Humanitarian Situation Update #290 | Gaza Strip

The Humanitarian Situation Updates on the Gaza Strip and on the West Bank are both issued every Wednesday. The Gaza Humanitarian Response Update is issued every other Tuesday. The next Humanitarian Situation Updates will be published on 28 May.

Key Highlights

• The UN Human Rights Office warns that there is an escalating pattern of strikes on tents, residential buildings and crowded hospitals and a methodical destruction of entire neighbourhoods.
• Humanitarian organizations warn of acute levels of hunger, a sharp decline in dietary diversity, and a higher proportion of children diagnosed with acute malnutrition, while less than 300,000 daily meals are now prepared in community kitchens.
• About 29 per cent of Gaza’s population have been displaced again in the past month, including over 161,000 people displaced in one week, with no safe place to go.
• About 81 per cent of the Gaza Strip’s territory now falls within Israeli-militarized zones or has been placed under displacement orders.
• At night on 21 May, about 90 truckloads of goods were collected by humanitarian organizations from Kerem Shalom crossing for distribution inside Gaza.

Humanitarian Developments

• For 11 weeks, since 2 March 2025, Israeli authorities imposed a full blockade on Gaza, entailing a ban on the entry of any supplies, including food, medicine and fuel. On 18 May, the Israeli authorities allowed the UN to temporarily resume delivery of limited aid into Gaza. As of 21:00 on 21 May, Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) reported that 198 trucks had entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, carrying critical items such as nutrition supplies, medicines, and wheat flour. At night on 21 May, about 90 truckloads of goods were collected by humanitarian organizations for distribution. Significant challenges in loading and dispatching goods remain due to insecurity, the risk of looting, delays in coordination approvals and inappropriate routes being provided by Israeli forces that are not viable for the movement of cargo.
• The UN Relief Chief, Tom Fletcher, welcomed this development, but called the aid allowed in so far “a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed… [and] no substitute for unimpeded access to civilians in such dire need.” He emphasized that the UN has a clear, principled and practical plan to save lives and distribute aid at scale, which he presented on 16 May. The plan reaffirms the international humanitarian community’s modality for aid distribution, firmly rooted in the non-negotiable humanitarian principles, and renewed calls for the resumption of rapid, safe, and unimpeded aid delivery to civilians in Gaza. “As we demonstrated during the ceasefire this year – and every time we’ve been granted access – the United Nations and our humanitarian partners have the expertise, resolve and moral clarity to deliver aid at the scale necessary to save lives across Gaza,” he said.
• On 19 May, in a joint donor statement on humanitarian aid to Gaza, foreign ministers of 24 countries and the EU representatives called on the Government of Israel "to allow a full resumption of aid to Gaza immediately and enable the UN and humanitarian organizations to work independently and impartially to save lives, reduce suffering and maintain dignity.” They also reiterated their message "that Hamas must immediately release all remaining hostages and allow humanitarian assistance to be distributed with interference.”
• Since 18 March 2025, Israeli forces have escalated bombardment from the air, land and sea across the Gaza Strip and expanded ground operations, as part of the launch of a new military operation, dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots.” This has resulted in hundreds of casualties, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and large-scale displacement of people. With no safe place to go, many have been seeking refuge in makeshift shelters and overcrowded displacement sites. People are confined to ever-shrinking spaces, with 81 per cent of the Gaza Strip now within Israeli-militarized zones or placed under displacement orders since 18 March. Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups has been reported.
