Worn out makeshift shelters in Gaza city. Photo by OCHA/Olga Cherevko
Worn out makeshift shelters in Gaza city. Photo by OCHA/Olga Cherevko

Humanitarian Situation Update #315 | Gaza Strip

The Humanitarian Situation Updates on the Gaza Strip and on the West Bank are both Issued every Wednesday/Thursday. The Gaza Humanitarian Response Update is issued every other Tuesday. The next Humanitarian Situation Update on the Gaza Strip will be published on 27 or 28 August.

Key Highlights

  • Hunger-related deaths, casualties among people seeking food, and casualties in strikes on schools, tents and residential buildings continue to be reported.
  • The UN and NGOs will maintain presence in Gaza city, warning that the Israeli authorities’ plan to intensify military operations there will have a horrific humanitarian impact.
  • Major international NGOs face imminent de-registration by the Israeli authorities, and most have been unable to deliver any supplies to Gaza since 2 March.
  • People with disability are gravely affected by the dearth of adequate rehabilitation services, which suffer restrictions on the entry of equipment and personnel.
  • Sewage continues to be diverted into stormwater basins and the sea, causing severe environmental pollution.

Humanitarian Developments

  • Over the past week, Israeli forces have continued to carry out heavy bombardment from the air, land and sea across the Gaza Strip, alongside continued ground operations. Rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups into Israel and fighting with Israeli forces have taken place. There are continued reports of casualties due to strikes on schools, tents and residential buildings and among people trying to access food supplies at militarized distribution points or waiting for humanitarian aid convoys, detonation and demolition of residential buildings, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and large-scale displacement. The Israeli authorities announced that, as of 17 August, and as part of preparations by the Israeli military to “move the population from combat zones to southern Gaza for their protection, the supply of tents and shelter equipment to Gaza will resume.” On 20 July, the Israeli military reported that in recent days, Israeli forces have resumed extensive military activity in Jabalya area and the outskirts of Gaza city. As of late July, it is estimated that about one million people are in northern Gaza. According to the Site Management Cluster (SMC), between 12 and 20 August, intensified military operations in Gaza city prompted over 16,000 displacement movements by people from the eastern parts of Gaza city, such as Az Zaytoun, to the south and the west. In total, over 796,000 displacement movements have been recorded since 18 March 2025.
  • On 18 August, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), comprising UN agencies and over 200 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), welcomed the Israeli authorities’ announcement that tents and other shelter equipment will again be allowed entry into Gaza but found it “deeply troubling … that it comes in connection with a looming offensive.” The HCT said that the lifting of the shelter ban would allow humanitarian partners to deliver much needed supplies across the Gaza Strip, including in Gaza city, noting that this scale-up will take effect to the extent “that systematic restrictions – such as Israeli customs clearance, access to crossings and insecurity – are addressed.” The HCT further warned that the Israeli authorities’ plan to intensify military operations in Gaza city “will have a horrific humanitarian impact on people already exhausted, malnourished, bereaved, displaced, and deprived of basics needed for survival” and that “[f]orcing hundreds of thousands to move south is a recipe for further disaster and could amount to forcible transfer.” The HCT affirmed that the UN and NGOs will maintain presence in Gaza city to provide lifesaving support.
