Humanitarian Situation Update #292 | 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 4 June.

Key Highlights

• 600 days on, people in Gaza, half of whom are children, face a crisis of survival. The Humanitarian Country Team in the Occupied Palestinian Territory warns that the new militarized distribution system does not meet the needs or dignity of people in Gaza, puts them at risk, and runs contrary to humanitarian principles.
• Over 632,000 people have been displaced again since 18 March, as more than 30 displacement orders have pushed people into an ever-shrinking space, with immense physical and psychological toll.
• The health system in Gaza is overwhelmed by a further decline in the number of functional and accessible health service points and a critically insufficient bed capacity.
• At least 28 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since 1 May, an average of one aid worker killed per day. Since 7 October, at least 452 aid workers, including 315 UN staff, have been killed.
• Nearly 700,000 women and girls are facing a silent menstrual hygiene emergency, with severe consequences to their health, protection, dignity, and human rights.

Humanitarian Developments

• 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 28 May 2025, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, stated: “A new militarized distribution system has just been launched. As we have stated, it does not align with humanitarian principles, it puts people at risk, and it will not meet people’s needs, or dignity, across Gaza.” Calling on Israel to treat civilians humanely and respect their inherent dignity, facilitate aid delivery, and refrain from forcible transfer, the HCT underscored: “We need predictable and at-scale aid to flow through multiple crossings all the way to communities, as we have done in the past. We need unimpeded access. And we need all humanitarian partners, including UNRWA, to be enabled to provide supplies and, critically, services. Supplies on their own do not amount to an effective humanitarian response. It is essential to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of services across Gaza.”
• On 28 May, OCHA OPT Head of Office, Jonathan Whittall, said that the newly developed distribution scheme amounts to “surveillance-based rationing that legitimizes a policy of deprivation by design… at a time when people in Gaza, half of whom are children, are facing a crisis of survival.” He stressed: “Humanitarian agencies have the capacity to help feed Gaza and provide other life-saving and life-sustaining services and supplies,” adding that “[w]e are ready to work. We are ready to deliver directly to families as we always have.”
• According to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, between 22 and 28 May, as of noon, 429 Palestinians were killed and 1,358 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 28 May 2025, the MoH in Gaza reported that at least 54,084 Palestinians, including 16,854 children (31.3 per cent), were killed and 123,308 Palestinians were injured. The fatalities include 931 children under the age of one, of whom 356 children were born and killed since October 2023. According to MoH, since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March 2025, 3,924 people have been killed and 11,267 injured (included in the total). MoH noted that since 23 May, the toll does not include casualties from North Gaza governorate, which became inaccessible.
• On 27 May, UN Children’s Fund's (UNICEF) Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, issued a statement in response to two devastating incidents that resulted in the reported death of at least 27 children - an airstrike on a residential building in Khan Younis on 23 May, followed by an strike on a school in Gaza city on 26 May. “These children – lives that should never be reduced to numbers – are now part of a long, harrowing list of unimaginable horrors,” Beigbeder said. On 23 May, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for children and armed conflict, Virginia Gamba, stated: “A most fundamental right of a child is the right to life, and life, today, in Gaza in particular, is under severe and imminent threat.” She noted that the Secretary General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict will be presented to the Security Council in June and stressed that “[G]rave violations against children will -once again- show a steady and shocking increase vis-à-vis prior years, particularly in children killed and maimed and in those denied basic lifesaving humanitarian assistance.”
• Between 20 and 26 May, incidents resulting in a large number of fatalities include the following:
  • On 20 May, at about 04:00, at least nine Palestinians, including five children and one woman, were reportedly killed when a house was hit in Jabalya refugee camp, in North Gaza.
  • On 20 May, at about 01:10, 13 Palestinians, including children and women, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in eastern Deir al Balah.
  • On 20 May, at about 01:39, 15 Palestinians from the same family, including 11 females (two women and nine others of unconfirmed age), were reportedly killed and others injured when the gas station the family was living in after being displaced was hit in eastern An Nuseirat, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 20 May, at around midnight, at least 11 people were reportedly killed and several others injured, and some were reported missing, when a house was hit in Jabalya al Balad, in North Gaza. Fatalities included a father, his two sons, his daughter, and his granddaughter.
  • On May 20, three Palestinians, including two men (brothers) and one woman were reportedly killed and 15 others injured when tents for internally displaced people (IDP) were hit in Al Mawasi area of western Rafah.
  • On 21 May, at about 11:00, eight Palestinians, including a girl, were reportedly killed and about 60 others were injured when a group of people was hit east of Gaza city.
  • On 21 May, at about 04:15, at least 13 Palestinians – three married couples and their seven offspring, including five children – were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit and destroyed in Abasan al Kabira, in Khan Younis.
  • On 22 May, at about 02:26, 10 Palestinians, members of the same family, including three children and three women, were reportedly killed when a warehouse sheltering IDPs was hit in Al Birkeh area of southwestern Deir al Balah.
  • On 22 May, at about 05:00, at least 16 people of the same family, including 10 children and two women, were reportedly killed when two houses were hit in Jabalya al Balad, in North Gaza.
  • On 21 May, at about 11:30, 10 Palestinians were reportedly killed and several others injured when a wood-fired oven, functioning as a community bakery, was hit in central Gaza city.
  • On 26 May, at about 02:15, at least 17 Palestinians including four women, and at least five children, were reportedly killed when a house was hit in eastern Jabalya, in North Gaza.
  • On 26 May, at about 00:30, about 36 Palestinians, including at least six children and other women, were reportedly killed, with many bodies reportedly severely burned after three classrooms of a school sheltering hundreds of IDPs were hit in Ad Daraj neighbourhood, in eastern Gaza city, causing a massive fire.
• Between 22 and 28 May, no Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 28 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 2,683 soldiers injured, in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation in October 2023. Of these, nine soldiers were killed and 99 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 22 May, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) announced that it had received information from the Israeli authorities indicating that a Palestinian from Gaza had died in Israeli custody on 13 December 2023. According to PPS, the 33-year-old detainee was detained along with his family members from their home in the Gaza Strip on 7 December 2023.
• 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.
• Aid workers and frontline responders in Gaza continue to face extreme risks. Between 1 and 28 May 2025, at least 28 aid workers were killed, or an average of one per day. On 22 May, CARE International reported the killing of two staff members of their local NGO partner, Juzoor for Health and Social Development, on 14 and 15 May along with their families in Jabalya camp, in North Gaza. Following the incident, CARE Palestine Country Director stated: “Humanitarian workers in Gaza are facing the same fate as the starved and bombed communities they continue to serve despite all odds. No one is safe and the threat of death is palpable everywhere.” On 22 May, a staff member of the Culture and Free Thoughts Association was also reported killed. On 25 May, ICRC reported that two of their staff were killed on 24 May in a strike on their home in Khan Younis. Since 7 October 2023, at least 452 aid workers, including 315 UN staff, 47 PRCS and another 90 staff of humanitarian organizations have been killed. Separately, on 26 May, Gaza municipality reported that one of their staff was killed and another two were injured when they were hit while on duty in Gaza city.