• On 19 May, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said that in the past 48 hours, strikes have intensified, especially in North Gaza, Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, killing at least 96 Palestinians during the night and early morning of 17-18 May alone. This included at least 36 Palestinians killed in Israeli military strikes on IDP tents in Al Mawasi area during the late night of 17 May. In four of these incidents parents and their children were killed together. According to the Office, “the pattern of strikes on Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) tents and residential buildings, as well as on crowded hospitals, indicates that little, if any, care is being taken to protect the lives of civilians in Gaza, while reports of the use of weapons with wide area effects suggest deliberate, indiscriminate attacks.” Since 1 May 2025, IDP tents were reportedly hit on at least 55 occasions, resulting in the killing of over 160 people, including over 30 children, and the injury of over 100 people, with an average of two incidents per day.
• On 16 May, UN Children's Fund’s (UNICEF) Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, stated that children in Gaza “are suffering first and foremost, having to starve day after day only to be victims of indiscriminate attacks,” warning that their “scars will endure a lifetime.” Describing the “unimaginable” ways in which children are suffering, he said that “from North to South, children are being killed and maimed in hospitals, in schools-turned-shelters, in makeshift tents, or in their parents’ arms, “they have suffered repeated displacement (...) in search of safety and shelter”, and are “being deprived of essential goods, services and lifesaving care.”
• According to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, between 15 and 21 May, as of noon, 716 Palestinians were killed and 2,104 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 21 May 2025, the MoH in Gaza reported that at least 53,655 Palestinians were killed and 121,950 Palestinians were injured. This includes 3,509 people killed and 9,909 injured since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March 2025, according to MoH.
• Since 15 May, seven journalists were reportedly killed across Gaza, bringing to 219 the total number of journalists and media workers killed since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS). On 15 May, two journalists were reportedly killed in separate incidents in Khan Younis; one was killed along with 12 members of his family when a residential building was hit, and the other was killed along with his brother when a group of people was hit. On 18 May, five journalists, including a female journalist, were reportedly killed in separate incidents. A journalist was killed along his wife and children when a building was hit in northern Gaza city. Two other journalists (a couple) were killed, along with their toddler and another female, when a residential building belonging to their family was hit in Deir al Balah. A fourth journalist was reportedly killed along with his wife and two sons when an IDP tent in Al Mawasi area was hit. Lastly, a journalist and his son were found killed in Al Qarara area, in northern Khan Younis, after they had gone missing for two days. PJS additionally reported that at least 430 journalists have been injured, 685 family members of journalists have been killed, and over 1,000 journalists across Gaza continue to suffer from repeated displacement amid severe conditions.
• Attacks on schools sheltering IDPs have intensified over the past week with four schools hit in two days. On 19 May, at least seven Palestinians, including a woman and a girl, were reportedly killed and at least 18 others, including children, were injured when a school was hit in eastern An Nuseirat, in Deir al Balah. On the same day, several injuries were reported when another school was hit in central Khan Younis. On 20 May, 13 Palestinians were reportedly killed including some who were burnt to death, and 10 others were injured when a school was hit in Ad Daraj, in eastern Gaza city. Additionally, at least four Palestinians were reportedly killed, and 30 others were injured when a school was hit in Beit Lahiya in North Gaza.
• Between 15 and 18 May, other incidents resulting in a large number of fatalities included the following:
  • On 15 May, at about 02:30, at least 12 Palestinians, including five females, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit near Hamad city, in northwestern Khan Younis.
  • On 15 May, at about 03:15, 10 Palestinians, including a married couple and their children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in eastern Khan Younis.