  • According to the Shelter Cluster, more than one million tarpaulins and sealing-off kits, 86,000 tents and about five million non-food items have been procured or in-process for delivery to Gaza. However, ongoing restrictions on INGOs and UNRWA continue to block shelter deliveries, with critical materials denied entry even after approval. Following the announcement by the Israeli authorities that the ban on the entry of shelter supplies would be lifted, partners continue to face major challenges, including in relation to registration. Meanwhile, amid ongoing hostilities and displacement, shelter needs continue to grow, with more families living in severely overcrowded, unsafe, and undignified conditions and some living without any form of shelter. At present, the Shelter Cluster estimates that 1.4 million people require emergency shelter items and 1.45 million need essential household items.
  • According to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, between 13 and 20 August, 400 Palestinians were killed, and 2,683 were injured. This brings the casualty toll among Palestinians since 7 October 2023, as reported by MoH, to 62,122 fatalities and 156,758 injuries. MoH further noted that the number of casualties among people trying to access food supplies has increased to 2,018 fatalities and more than 14,947 injuries since 27 May 2025.
  • According to the Israeli military, between 13 and 20 August, as of noon, no Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza. The casualty toll among Israeli soldiers since the beginning of the ground operation in October 2023 stands at 454 fatalities and 2,874 injuries, according to the Israeli military. According to Israeli forces and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,654 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed, the majority on 7 October 2023 and its immediate aftermath. As of 13 August, it is estimated that 50 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including hostages who have been declared dead and whose bodies are being withheld.
  • Key incidents resulting in fatalities over the past week mainly occurred in Gaza city and included the following:
    • On 13 August, at about 10:00, at least 14 Palestinian males were reportedly killed when fire was opened towards Palestinians seeking food near the militarized distribution point in Khan Younis.
    • On 13 August, around dawn, seven Palestinians, including five children, were reportedly killed when a tent for internally displaced people (IDPs) was hit in Tel Al Hawa, in southwestern Gaza city.
    • On 13 August, around dawn, 12 Palestinians were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Az Zaytoun, in southeastern Gaza city.
    • On 14 August, at about 9:15, at least 12 Palestinian males were reportedly killed and many others injured when fire was opened towards people waiting for aid convoys in the Morag area, south of Khan Younis.
    • On 14 August, around dawn, eight Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in Az Zaytoun, in southeastern Gaza city.
    • On 14 August, at about 18:15, seven Palestinians were reportedly killed and 15 others injured while waiting for aid convoys near Zikim crossing, in North Gaza.
    • On 15 August, at about 16:00, seven Palestinians, including two boys, were reportedly killed when a school sheltering IDPs was hit in Ad Daraj, in central Gaza city.
    • On 15 August, at about 20:00, seven Palestinians, including women and children, were reportedly killed and others injured when an IDP tent was hit near a school, west of Gaza city.
    • On 16 August, during the morning, a Palestinian fisher was reportedly killed and others injured when fire was opened at a fishing boat off the coast of Gaza city.
    • On 17 August, at about 1:30, seven Palestinian males were reportedly killed and others injured in the yard of Al Ahli Hospital, in central Gaza city.
    • On 17 August, between the morning and evening hours, at least 31 Palestinians were reportedly killed when fire was opened towards Palestinians waiting for supply trucks in the Morag area, south of Khan Younis.
    • On 18 August, at about 9:00, a Palestinian fisher was reportedly killed and his brother injured on a fishing boat, west of Gaza city.
    • On 18 August, at about 2:00, three Palestinians including a girl were reportedly killed when a governmental building sheltering IDPs was hit in Ad Daraj, in central Gaza city.