Shrinking Humanitarian Space

• On 23 May, the UN Secretary-General said: “Families are being starved and denied the very basics. All with the world watching in real time.” He reiterated Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law, urging it to treat civilians with dignity, refrain from forced displacement, and to allow full humanitarian access, stressing that “all the aid authorized until now amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required.” He highlighted the massive scale of the crisis and the staggering obstacles, citing strict quotas, unnecessary delays in procedures, and ongoing prohibitions on essential items such as fuel, shelter, cooking gas, and water purification supplies.
• On 19 May, after almost 80 days of a full aid blockade on the entry of aid and any other supplies into Gaza, including food, medicine and fuel, the Israeli authorities allowed the UN to temporarily resume the delivery of limited aid into Gaza. Between 19 and 27 May, the UN submitted 900 truckloads for Israeli approval, of which about 800 were cleared and just over 500 could be offloaded on the Israeli side of Kerem Shalom crossing. Humanitarian organizations have been able to collect only about 200 truckloads on the Palestinian side of the crossing due to insecurity and restricted access.
• According to the Logistics Cluster, since 19 May, the only aid supplies that Israeli authorities are approving for entry into Gaza are exclusively from locations inside Israel to Kerem Shalom crossing, limiting the humanitarian community’s ability to mobilize aid located in the West Bank, Jordan and Egypt. For the limited number of trucks currently authorized for entry, Israeli authorities are permitting only medical items and certain food and nutrition supplies and have cleared only a very limited number of humanitarian organizations to move cargo into Gaza. Moreover, Israeli authorities have prohibited the storage of humanitarian cargo inside Gaza, except for limited exemptions granted to select food and nutrition actors to store limited quantities. Most of the aid must thus be dispatched directly for distribution, resulting in significant operational challenges. Additional restrictions by Israeli authorities include preventing the direct distribution of wheat flour to families.
• Over the past week, several incidents have taken place whereby aid was looted or taken by crowds whilst being transported from Kerem Shalom crossing, including most recently on 27 May, when food supplies transported through the fence road were taken by crowds directly from the trucks in Deir al Balah governorate. On 28 May, the World Food Programme (WFP) issued a statement regarding a tragic incident that took place in its warehouse in Deir al Balah, where hungry crowds of people broke in, searching for food supplies that had been pre-positioned for distribution. While WFP is still confirming details, initial reports indicate that two people died and several were injured. WFP stated: “Humanitarian needs have spiraled out of control... WFP has consistently warned of alarming and deteriorating conditions on the ground, and the risks imposed by limiting humanitarian aid to hungry people in desperate need of assistance.” The agency stressed: “Gaza needs an immediate scale-up of food assistance. This is the only way to reassure people that they will not starve. WFP urgently calls for safe, unimpeded humanitarian access to enable orderly distributions across Gaza immediately.”
• “The situation has never been as bad as it is today,” said Jonathan Whittall, OCHA OPT Head of Office. He emphasized that the trickle of aid that has been allowed to enter this last week is far from enough, while the UN and its partners have faced unacceptable restrictions on humanitarian aid delivery. “We have only been allowed to deliver flour to bakeries and not directly to communities. That means that instead of people being able to use flour distributed at their homes, they have to queue each day to receive a handout of survival rations.” He added that “people in Gaza are understandably angry. They are being starved and then drip-fed in the most undignified way possible.” Briefing journalists on the obstacles on aid delivery faced by humanitarian partners, Whittall said that they face challenges in collecting goods from Kerem Shalom crossing due to insecurity, long delays in receiving the needed approvals, being given inappropriate routes to transport goods, and facing crowd desperation and looting because of restrictions placed by Israeli authorities.” He stressed that there “is no logistical solution to the political decision to obstruct aid.”
• In vast areas across the Gaza Strip, humanitarian teams are required to coordinate their movements with the Israeli authorities. Between 21 and 27 May, out of 71 attempts to coordinate planned aid movements across the Gaza Strip, nearly 44 per cent (31) were denied outright by the Israeli authorities, 15 per cent (11) were initially accepted but faced impediments, including blocks or delays on the ground potentially resulting in missions being aborted or partially accomplished, 35 per cent (25) were fully facilitated, and six per cent (four) were withdrawn by the organizers for logistical, operational, or security reasons. These include 25 attempts to coordinate aid movements in or to northern Gaza, of which 40 per cent (10) were facilitated, 40 per cent (10) were denied and 20 per cent (five) faced impediments. In southern Gaza, out of 46 attempts, 33 per cent (15) were facilitated, 46 per cent (21) were denied, 13 per cent (six) faced impediments and nine per cent (four) withdrawn.
• Between 21 and 26 May, the Israeli military issued three displacement orders for parts of North Gaza, Gaza, Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah governorates. Combined, the orders cover 168 square kilometres, including one order that covers 43 per cent of the Gaza Strip. As of 28 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 31 displacement orders, placing about 229.4 square kilometres under displacement orders. As of 27 May, about 632,700 (30 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 over 195,100 people displaced between 15 and 27 May, with many fleeing without any belongings.
• As hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza continue to be displaced and pushed into ever-shrinking spaces amid hostilities, the mental trauma of recurrent displacement is immense. On 27 May, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) highlighted the psychological toll that unpredictable displacement orders, which are issued within very short deadlines, have on people, including aid workers, forcing them to be in a “constant state of alert.” MSF stated: “People receive leaflets, social media posts or a phone call about an imminent attack, leaving them limited time to collect their belongings and seek shelter. The very act of forcing people to repeatedly flee, often in the middle of the night, without having anywhere to go and at risk of their lives, is not only having a physical impact, but causes an immense psychological toll.” Describing the gravity of the situation, an MSF logistic manager, added: “There are no tents left and no space for people to set up, I don’t know what to answer when colleagues ask me where they can go with their children in the middle of the night. We are running out of options to stay alive.”