  • On 15 May, at about 06:00, at least 13 Palestinians, including at least seven females and a journalist, were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Bani Suheila, in eastern Khan Younis.
  • On 15 May, at about midnight, at least 13 Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit west of Beit Lahiya, in North Gaza.
  • On 16 May, at about 09:30, eight people, including two women and a boy were reportedly killed when IDP tents were hit in Izbat Abed Rabo, east of Beit Lahiya.
  • On 16 May, at about 07:45, at least 10 Palestinians were reportedly killed, and several others were injured, when several locations were hit by heavy artillery shelling in Beit Lahya, in North Gaza.
  • On 16 May, at about 04:00, at least seven male Palestinians were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Al Qarara area, in Khan Younis.
  • On 16 May, at about 07:15, at least five Palestinians, including three children, were reportedly killed and 75 others were injured when houses were hit in North Gaza.
  • On 16 May, at about 07:45, at least 10 Palestinians were reportedly killed, and several others were injured, when several locations were hit by heavy artillery shelling in Beit Lahiya, in North Gaza.
  • On 16 May, eight Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a group of people was hit in Bani Suheila, in eastern Khan Younis.
  • On 17 May, at about 15:00, nine Palestinians, including three children, two women and two men, were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Deir al Balah.
  • On 18 May, at about 01:45, nine Palestinians were reportedly killed when a multi-story residential building was hit north of Az Zawaida, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 18 May, at about 01:00, at least 10 Palestinians from the same family were reportedly killed when a building was hit in Jabalya Al Balad, in North Gaza.
  • On 18 May, an attack on an IDP tent near a hospital in Al Mawasi killed four Palestinians, a man and his three boys, according to OHCHR.
• Between 15 and 21 May, two Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 21 May 2025, according to Israeli forces and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,616 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October 2023 and its immediate aftermath. This includes 416 soldiers killed, in addition to 2,668 soldiers injured, in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation in October 2023. These include nine soldiers killed and 84 injured since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March 2025. As of 21 May, it is estimated that 58 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including hostages who have been declared dead and whose bodies are being withheld.
• On 15 May, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) announced that it had received information from the Israeli authorities indicating that three Palestinians from Gaza had died in Israeli custody: the first is a 56-year-old man who was detained on 7 October 2023 and died in Israeli custody on 12 October 2023; the second is a 24-year-old man who was detained during displacement from Khan Yunis in March 2024 and died in Israeli custody on 11 August 2024; and the third is a 46-year-old man who was detained from Gaza on 7 February 2024 and died in Israeli custody on 2 May 2025. According to PPS, this has increased the number of detainees from Gaza who died in Israeli custody to 44. As of May 2025, according to data provided by the Israel Prison Service (IPS) to Hamoked, an Israeli human rights NGO, there are 10,068 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip in Israeli custody, including 1,455 sentenced prisoners, 3,190 remand detainees, 3,577 administrative detainees held without trial, and 1,846 people held as “unlawful combatants.” These figures do not include Palestinians from Gaza who have been detained by the Israeli military since 7 October 2023.
• The latest UNOSAT satellite imagery-based analysis, conducted in early April 2025, showed that a total of 174,526 structures were damaged in the Gaza Strip, including 68 per cent destroyed or severely damaged. This has generated a total of 53,466,870 tonnes of debris. According to UNOSAT's damage assessment disposal, it will take 22 years to clear all debris using 105 trucks, with the total cost of clearance estimated at $US 1,022,451,068. In the scenario where 50 per cent of the debris is recycled, the cost is higher (US$ 1,241,048,309) but it would generate revenue estimated at $ 401,001,525.