  • According to records of the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), since the establishment of a militarized distribution system in the Gaza Strip on 27 May and as of 18 August, at least 1,889 people – mostly young men and boys – were killed while seeking food in Gaza – 1,025 near militarized distribution sites and 864 along convoy supply routes – most of whom appear to have been killed by the Israeli military, and with no information to suggest that these people “were directly participating in hostilities or posed any threat” to Israeli forces or other people.
  • Since the beginning of August 2025, OHCHR has recorded 11 incidents involving attacks on Palestinians guarding convoys in North Gaza and Deir al Balah, resulting in the killing of at least 46 Palestinians, mainly those providing security to humanitarian and other supply convoys, along with some seeking aid, and the injury of many others. OHCHR stressed that these attacks have contributed to the breakdown of law enforcement and worsened the starvation of Palestinians. This is in addition to the dozens of incidents recorded by OHCHR since October 2023 where “the Israeli military unlawfully targeted civilian police officers not taking part in hostilities, contributing to the collapse of law enforcement, leading directly to disorder around supply convoys, as the population becomes increasingly desperate to access food in the face of deepening starvation.”
  • Delays and impediments of humanitarian movements continue to be reported. Recently, while fewer humanitarian movements have been denied outright, missions that are approved still take hours to complete and teams have been compelled to wait on roads that are often dangerous, congested or impassable. Between 13 and 19 August, out of 79 attempts to coordinate planned movements with Israeli authorities across the Gaza Strip, 45 were facilitated (57 per cent), 21 were initially approved but then impeded on the ground (27 per cent), five (six per cent) were denied and eight (ten per cent) had to be withdrawn by the organizers. Facilitated movements included missions to transfer fuel, collection of medical, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) supplies, staff movements and rotations. Denied movements included water pipe connection repairs, movements of WASH chemical supplies and road repairs. Among the 21 impeded missions, five were fully accomplished despite the impediments, including missions to collect supplies from Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings and medical evacuation of patients through Kerem Shalom crossing. The remaining 16 missions were partially accomplished. Overall, five out of the 79 movements involved fuel collection, 24 involved the collection of other supplies from Gaza’s crossings, 18 were staff movements and rotations, and 32 aimed to support other ongoing humanitarian operations.
  • On 13 August, over 100 international NGOs raised the alarm over increasing obstructions by Israeli authorities on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. “Despite claims by Israeli authorities that there is no limit on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, most major international NGOs have been unable to deliver a single truck of lifesaving supplies since 2 March,” which “has left millions of dollars’ worth of food, medicine, water, and shelter items stranded in warehouses across Jordan and Egypt, while Palestinians are being starved,” they stated. This obstruction is tied to a new registration process introduced by Israeli authorities for international NGOs, where, according to the statement, “registration can be denied based on vague and politicized criteria, such as alleged “delegitimization” of the state of Israel” and where registration requirements include the submission of sensitive donor and staff data. Failing to comply could force organizations to halt operations in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and remove all international staff within 60 days. Some organizations have already been issued a seven-day ultimatum to provide Palestinian staff lists. International NGOs made clear that sharing the requested data violates data protection laws and undermines humanitarian principles. On 6 August, UN agencies and NGOs called on Israeli authorities to rescind the requirement introduced on 9 March obliging international NGOs to share sensitive personal information about their Palestinian employees or face termination of their humanitarian operations.