Food Security

• A geospatial assessment carried out by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) found that less than five per cent of the Gaza Strip’s cropland area (688 out of 15,053 hectares) remains available for cultivation. According to the assessment, as of 12 April 2025, about 81 per cent of total cropland area has been damaged (12,537 hectares), including 2,648 hectares that remain accessible, and 78 per cent (11,716 hectares) of cropland is not accessible to farmers due to displacement orders and Israeli-militarized zones. Rafah and North Gaza governorates, where nearly all cropland is not accessible, are the most impacted. In addition, the assessment found that 71 per cent of greenhouses have been damaged, including all the greenhouses in Gaza governorate. In Rafah, about 86 per cent of greenhouses have been assessed as damaged, up from about 57 per cent in December 2024. Furthermore, about 83 per cent of agricultural water wells have been damaged, compared to nearly 68 per cent in December 2024. Accounting for around 10 per cent of Gaza’s economy before the escalation, with more than 560,000 people relying partly or fully on crop production, herding, or fishing for their livelihoods, the agricultural sector has been devastated, bringing local food production to a halt. “This level of destruction is not just a loss of infrastructure – it is a collapse of Gaza’s agrifood system and of lifelines,” said Beth Bechdol, FAO Deputy Director-General.
• Between 22 and 24 May, following the entry of a limited amount of wheat flour into Gaza, five out of the 25 UN-supported bakeries briefly resumed operations in the central part of Gaza. On 23 May, WFP reported that 15 truckloads of critical food supplies had been looted on the way to bakeries, noting that “hunger, desperation, and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming, is contributing to rising insecurity.” Escalating insecurity, including looting and crowd violence, subsequently forced the suspension of bakery activities, while Israeli authorities have continued to prevent Food Security Sector (FSS) partners from directly delivering food to families as of 27 May. WFP underscored that it has appealed for support from Israeli authorities to enable the entry of large volumes of aid along safer routes, warning that it “cannot safely operate under a distribution system that limits the number of bakeries and sites where Gaza’s population can access food.”
• As of 27 May, about 303,000 daily meals continued to be prepared and delivered through about 72 kitchens across the Strip. However, this production level is expected to drop further as supplies continue to dwindle due to severe restrictions on the entry of aid and other essentials, including fresh food. According to the FSS, the limited food aid allowed into the Strip since 19 May is comprised exclusively of wheat flour, as of 26 May. The diversity of food in Gaza has sharply declined since March, pushing diets to dangerously imbalanced and nutritionally inadequate levels. The population is now facing extreme levels of poor dietary diversity, with most people unable to access even the most basic food groups. According to the latest integrated food security phase classification (IPC) report, the whole population – are facing crisis or worse levels of food insecurity, with about half-a-million facing starvation.
• Over the past week, multiple strikes on bakeries and community kitchens were reported, further undermining the already fragile food production and delivery systems in Gaza. On 21 May, an airstrike was reportedly carried out on a wood-fired oven located near Al Zawi Market in central Gaza city, killing 10 Palestinians. The oven was functioning as a community bakery serving residents of the area. On 21 May, another bakery in Bastn as Sameen area in central Khan Younis was reportedly hit, killing two Palestinians. On 26 May, Israeli forces reportedly destroyed Ash’sha’air Mill in the Morag area in southern Khan Younis. On 27 May, a community kitchen was reportedly hit in Gaza city, resulting in three fatalities and other injuries.