Shrinking Humanitarian Space

• In vast areas across the Gaza Strip, humanitarian teams are required to coordinate their movements with the Israeli authorities. Between 14 and 20 May, out of 58 attempts to coordinate planned aid movements across the Gaza Strip, nearly 60 per cent (36) were denied outright by the Israeli authorities, 10 were initially accepted but faced impediments, including blocks or delays on the ground potentially resulting in missions being aborted or partially accomplished, seven were fully facilitated, and five were withdrawn by the organizers for logistical, operational, or security reasons. These include 11 attempts for coordinated aid movements in or to northern Gaza, of which five were facilitated and six were denied. In southern Gaza, out of the 47 attempts for coordinated aid movements, two were facilitated, 30 were denied, 10 faced impediments and five withdrawn.
• As of 20 May, 81 per cent of the Gaza Strip’s territory is within Israeli-militarized zones or have been placed under displacement orders. Since 18 March, the Israeli military issued 29 displacement orders, placing about 197.7 square kilometres under displacement orders. Hospitals in areas placed under displacement orders reportedly did not need to evacuate but were not permitted to admit new patients. As of 21 May, about 599,100 people (29 per cent of the population) are estimated to have been displaced again since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March, according to the Site Management Cluster (SMC); this includes about 161,000 people displaced between 15 and 21 May, with many fleeing without any belongings. The following seven displacement orders were issued between 14 and 20 May:
  • On 14 May, the Israeli military issued two displacement orders for areas in North Gaza, covering 4.6 square kilometres in six neighbourhoods. The affected area includes 30 IDP sites, six Temporary Learning Spaces (TLS) serving approximately 700 students supported by 18 teachers, and eight Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities and assets. In addition, two hospitals and one primary healthcare centre (PHC) are located within the displacement zone while one hospital and three PHCs are situated within 1,000 meters of the affected area. All humanitarian staff were also informed to evacuate humanitarian sites and take their supplies.
  • On 15 May, the Israeli military issued a displacement order for Deir al Balah and Khan Younis governorates, covering approximately 22.5 square kilometres in 10 neighbourhoods. The affected area includes six displacement sites, one of which was affected by a previous displacement order and five sites have an estimated population of over 1,200 people. The area also includes 19 WASH facilities and two medical points. One PHC and five medical points are located within 1,000 metres of the affected area. Humanitarian staff were informed to evacuate all sites, including notified ones, and take all supplies.
  • On 16 May, Israeli forces reportedly dropped leaflets over Beit Lahiya, ordering people to evacuate shelters, tents and buildings. On 17 May, leaflets were dropped over Al Birkeh area of Deir al Balah, ordering people to leave.
  • On 18 May, the Israeli military issued a displacement order for Deir al Balah and Khan Younis governorates, covering approximately 6.7 square kilometres in six neighbourhoods. The affected area includes five WASH facilities and 17 displacement sites, three of which were affected by previous displacement orders and 14 sites have an estimated population of over 4,000 people.
  • On 19 May, the Israeli military issued a displacement order for parts of Khan Younis governorate, covering approximately 82 square kilometres (22 per cent of the Gaza Strip) in 42 neighbourhoods. The affected area includes 46 displacement sites, 32 WASH assets, nine medical points, eight PHCs, and 59 TLSs that served 30,000 school-aged children. Three hospitals, one field hospital, five PHCs and 17 medical points are situated within 1,000 metres of the affected area. The displacement sites include 22 site that were affected by previous displacement orders and 24 sites that have an estimated population of over 2,700 people.
  • On 20 May, the Israeli military issued a displacement order for parts of North Gaza governorate, covering approximately 35 square kilometres in 26 neighbourhoods. The affected area includes 113 displacement sites, 64 of which were affected by a previous displacement order and 49 sites have an estimated population of over 18,500 people. The affected area includes three hospitals, three PHCs, four medical points, four water wells and one wastewater pumping station.
• Amid escalating strikes, repeated displacement, and shrinking humanitarian space, the Protection Cluster reports that there is an unprecedented disruption to protection activities across the Gaza Strip. As of 20 May, at least 47,000 people have been affected by the suspension of lifesaving protection services, such as case management and counselling, across multiple governorates, primarily in Gaza city, Khan Younis, Deir al Balah, and North Gaza. Over 52 staff from the Protection Cluster’s partner organizations have been displaced, resulting in an increased reliance on remote service delivery and other operational adjustments. This is having a severe impact on people in need, particularly, women, children, persons with disabilities and the elderly, who are now left with little to no access to critical support services. For instance, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned that the only safe house for women in Gaza is now inaccessible. As of 20 May, the women and girls’ safe spaces that remain operational are only functioning at partial capacity, prioritizing emergency cases and shifting to remote services due to fuel shortages and movement restrictions. Yet, UNFPA underscores that the need for these services is growing, including due to a rise gender-based violence (GBV): "The threats to women and girls in Gaza extend far beyond the immediate horrors of bombs, bullets and starvation. As repeated displacement forces families into overcrowded living conditions, without privacy or sanitation, the risks of gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and abuse are escalating alarmingly, further stripping them of their dignity and jeopardizing their survival.”