The Hunger and Malnutrition Crisis

  • Starvation in Gaza is at the worst level since October 2023 and the amount of aid entering the Strip is insufficient to meet the scale of needs. According to the Food Security Sector (FSS), as of 17 August, 404,000 individual meals were prepared daily at 86 community kitchens supported by 19 FSS partners, including about 132,000 meals in the north and 272,000 meals in southern and central Gaza. While reflecting a noticeable increase compared with the 259,000 daily meals prepared two weeks earlier, this remains far below the over one million daily meals that partners were able to distribute in April. Amid this reality, people continue to suffer from extremely imbalanced diets that lack essential nutrients, increasing the risk of acute malnutrition, with an especially severe impact on elderly people, pregnant and breastfeeding women, children under five, and newborns who are more likely to be born with health complications.
  • The FSS estimates that more than 62,000 metric tons of food is required every month only to cover basic humanitarian food assistance needs and the World Food Programme (WFP) confirms that it has some 170,000 metric tons of food currently stored, under procurement, or in transit in the region to feed the entire population for nearly three months. Yet, between 19 May and 18 August 2025, available data on aid delivered to Gaza through the UN2720 mechanism, which covers only humanitarian relief consignments processed through the mechanism, indicates that humanitarian organizations were able to collect from crossings only about 54,000 metric tons of food supplies (out of the roughly 57,000 metric tons collected in total). To address rising food insecurity, FSS calls for the scaled-up entry of nutritious food through the commercial sector, including fresh produce and foods fortified with micronutrients, and for unfettered humanitarian access to enable the large-scale entry of humanitarian food aid by all humanitarian partners.
  • While data for the first two weeks of August is not yet available, in July, partners reported more than 13,000 admissions of acutely malnourished children, double the number of admissions recorded in June and more than a six-fold increase compared with the 2,000 admissions in February. On 7 August, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that the pace of this deterioration was alarming and demanded that nutrition supplies urgently reach children before more lives are lost. The number of the most severe cases, who need to be hospitalized in stabilization centres, is also increasing, with 54 admissions reported by WHO for the first two weeks of August. Despite the growing caseload, there are only five centres for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition across the Gaza Strip, including two in Gaza city, one in Deir al Balah, and two in Khan Younis, with a combined bed capacity of 43 that is insufficient to cope with the high number of cases. However, at present, malnutrition prevention stocks are almost depleted after months of total blockade and only limited aid entry since 19 May. Both the WFP’s blanket and targeted supplementary feeding programmes for children and pregnant and breastfeeding women are now on hold due to the lack of lipid-based nutrient supplements.
  • On 15 August, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that their teams in Gaza city and Khan Younis are seeing a significant and steady increase in malnourished patients since mid-June. Unable to conduct community level screenings due to insecurity, MSF teams at primary health-care centres have been screening more than 1,000 people per week and are reporting a 20 per cent rate of global acute malnutrition. The situation is especially critical in Gaza city; according to MSF, as of 9 August, 1,599 people were enrolled as outpatients for malnutrition care in MSF facilities in Gaza city, a 10-per-cent increase compared with the preceding week and a five-fold increase compared with the end of May 2025. MSF cautioned, however, that malnutrition is not just a food shortage, but a life-threatening medical condition that requires, among others, immediate access to treatment, including therapeutic foods, and more capacity to provide inpatient care for complicated cases to save lives.
  • According to MoH in Gaza, as of 20 August, 269 malnutrition-related deaths, including 112 children, were documented since October 2023. This includes 204 deaths since 1 July 2025, of whom 51 were children, and three people who died in the past 24 hours.

