Humanitarian Situation Update #326 | 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 1 or 2 October.

Key Highlights

• Intensified strikes on Gaza city, including on tents, residential buildings, infrastructure continue to inflict heavy casualties.
• Several health facilities have been shut down in Gaza city, in the north, in September, leaving hundreds of thousands of people with limited access to lifesaving medical services.
• In southern Gaza, conditions are alarming, the Shelter Cluster reports, with families squeezed into makeshift tents along the beach, packed into overcrowded schools, or sleeping in the open and amid rubble, and services are stretched beyond capacity.
• A two-kilogramme bread bundle remains unaffordable to most, sold at more than 30 NIS (US$9), compared with two NIS ($0.3) at UN-supported bakeries in early 2025, reports the Food Security Sector.

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, particularly in Gaza governorate. Israeli strikes on residential buildings and tents sheltering internally displaced people (IDPs) and people seeking aid have continued to be reported, alongside reports of controlled detonations. Fighting between Palestinian armed groups and Israeli forces was also reported and so was rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups into Israel on 21 September. Combined with displacement orders, Israeli military ground operations and bombardment have continued to drive additional waves of displacement, particularly from Gaza city (see more information below). Protection partners report significant disruption to communication channels across North Gaza governorate, hindering efforts to verify information and assess the gravity of the situation for civilians who remain in the area.
• In a speech at a UN General Assembly High-Level event on 24 September, Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, highlighted the catastrophic situation of children in Gaza: “They’ve been bombed, maimed, starved, burned alive, buried in the rubble of their homes, separated from their parents. Denied every ounce of humanity that the rules of war were designed to preserve. Killed while sleeping, playing, queuing for food and water, seeking medical care.” He called for the immediate implementation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) provisional measures requiring Israel to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance. He spoke about children in Israel who were killed or taken hostage on 7 October 2023 and called for the release of those still in captivity.
• In a statement issued on 23 September, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), decried the escalating attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza city, which have contributed to increasing numbers of people being displaced, and warned of the risk that this displacement will become permanent. In a 48-hour period between 19 and 20 September, the Office recorded 18 incidents involving attacks on residential buildings that killed at least 51 Palestinians, with reports indicating that almost all of those killed were civilians. The statement called on Israel’s military to “immediately end the killing of Palestinian civilians and the wanton destruction of Gaza city, which appears to be focused on causing a permanent demographic shift, which is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”
• In a statement on 23 September, humanitarian leaders and famine experts stated that “Israel has spent the month since the famine declaration denying existence of famine, impeding humanitarian action, and widening its military offensive in the famine zone.” Declaring that the famine can still be stopped, they urged global leaders meeting in New York this week to “utilize all diplomatic, political, and economic tools to ensure that Israel halts its assault on Gaza city and allows the UN-led humanitarian partners to mount a full and robust famine response operation.”
• According to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, between 17 and 24 September, 357 Palestinians were killed, and 1,463 were injured. This brings the casualty toll among Palestinians since 7 October 2023, as reported by MoH, to 65,419 fatalities and 167,160 injuries. MoH further noted that the number of casualties among people trying to access aid supplies has increased to 2,531 fatalities and more than 18,531 injuries since 27 May 2025. Moreover, according to MoH in Gaza, as of 19 September, 440 malnutrition-related deaths, including 147 children, were documented since October 2023.
• According to the Israeli military, between 17 and 24 September, as of noon, five Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza. This brings the casualty toll among Israeli soldiers since the beginning of the Israeli ground operation in October 2023 to 465 fatalities and 2,918 injuries, according to the Israeli military. According to Israeli forces and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,665 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed, the majority on 7 October 2023 and its immediate aftermath. As of 24 September, it is estimated that 48 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including hostages who have been declared dead and whose bodies are being withheld.
• Over the past week, strikes in Gaza city have been especially intensive, including on IDP tents, residential buildings and public infrastructure, with many resulting in high numbers of casualties. The following are key incidents resulting in casualties across the Gaza Strip:
  • On 19 September, at about 3:45, a four-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl were killed and others injured when an IDP tent was hit in Al Mawasi area, in Khan Younis.
  • On 19 September, at about 10:22, four Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when An Nuseirat Camp was hit, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 19 September, at about 18:20, eight Palestinians were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Tal al Hawa, in southwestern Gaza city.
  • On 20 September, at about 2:30, two Palestinian children were reportedly killed when Al-Mu'tasim School, where IDPs sheltered, was hit, near Al Yarmouk Stadium in central Gaza city.
  • On 20 September, at about 6:00, at least nine Palestinians were reportedly killed, including seven children, one woman and one man, when a residential building was hit in At Tuffah, in northeastern Gaza city.
  • On 20 September, at about 9:30, Al Awda Hospital in An Nuseirat reportedly announced receiving six Palestinians killed and 23 injured when people collecting firewood were hit, near Al Mughraqa area north of An Nuseirat Camp, in Deir al Balah. September has seen an increase in reports of the Israeli military using live fire on people collecting firewood in this area. In addition to this incident, OHCHR recorded incidents on 17, 18, 19, 21 and 22 September, with a total of at least 19 Palestinians reportedly killed, including at least one child (a 13-year-old boy), and more than 44 injured.
  • On 20 September, at about 15:35, four Palestinians were reportedly killed when an IDP tent was hit near Al Yarmouk Stadium, in Gaza city.
  • On 20 September in the evening, at least 20 Palestinians of the same family were reportedly killed, including four women and 12 children, and others remained trapped under the rubble when three inhabited residential buildings were hit in As Sabra, in southern Gaza city.
  • On 20 September, at about 22:40, four Palestinians, including a nurse, his wife and two children, were reportedly killed in a strike on a residential building in As Sabra, in southern Gaza city.
  • On 21 September, at about midday, four Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured in a strike in Ad Daraj, in central Gaza city.
  • On 21 September, at about 14:45, nine Palestinians were reportedly killed, including at least four children and two women, and others injured when a location near a clinic run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was hit in Al Bureij Camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 23 September, at about 9:00, two Palestinian fishers were reportedly killed off the coast of western Khan Younis.
• According to records of OHCHR, since the establishment of militarized supply sites in the Gaza Strip on 27 May, and as of 22 September, at least 2,340 people, mostly young men and boys, seeking assistance have been reportedly killed, including 1,218 near militarized supply sites and 1,122 along convoy supply routes. Over the past week, between 17 and 22 September, 21 fatalities were reported within this context, including near three militarized supply sites in Rafah, Khan Younis and Wadi Gaza and among groups of people seeking aid along the Morag route south of Khan Younis. There were no reported casualty incidents near Zikim crossing, which has remained closed since 12 September (see more information below).
• On 17 September, 77 patients, along with 107 companions, were medically evacuated abroad. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 15,600 patients who are severely ill or injured and need lifesaving, specialized care unavailable in Gaza are currently awaiting evacuation. Between 7 October 2023 and 17 September 2025, only 7,802 patients, including 5,369 children, were evacuated abroad. On 23 September, 25 Foreign Ministers from Europe and Canada issued a joint statement calling for the restoration of the medical corridor enabling medical evacuations from Gaza to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Access and Humanitarian Space