Food Security and Nutrition

• As of 20 May, about 304,000 daily meals were prepared and delivered by 16 Food Security Sector (FSS) partners through about 70 kitchens across the Gaza Strip. The daily meal production slightly increased compared to early May as some kitchens resumed their operation after mobilizing additional local resources to meet the dire needs. However, FSS emphasizes that one cooked meal per day is far from sufficient to meet a person’s daily minimum caloric intake and dietary diversity needs. Recent testimonies shared by the World Food Programme (WFP) highlight the acute levels of hunger in Gaza: “Parents put their children to bed early so they don’t have to try to find dinner. With the continued closure of the borders, we often hear from Palestinians here that it feels like a slow death sentence. Famine doesn’t happen overnight. You slowly lose access to food. Then you lose weight. Then you lose your strength. And what haunts us most as humanitarian workers is hearing people say they’d rather die from an airstrike than go through the suffering of a lack of food and lie to their children about their next meal.” The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis concluded that the entire population is acutely food insecure, malnutrition is surging, and nearly half a million people are projected to face catastrophic levels of hunger (IPC 5) between May and September 2025.
• Already in April, one month following the re-escalation of hostilities and seven weeks after the total closure of crossings, the findings of a household vulnerability assessment (HOVA) covering 824 households revealed a severe and rapid deterioration in living conditions across Gaza, such as food scarcity, unreliable access to water, and lack of income for the vast majority of households. The report also highlighted a deterioration in life-preserving resources across all governorates, such as diverse food sources and safe drinking water, which disproportionately affected people with chronic health needs.
• According to WFP's recent market monitoring data and food security analysis for Palestine, consumption of key food groups and dietary diversity in Gaza has continued to sharply deteriorate since March, following the 11-week closure of all crossings. There are significant shortages of key commodities in markets, with some items such as eggs and frozen meat completely depleted. Food items that remain available are sold at skyrocketing prices, such as the price of wheat flour that soared to 1,500 NIS ($420) per kilogramme, rising by over 3,000 per cent compared with 47.5 NIS ($13) prior to October 2023 and exceeding 4,000 per cent compared with the ceasefire period. This has resulted in dangerously imbalanced and nutritionally inadequate diets, with most people unable to access even the most basic food groups. Dairy consumption had nearly vanished, dropping from an already low average of one day per week in April to close to zero—compared with four days before the escalation of hostilities in October 2023. Vegetable intake also declined, falling from one day per week in April to just half a day, a dramatic drop from the pre-crisis average of six days. Describing the extreme shortages of food items, WFP staff in the field reported: “In the market, you could only find spoiled, infested flour with the worst smell imaginable. But when that’s all there is, you use it.” The price of cooking gas, now rarely found on the market, has likewise increased by at least 5,000 per cent compared with pre-crisis levels, and is now sold for NIS350 ($98) per litre. Families have thus been forced to burn waste for fuel.
• The nutritional situation of children in Gaza has continued to sharply deteriorate. Compared with February, a significantly higher proportion of children under five screened for malnutrition were diagnosed with moderate or severe acute malnutrition between 1 April and so far in May. According to the Nutrition Cluster, 2,917 out of 49,527 children screened for malnutrition in the first two weeks of May were diagnosed with acute malnutrition. In comparison, 2,626 out of about 60,000 children screened in February were diagnosed with acute malnutrition. Overall, since January, nutrition cluster partners diagnosed and treated over 10,000 children for acute malnutrition. These include over 1,000 children diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition (SAM), of whom 98 developed medical complications and received treatment in stabilization centers. Currently there are four stabilization centres for the treatment of SAM cases with medical complications in Gaza, including two in Deir al Balah, one in Khan Younis and one in Gaza city. The only stabilization center at Kamal Adwan in North Gaza suspended operations on 20 May, due to a displacement order, forcing six children admitted in the stabilization center to be moved to the only remaining treatment center in Gaza city. The IPC analysis has estimated that over 70,000 children, aged six to 59 months, will suffer from acute malnutrition between April 2025 and March 2026, including approximately 14,000 children expected to face SAM, requiring immediate, life-saving treatment and nutritional support.
• At the same time, most nutrition partners have been forced to suspend operations in northern Gaza, Khan Younis, and Rafah due to critical shortages of preventive and treatment supplies and deteriorating security and access constraints. In the absence of supplementary food, the nutrition cluster is reviewing response protocols to reach more vulnerable children with therapeutic food before they show signs of malnutrition.* While blanket and targeted supplementary feeding (BSFP) continue, reaching 37,236 children and 6,441 pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) in the first two weeks of May; this represents 15 per cent and less than 25 per cent of the Nutrition Cluster's target to provide 290,000 children under five and 150,000 PBW with feeding and micronutrient supplements.

