, while the price of a 25-kg sack of flour rose by 29 per cent compared with the previous week.

The UN is only able to confirm the entry of supplies tracked by UN 2720. For breakdowns of those, see the online UN 2720 Mechanism Dashboard.

For a detailed account of the latest humanitarian operations in Gaza, see Annex 1 below.

West Bank

The reporting period for this section is 25 to 31 August unless otherwise specified.

Humanitarian needs across the West Bank continued to be driven by operations by Israeli forces, settler violence, demolitions and movement restrictions, disrupting population access to essential services and constraining UN and NGO’s operations, amid persistent funding shortages. Food insecurity also continued to worsen, as declining household incomes and high food and fuel prices further constrained families’ ability to meet basic needs.

Israeli authorities continued to maintain a presence at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Kalandia Training Centre (KTC) in occupied East Jerusalem, after forcibly entering it on 25 August. Israeli forces vacated the site after more than three days on 28 August but briefly returned to the compound on 30 and 31 August. Upon their departure, UNRWA raised concerns over the protection of its premises and assets after signs of looting were observed inside. The Jerusalem Municipality has indicated it intends to use the KTC premises for educational purposes with municipal workers and a few dozen Palestinian youths observed there in the first days of September. The KTC consists of tens of training workshops, classrooms, dormitories, and administrative buildings, and was preparing for the opening of a new academic year at the time of the forced entry. More than 340 Palestine refugee students from across the West Bank were expected to start their studies there this week.

Elsewhere, in Qusra village in Nablus governorate, three out of 18 Palestinian families remained subject to severe access and movement restrictions for more than 20 days, amid the continued presence of Israeli settlers and Israeli forces in the area following the establishment of a new settlement outpost in Area B near their homes around 9 August 2026. Meanwhile, humanitarian access negotiations enabled partners to reach families with very limited assistance in collaboration with the local municipality.

Meanwhile, funding shortages are increasingly constraining food assistance amid worsening food insecurity. On 1 September, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced that, due to funding shortfalls, it has reduced its food assistance in the West Bank from 400,000 to 200,000 people for the remainder of 2026. This compares with a 2026 Flash Appeal target of 450,000 people, while an estimated 900,000 people are food insecure across the West Bank. As WFP is the largest provider of food assistance within the Food Security Sector, the reduction is expected to significantly constrain overall response coverage and capacity in the coming months. WFP’s latest analysis found that 76 per cent of households experienced a significant decline in income, and one-third could not afford a nutritious diet, with rural areas and southern West Bank governorates particularly affected.

Child protection partners continued to provide mental health, psychosocial and community-based protection services. Since the beginning of 2026, partners have provided mental health and psychosocial support to more than 57,000 children, including over 2,200 children with disabilities, and nearly 25,700 caregivers. Partners have also supported 15 safe spaces and 44 community-based child protection structures, strengthening access to protection services and the identification and referral of children at risk.

Casualties and Settler Violence

On 28 August, an Israeli drone strike on Jenin city killed three Palestinian men who were present in a house under-construction. Israeli forces subsequently withheld the bodies. Local community sources reported that medical access was also obstructed.

Seventy Palestinians, including 13 children and nine women, four Israeli activists and two foreign journalists were injured between 25 and 31 August across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. More than two thirds (51) of Palestinian injuries occurred in the context of settler attacks, including 35 Palestinians injured by Israeli settlers. In southern Hebron governorate, 17 Palestinians, including at least seven children, were injured on 28 August in two settler attacks in Khallet Al Humus and Khirbet Ghwein al Fauqa. The attacks involved physical assault and pepper spray, including against a nine-month-old infant, and damage to water and electricity infrastructure at one of the affected homes. On 25 August, four Israeli activists were injured and three of their vehicles damaged when settlers attacked them and Palestinian residents in Abu Nujeim, east of Bethlehem, as they attempted to reopen a road reportedly blocked by settlers that provides access to the homes of three Palestinian families. Israeli forces were reportedly present during the incident but did not intervene. In another incident, on 29 August, two Palestinians and two international journalists were injured in Jalud village, south of Nablus, when settlers believed to be from a nearby settlement outpost physically assaulted a Palestinian family and the journalists while they were conducting a media interview. Since the beginning of 2026, 82 Palestinians, including 19 children, have been killed and about 1,900 injured by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank. Of these, 23 Palestinians were killed and over 1,100 injured in the context of settler attacks. The frequency of injuries directly caused by Israeli settlers has risen sharply, from an average of one Palestinian injured every three days in 2020, to two per day in 2025 and more than three per day so far in 2026.