Access to Health Care

• Between 1 and 22 May 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) documented 29 attacks on health care in the Gaza Strip, further disrupting access to health care and overburdening hospitals that remain partially operational. According to WHO, at least 94 per cent of hospitals in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed. Furthermore, over the past two weeks, the functionality of health service points has severely deteriorated. Since 14 May, four partially functional hospitals had to suspend operations, reducing the number of partially functional hospitals from 22 to 18, while the number of fully and partially functional primary health-care centres (PHCs) declined from 75 to 61. Increased hostilities and displacement orders threaten to push even more health facilities out of service, warns WHO. Between 11 and 24 May, 53 health service points (six hospitals, 20 PHCs and 27 medical points) fell in areas placed under displacement orders. In addition, three hospitals, one field hospital, six PHCs and 19 medical points were situated within 1,000 meters of the areas slated for displacement during this period.
• Between 15 and 23 May, Al-Awda Hospital, in North Gaza, was repeatedly hit. After both the Indonesian and Kamal Adwan hospitals went out of service, Al Awda became the only hospital in the governorate that remains partially functional, albeit under extreme conditions. Since 19 May, ongoing hostilities and precarious road access have prevented patients from reaching the hospital. On 21 May, the hospital’s third floor was reportedly hit, injuring a staff member. Hostilities in the area also damaged the hospital’s water tank and pipeline. On 22 May, the hospital’s third and fourth floors were reportedly hit, injuring two health workers. Patient tents, including one provided by WHO, caught fire, which also burned all medical supplies in the warehouse and destroyed vehicles in the basement. Al Awda faces an imminent risk of closure due to ongoing insecurity and restricted access, according to WHO.
• WHO reported that it carried out two high-risk missions to the non-functional Indonesian Hospital, in North Gaza, on 24 and 27 May to relocate vital medical equipment and transfer patients and health workers. Describing the missions, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr. Hanan Balkhy, said: “Amid intense hostilities in close proximity and difficult access conditions, the [WHO] team successfully transferred the hospital’s oxygen plant to WHO’s warehouse during the first mission. The dialysis equipment could not be relocated due to safety concerns stemming from military presence close to the hospital.” Dr. Balkhy added that on 27 May, “the WHO team returned to the hospital and transferred 13 people including 1 patient and 4 health workers to Al-Shifa Hospital. 20 dialysis machines, a desalination plant, and other critical medical equipment were also relocated. 39 people – including 5 patients and 8 health workers - remain at the hospital.” “The loss of Indonesian Hospital is a devastating blow to Gaza’s already crippled health system,” Dr. Balkhy stated.
• Hospitals’ bed capacity remains critically limited in Gaza. On 15 May, the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis was rendered out of service, causing a loss of 329 beds, including 28 Intensive Care Unit (ICUs) beds, 12 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICUs), and 25 emergency beds. As of 22 May, according to WHO, the total hospital bed capacity across the Gaza Strip stands at 1,929 beds, including 1,388 inpatient beds, 67 ICU beds, and 69 incubators. This is “grossly insufficient to meet the current needs,” WHO said, adding that at least 40 beds are at risk of being lost as they are in hospitals that have newly been placed under displacement orders, while an additional 850 could be lost if conditions deteriorate at facilities near these zones. Bed capacity at field hospitals decreased by 32 per cent between November 2024 and March 2025, but a few have expanded their services to cope with the overwhelming number of patients; for example, MSF has expanded the capacity of their field hospital in Deir al Balah by 20 beds, increasing bed capacity to 150 per cent. Prior to October 2023, there were about 3,500 hospital beds in the Gaza Strip.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