Access to Health Care

• In one of the largest medical evacuation missions to date, on 14 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) supported the medical evacuation of 132 patients, along with 152 companions, from Gaza via Kerem Shalom crossing for treatment abroad. According to WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu, patients and companions along with WHO staff were gathered at the European Gaza Hospital for a pre-coordinated medical evacuation when the hospital was attacked on 13 May, with none in the evacuation group harmed. According to WHO’s Public Health Situation Analysis, between 1 February and 17 March 2025, 1,702 patients were evacuated to receive medical treatment abroad; this is compared with 276 patients evacuated since 18 March. On 20 May, six patients and 19 companions were evacuated to receive medical treatment abroad. Since October 2023, over 7,230 patients have been evacuated from Gaza, the majority prior to the closure of Rafah crossing in May 2024. More than 10,500 patients, including over 4,000 children, remain in urgent need of medical evacuation, according to WHO.
• In a statement issued on 14 May, Director of Al Awda Hospital, Dr Mohammed Salha, described the daily horror his medical teams face as they work tirelessly under unimaginable conditions to save lives. “To say that Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza has been working in the most difficult and dangerous conditions, doesn’t really convey the horror of the situation on the ground… [In one night,] our teams treated 52 people. One of them was a baby girl, just a few months old. Both her legs had been shredded by bombings. We also received nine bodies without life. Seven of them were children… Even after 19 months of this hell, I can tell you, no one gets used to the sight of innocent babies killed or mutilated for life. Our hearts break into a thousand pieces every time,” he said. “People are dying – not because we don’t know how to save them, but because we simply don’t have the basic minimum to save them….[and we] are all exhausted,” he added. According to Dr Salha, over the past 19 months, several of Al Awda’s medical staff have been arrested without explanation, six have been killed inside the hospital while working to save lives, and many have been killed at home with their families. Overall, the hospital has been hit more than 18 times, leaving half of the hospital’s bed capacity out of service.
• Between 13 and 20 May, multiple hospitals across Gaza sustained damage due to intense attacks and other health facilities were forced to suspend services, overwhelming the already fragile health system and depriving patients of essential medical services, including lifesaving treatment. As of 21 May, 70 Health Cluster partners are continuing to work to provide as much access to essential health care as possible with minimal resources.
  • On 13 May, the European Gaza Hospital, in Khan Younis, was rendered non-functional following intense Israeli airstrikes that resulted in casualties among patients and other civilians and the destruction of critical infrastructure, including oxygen lines and sewage systems. According to WHO, the hospital’s closure has cut off vital services, including neurosurgery, cardiac care, and cancer treatment—all unavailable elsewhere in Gaza. The closure also ended the hospital’s role as a key hub for medical evacuations, further straining the already overwhelmed health system, WHO added.
  • On 15, 18 and 19 May, Al Awda Hospital, in North Gaza, sustained damage due to airstrikes, including a direct Israeli strike near its main gate and multiple airstrikes on areas in its immediate vicinity. On 19 May, the hospital’s Director, Mohammad Salha, warned that continued airstrikes and heavy gunfire were endangering the hospital’s ability to continue providing essential health services, which are already limited due to a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies. On 20 May, WHO reported that the hospital is overwhelmed with injuries and running critically low on supplies.