During the reporting period, 39 attacks by Israeli settlers were reported that resulted in Palestinian casualties, property damage or both, including recurrent attacks on some of the same communities that affected Palestinians’ access to homes, agricultural land and key roads, and damaged or disrupted water and electricity infrastructure. In Al Mughayyir, Ramallah governorate, four settler attacks resulted in the injury of 11 Palestinians, including four shot by Israeli forces, and damage to or loss of water infrastructure, property and livelihood assets. Settlers reportedly from a nearby settlement outpost targeted the village’s main water supply point for the second time in August, disrupting water supply to the village’s 3,300 residents for at least three days. Settlers also destroyed four water tanks, took over two agricultural tents and their contents, stole 35 livestock and killed two sheep. Severe movement restrictions imposed by Israeli forces continued for at least three consecutive days, including prolonged closure of the village entrance and restrictions on ambulance access. According to the WASH cluster, settler attacks affecting water access were also reported since 24 August in Tall Al Khashabeh (Nablus), East Tayba Bedouins and Turmus’ayya (Ramallah), including the emptying of cisterns, damage to water connections and repeated attacks on supply lines, further exacerbating water insecurity in affected communities.

Demolitions and Displacement

During the reporting period, 18 Palestinian-owned structures were demolished across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem for lacking Israeli-issued building permits. The demolitions displaced four households comprising 19 people, including nine children, all in a single incident on 31 August where the Israeli Civil Administration, accompanied by Israeli forces, demolished two three-storey residential buildings in area C in Nablus city. Overall, the demolished structures included five residential structures, including two inhabited homes, and 13 livelihood-related, agricultural, and water and sanitation structures.

Across the West Bank, settler attacks and related access restrictions have intensified since January 2023, particularly in Bedouin and herding communities in Area C. Between January 2023 and 31 August 2026, 130 Palestinian communities experienced full or partial displacement. Of these, 48 communities have been fully displaced, including 12 so far in 2026. Overall, more than 6,400 Palestinians, including over 3,100 children, have been displaced in this context since January 2023. Of them, more than 2,500 people, including over 1,200 children, were displaced in 2026 alone. The cumulative impact of repeated displacement, recurrent settler attacks, damage to homes and infrastructure, and restrictions on access to land and essential services continues to increase humanitarian needs while undermining the resilience of affected communities.

More than 3,960 Palestinians have been displaced due to demolitions, evictions, settler attacks and related access restrictions in 2026, averaging more than 16 people per day – nearly double the daily average observed between 2023 and 2025. The increase has been driven primarily by a sharp rise in displacement following recurrent settler attacks and related access restrictions, which has exceeded the annual total recorded in each of the past three years and accounted for over 60 per cent of all displacement recorded so far this year. The figures point to a significant shift in displacement patterns, with settler attacks and related access restrictions emerging as the principal driver of displacement in 2026.

Amid these conditions, WASH Cluster partners continued to provide lifesaving and emergency assistance across the West Bank during August in response to operations by Israeli forces, settler violence, displacement and other acute vulnerabilities. Activities included emergency water trucking and desludging, the distribution of hygiene kits and water storage tanks, the installation of emergency latrines, rehabilitation of household cisterns, and operation and maintenance support to water service providers, alongside hygiene promotion and community engagement activities.

For key figures and additional breakdowns of casualties, displacement, and settler violence between January 2005 and July 2026, please refer to the OCHA West Bank July 2026 Snapshot. For key figures on the impact of settler attacks, please refer to the West Bank – The Impact of Settler Attacks, January 2023 – April 2026.

Funding

Sources: Financial Tracking System and oPt HFas of 28 August 2026.

Annexes

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