• Displacement orders and access constraints have severely disrupted WASH operations across Gaza, with 72 per cent of WASH assets and facilities now falling within the Israeli-militarized 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), 51 out of 72 dumpsites (71 per cent), 233 out of 336 water wells (69 per cent), and 50 out of 70 wastewater pumping stations (71 per cent).
• The solid waste accumulation crisis in Gaza city has reached an alarming level, with over a quarter of a million tons of waste piling up and severely impacting health and environmental conditions, warned the Gaza Municipality. This growing volume of uncollected waste has created ideal conditions for the spread of disease, attracting insects and rodents and posing a serious threat to public health. The municipality has been collecting some waste and transferring it to temporary dumping sites within the city, but these mitigation measures remain limited due to a severe shortage of fuel and waste collection vehicles. According to the WASH cluster, the lack of access to suitable landfills and appropriate sites for temporary dumping in Gaza city remains unresolved. As a result, North Gaza governorate, eastern Gaza city, and other areas, including overcrowded displacement sites, are no longer assisted with solid waste collection and disposal activities, further deteriorating public health conditions. Moreover, solid waste collection has ceased entirely in all areas under displacement orders.
• Marking menstrual hygiene day on 28 May, the Gaza sexual and reproductive health working group, GBV sub-cluster, Health Cluster and WASH Cluster issued a joint advocacy brief on the menstrual hygiene crisis in Gaza. Nearly 700,000 women and girls of menstruating age in Gaza are facing a silent menstrual hygiene emergency: “Menstrual management is not a secondary need in humanitarian crises. It is a matter of health, protection, dignity, and human rights. When women and girls are unable to manage their periods safely and privately, the consequences extend far beyond discomfort.” Key points in the brief include:
  • In overcrowded shelters, women and girls lack privacy, safe toilets, and access to water, forcing them to adopt coping strategies that compromise both their safety and dignity. Water insecurity affects 90 per cent of households in Gaza, forcing families to make impossible choices between drinking, cooking, or washing. Poor menstrual hygiene in emergencies increases the risk of reproductive and urinary tract infections, sexually transmitted infections, and long-term gynecological complications, while also increasing exposure to GBV, harassment, and exploitation and limits women and girl’s mobility and access to essential services, compounding their isolation and vulnerability.
  • The psychological toll of the crisis is immense: “Girls describe menstruation as a source of shame, panic, and isolation. For many, it marks a time of deep anxiety and distress, particularly in displacement settings where privacy is non-existent.”
  • Following the closure of crossings on 2 March, hygiene and protection supplies such as sanitary pads, dignity kits, and soap have remained blocked from entering Gaza. Out of an estimated 10.4 million sanitary pads needed each month, over 75 per cent remains unmet: “This is not just a supply gap – it’s a full-scale crisis of health, dignity, and protection.” The prices of the few remaining menstrual and hygiene products have soared—reaching up to five times their pre-war cost, placing them out of reach for most.
  • In the face of these conditions, women and girls have turned to coping strategies that compromise their dignity and well-being: “Many use old clothes, torn fabric, or sponges in place of sanitary pads. Without clean water, they cannot wash or reuse materials safely, increasing the risk of infection. Some report skipping meals or reducing fluid intake to avoid using unsafe toilets. In overcrowded shelters with no privacy, managing menstruation becomes a risk in itself.”
  • Despite severe access constraints and ongoing supply chain disruptions, the clusters report that important efforts have been made to integrate menstrual hygiene into broader WASH, protection, and health interventions, but the scale and consistency of these efforts remain limited.

Funding

• As of 26 May 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately US$634 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 2025Flash 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.