  • On 16 May, the Palestine Red Crescent Society's Al-Qarara Medical Clinic, in Khan Yunis, sustained major damage to its first floor due to Israeli airstrikes. Medical operations have been suspended until the clinic can be rehabilitated.
  • Between 16 and 18 May, the Indonesian Hospital, in North Gaza, came under repeated Israeli attacks and sustained structural damage, rendering it out of service. On 17 May, the Gaza MoH reported that the hospital’s operating rooms and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were full, amid a severe shortage of blood units—especially negative types—hindering the treatment of the wounded. On 18 May, Israeli forces reportedly blocked all access to the hospital, destroyed the northern gates, and bulldozed the courtyard. New patients were unable to enter the hospital and two patients were reportedly injured while trying to exit, according to MoH. That night, communication was lost amid heavy fire and a power outage. On 19 May, the hospital’s backup generators were struck, causing a massive fire and total blackout. On 20 May, WHO reported that intense hostilities left the hospital barely functional, with roads bulldozed and only 15 people remaining inside in urgent need of food and water.
  • On 17 May, an IDP tent adjacent to Al Kuwaiti Field Hospital in Al Mawasi area, in Khan Younis, was reportedly hit, killing six Palestinians. The hospital announced the suspension of surgical operations until further notice due to severe damage to the hospital’s generator and other departments. On 19 May, following partial repairs, the hospital announced the resumption of operations in the surgical department for emergency cases only.
  • On 19 May, the medical supplies and solutions warehouse in Nasser Medical Complex, in Khan Younis, was hit and destroyed, with no casualties reported. According to WHO, around 30 per cent of the warehouse was destroyed. The warehouse was built by WHO and included critical supplies such as IV fluids and dialysis solutions. Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP) also reported that the attack rendered what little remains unusable, including vital materials provided by MAP. Describing the catastrophic conditions at the hospital, MAP said that “patients are forced to sleep in hallways, with beds scattered across every available space. Six operating theatres are running non-stop, yet the constant influx of casualties far exceeds capacity…[The] ICU, designed for 12 patients, now houses more than 24. An emergency extension was created after recent bombings damaged the surgical department, but it fails to meet basic standards.”
  • Between 17 and 19 May, Al Aqsa Hospital, in Deir al Balah, the Jordanian Field Hospital, in Khan Younis, and Kamal Adwan Hospital, in North Gaza, sustained indirect damage when nearby Israeli strikes impacted their premises or surroundings.
  • On 19 May, the upper floors of Sheikh Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics were hit, causing severe damage to the building and a partial disruption of services.
• “Pregnant and breastfeeding women are engaged in a daily battle for survival,” warns UNFPA. Only seven hospitals and four field hospitals continue to provide obstetric and newborn care in Gaza while facing acute shortages of essential supplies, with more than half of essential maternal and newborn medicines out of stock as of 20 May. At present, one in three pregnancies are considered high-risk, and one in five newborns are born preterm or underweight, requiring specialist care that is increasingly unavailable, while access to essential services is critically constrained. Amid these dire conditions, nearly 11,000 pregnant women are already reported to be at risk of famine and nearly 17,000 PBW will need urgent treatment for acute malnutrition over the coming months.At the same time, the collapsing WASH infrastructure is resulting in further suffering and complications: “With barely any access to clean water or hygiene facilities, infectious diseases and sexually transmitted infections are also reportedly on the rise, including among pregnant women, which makes them even more vulnerable to complications,” UNFPA said.