Challenges Facing the Health System

  • Diabetes patients in Gaza are increasingly unable to access their treatment due to severe medication shortages, leading to serious consequences for their health. An estimated 71,000 diabetes patients, including about 2,500 patients with type 1 diabetes, are dependent on insulin, which has only one month of stock remaining. About 30,000 units of insulin were needed per month prior to October 2023. Securing both insulin and adequate food remains a daily challenge. According to the UNRWA Director of Health, people with type 1 diabetes, including children, require multiple daily insulin injections, but insulin sometimes works too strongly, causing hypoglycemia – a drop in blood sugar that can lead to unconsciousness and even death. This condition is typically easy to manage with simple solutions like juice, candy, or sugar, but widespread shortages of these basic items and unaffordable prices make timely treatment of such side effects nearly impossible. Additionally, devices to monitor blood glucose levels (glucometers and testing strips) are unavailable.
  • The ongoing escalation in hostilities in Gaza for over 22 months has resulted in more than 156,000 injuries, according to MoH, many leading to life-long disabilities. This week, the Director of Al-Shifa Hospital, Dr. Mohammed Abu Selmiyah, indicated that limb amputations have increased due to the inability of antibiotics to combat bacteria. According to a recent peer-reviewed study by the Lancent Infectious Diseases, 982 out of over 1,300 samples taken from the microbiology laboratory of Al Ahli Hospital between November 2023 and August 2024 showed bacterial growth, and in two thirds of these samples multi-drug resistant bacteria was present. According to MoH in Gaza, there is only one workshop that manufactures and repairs artificial limbs. Ongoing shortages of electricity and fuel severely limit the facility’s ability to meet the growing demand for prosthetic care, which continues to rise daily. A lack of medications and medical consumables further hamper the provision of adequate services to patients with limb injuries.
  • Rehabilitation services in Gaza remain limited; according to the Health Cluster, only 45 out of 112 rehabilitation service facilities (approximately 40 per cent) are operational, all partially, including 10 hospitals, two field hospitals, 19 medical points, and 14 primary health care centres, reflecting a significant gap in service provision. Highlighting the challenges facing organizations supporting people with disability in the OPT, including the Gaza Strip, the Global Disability Fund noted in a recent report that “humanitarian actors, including UN agencies and NGOs, face increasing access and operational restrictions, including entry restrictions on essential equipment and aid, legal restrictions related to registration, and obstructions on the entry of humanitarian personnel, significantly impacting their ability to implement operations and deliver services to the population, with persons with disabilities often being the most difficult to reach and assist.” The report emphasizes that these realities have “placed an increased burden on local disability-focused organizations who are under-resourced in the context of soaring needs and whose operations have been critically impacted by the ongoing escalations, including through the destruction of physical infrastructure, loss of assets, and death, injury or displacement of staff members.”
  • Gaza’s laboratory testing services are facing a near-total collapse due to severe shortages of essential supplies and equipment. According to MoH, nearly 49 per cent of laboratory test materials have been depleted, and over 60 per cent of the remaining core lab items are expected to run out within a month. In addition, 51.4 per cent of laboratory consumables and supplies have less than one month of stock remaining. Critical tests in operating rooms and intensive care units have already run out or are nearing depletion as well as materials required to monitor drug levels in patients with kidney and liver transplants. Complete Blood Count test kits, among the most basic and frequently used diagnostics, are nearly exhausted and can only sustain operations for a few more days while supplies for screening blood units for viruses (HBsAg, HCV, HIV) are also nearly depleted, posing a serious risk of unsafe blood transfusions. Furthermore, approximately 45 per cent of laboratory equipment has been damaged or destroyed and urgently requires maintenance and spare parts.
  • The World Health organization (WHO) has documented 772 attacks on health care since October 2023 in the Gaza Strip. This includes 115 attacks reported between 1 January and 10 August 2025, which resulted in the killing of 50 people and the injury of 119. The highest number of attacks took place in North Gaza followed by Khan Younis, with May being the most intense month. Some 46 per cent of the attacks involved violence with heavy weapons, 28 per cent involved violence with individual weapons, and 38 per cent involved obstruction to health-care delivery (a single incident can involve more than one type of attack). Nonetheless, humanitarian and health workers continue to step up risking everything to save others, added WHO.
  • On 2 August 2025, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced the opening of a new Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Al-Mawasi Field Hospital in western Khan Younis, in response to the growing needs of pregnant women in shelters and in Al-Mawasi area following recent displacement orders. The department offers natural and caesarean deliveries, prenatal and postnatal care, routine pregnancy follow-ups, and essential gynaecological surgeries. Al-Mawasi Field Hospital, one of the largest field hospitals, currently includes 70 beds across various departments, including surgery, radiology, and outpatient clinics, with plans to increase to 150 beds pending the availability of large-capacity generators. According to the Health Cluster, the opening of this department brings the total number of Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care (CEmOC) to 13 facilities, in addition to a total of nine Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). This includes four CEmOC and five NICU in Gaza governorate, two CEmOC and two NICU in Deir al Balah, six CEmOC and two NICU in Khan Younis and one CEmOC in Rafah.