Water and Sanitation

• Displacement orders and access constraints have severely disrupted WASH operations across Gaza, with 65 per cent of WASH assets and facilities now falling within the Israeli-demilitarized zone or in areas that have been placed under displacement orders since 18 March. These include 33 out of 46 desalination plants (72 per cent), 43 out of 52 water reservoirs (83 per cent), 204 out of 336 water wells (61 per cent), and 45 out of 70 wastewater pumping stations (64 per cent). One of the affected desalination plants serves approximately 150,000 people in northern Gaza. Between 13 and 20 May, 50 WASH Cluster partners were forced to significantly reduce water trucking activities across 176 water points. Similarly affected have been solid waste management activities, with collection services suspended or significantly reduced in many parts of Khan Younis, leading to growing waste accumulation and heightened public health risks.
• In addition, the ongoing fuel crisis is critically disrupting WASH operations across Gaza, with both northern and southern Gaza facing imminent system shutdowns. In the north, no fuel has been delivered for several days, leaving the sector without reserves as only 50 per cent of the required weekly supply was received last week. Groundwater wells are gradually shutting down, and solid waste management services have stopped in several areas and are at risk of full shutdown in others. This is despite a growing influx of displaced people into Gaza city. In the south, water utilities have not received the 140,000 litres of fuel needed per week to maintain operations, forcing them to reduce operating hours by over 20 per cent. If additional amounts of fuel are not received, a full shutdown of WASH services is imminent. The situation is especially dire in Al Mawasi, which is not connected to the water network and depends entirely on fuel-powered water trucking. Moreover, infrastructure damage, combined with fuel shortages, has led stormwater basins to overflow with untreated sewage, which is now the case in Sheikh Radwan Lagoon in Gaza city, significantly increasing the risk of flooding and environmental contamination. Public health is rapidly deteriorating, marked by a sharp rise in acute watery diarrhea (AWD) cases, highlighting the urgent need for at least 70,000 litres of fuel to sustain critical WASH services and prevent further outbreaks of disease. Daily attempts by humanitarian partners to retrieve fuel from reserves located in areas where they are required to coordinate their movements with Israeli authorities have been largely denied.
• On 21 May, Gaza Municipality warned of a looming water crisis due to the continued reduction in fuel supplies, which are now insufficient to operate municipal water wells, even minimally, or to support private well owners in areas lacking access to water. The situation is further worsened by ongoing displacement from both within Gaza city and from North Gaza toward the central and western parts of the city. The municipality added that the Mekorot pipeline has been shut down since 19 May due to maintenance work. Since October 2023, the Gaza municipality has incurred extensive damage to water infrastructure, including 115 kilometres of water pipelines, 63 wells, four major reservoirs, and the northwestern desalination plant that previously produced about 10,000 cubic metres of water daily.
• On 20 May, Deir al Balah Municipality announced that coastal Water Well No. 6, located in Al-Baraka area in Deir al Balah, has been hit, further limiting or altogether cutting off access to water to many densely populated areas of the city, amid rising temperatures and growing displacement. The well’s generator and other critical components were destroyed, rendering the well entirely non-operational. This well was the last remaining major water source supplying Al-Baraka reservoir, which served large areas of Deir al Balah. This follows the bulldozing of coastal Water Well No. 5, the complete suspension of Mekorot water supply since 23 January 2025, and the halt in operations at the central seawater desalination plant due to a power cut on 9 March 2025. Moreover, other wells, including Al-Ma’ani, Al-Qastal, Al-Muntazah, Al-Mazra’ah, and Al-Sinaa’iya, remain inoperable due to the lack of access. Al-Sinaa’iya well was one of the largest and most critical sources feeding the Al-Aqsa reservoir, which in turn supplied water to the rest of the city. The municipality confirmed that the water sector in Deir al Balah is facing a catastrophe and is on the verge of total collapse.

Funding

• As of 20 May 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately $640 million out of the $4 billion (16 per cent) requested to meet the most critical humanitarian needs of three million out of 3.3 million people identified as requiring assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 2025, under the 2025 Flash Appeal for the OPT. Nearly 88 per cent of the requested funds are for humanitarian response in Gaza, with just over 12 per cent for the West Bank. Moreover, during April 2025, the oPt Humanitarian Fund managed 128 ongoing projects, totalling $74.3 million, to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (88 per cent) and the West Bank (12 per cent). Of these projects, 64 are being implemented by INGOs, 49 by national NGOs and 15 by UN agencies. Notably, 47 out of the 79 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. For more information, please see OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service webpage and the oPt HF webpage.

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