Water and Sanitation Crisis

  • Water supply from the three main Israeli Mekorot water lines remains inconsistent. The water provided from the Mekorot (Al-Muntar) line in northern Gaza was providing suitable quantities of water to the eastern side of Gaza city, but damage to the control valves prevented the water from entering the network, forcing a heavy reliance on water trucking for nearly one million people. In southern Gaza, one of the Mekorot lines (Bani Saeed), which used to supply Deir al Balah with water, has been nonfunctional since 20 January 2025, with attempts to conduct repairs repeatedly denied. The third Mekorot line (Bani Suhaila), in Khan Younis, which provides water to Rafah and Khan Younis, is intermittently operational, due to recurrent damage and, for six days now, it has been non-operational. To compensate for the shortage of water from the Mekorot lines in southern Gaza, seawater and brackish desalination plants have increased production despite critical fuel shortages.
  • Since October 2023, all wastewater treatment plants in Gaza have ceased operations due to the lack of electricity, infrastructure damage, and restricted access. As a result, sewage is being diverted into stormwater basins and the sea, causing severe environmental pollution. For example, wastewater is currently being discharged from the Sheikh Radwan Lagoon in Gaza city into the sea to prevent overflow and flooding in surrounding neighbourhoods. This practice is expected to continue as long as fuel supplies remain available. However, increased reliance on generators has also driven up the demand for engine oil and filters, making their availability equally critical. Over 130,000 metres of sewage pipelines are damaged, 67 per cent of pumping stations are nonfunctional, and untreated sewage continues to spill into streets, shelters, and residential areas, posing significant public health risks.
  • Solid waste management in Gaza remains a persistent challenge, with access to official landfills not possible amid frequent displacement orders and denied access to militarized zones. Fuel shortages are the primary constraint affecting solid waste collection across Gaza, with solid waste fuel allocations only being given on an emergency basis. Primary solid waste collection in south Gaza is currently sustained by UNICEF with approximately 500 cubic metres collected daily. In North Gaza, collection is severely limited due to fuel restrictions, with approximately 7,000 cubic metres of uncollected waste in streets, shelters and hospitals. Temporary dump sites that are accessible are full and WASH partners are advocating for the decongestion of these sites. Medical waste management also remains severely constrained, with no available final treatment locations. The recent securing of 11 freezers for storing medical waste (placentas mainly) is helping reduce the burden and recent approvals for the entry of tipper trucks and medical waste vehicles is expected to facilitate the separation of medical and domestic waste.

Risks Facing Children

  • Children in Gaza, who comprise about half of the population, continue to face heightened protection risks amid the ongoing escalation of hostilities. Between early July and mid-August, child protection partners observed a noticeable rise in child labour, with more children engaged in hazardous activities such as rubble collection, street vending, and informal work in markets. Additionally, there has been an increase in visible begging among children and women in urban areas. Psychosocial distress is also widespread, particularly among children who have been repeatedly displaced, with growing reports of children experiencing nightmares, social withdrawal, aggression, and anxiety. Yet, the ability of child protection partners to address these needs has been limited due to fuel shortages, staff displacement and burnout, access constraints, and the lack of supplies, with negative impacts on service delivery and children's well-being. Essential child-focused supplies, including mental health and psycho-social support (MHPSS) kits, tents for group activities, and assistive devices are largely unavailable in the Gaza Strip, and none have been permitted to enter since 2 March, severely limiting the scope and quality of child protection activities, including the development of services that are more inclusive of children with disabilities. These challenges also continue to limit the ability of partners to provide case management and psychosocial support to children; according to the Child Protection Area of Responsibility (AoR), between 1 and 13 August, partners provided only 687 children across the Gaza Strip with case management services and 6,850 children attended psychosocial support sessions. This reflects a reduction in outreach compared with July, when 2,383 children received case management services and 50,070 participated in psychosocial support sessions. Distributions of identity bracelets to address the heightened risk of family separation during displacement have likewise decreased, as stocks that were last replenished during the ceasefire have become nearly depleted.

Funding

  • As of 16 August 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately $912 million out of the $4 billion (22 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 July 2025, the oPt Humanitarian Fund managed 111 ongoing projects, totalling $65.2 million, to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (87 per cent) and the West Bank (13 per cent). Of these projects, 54 are being implemented by INGOs, 43 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Notably, 39 out of the 68 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.