• Delays and impediments to humanitarian movements continue, including for missions from southern to northern Gaza. Missions that are approved by Israeli authorities still take hours to complete and teams have been compelled to wait on roads that are often dangerous or congested. Between 17 and 23 September, out of 94 attempts to coordinate planned movements with Israeli authorities across the Gaza Strip, 35 were facilitated (37 per cent), 13 were impeded (14 per cent), 30 were denied (32 per cent) and 16 had to be withdrawn by the organizers for logistical, operational, or security reasons (17 per cent). Since the closure of Zikim crossing on 12 September and until 22 September, the denial rate of movements to northern Gaza has increased to 40 per cent, up from 18 per cent in the preceding 11 days, between 1 and 11 September.
• According to the World Food Programme (WFP), no cargo has been collected in northern Gaza since the Zikim crossing (Erez West/As Siafa) was closed on 12 September. Located in North Gaza, Zikim was used to channel aid into the area. To sustain cooked meal provision in the north, Food Security Sector (FSS) partners are relying on supplies from the south, which is challenging due to road congestion on Al Rashid Road and unstable security conditions. As of 22 September, 532,000 meals were prepared and delivered by 20 FSS partners through 138 kitchens – 59,000 meals by 13 kitchens in the north and 473,000 meals by 125 kitchens in central and southern Gaza. In northern Gaza, there has been a reduction of about 50,000 daily meals compared with 109,000 meals on 21 September following the closure of some community kitchens as the military offensive continues to escalate in Gaza city. Without cooking gas and considering the high price of firewood, families across the Gaza Strip are increasingly relying on paying to use communal ovens to make their own bread, in addition to purchasing flour and other ingredients. Bread bundles remain unaffordable on the market, sold at more than 30 NIS (US $9) per two kilogrammes, compared with 2 NIS ($0.6) for two kilogrammes at UN-supported bakeries in early 2025. Partners are working on measures to ensure supplies can safely arrive at bakeries and warehouses from the crossings to support bakeries to resume operations at scale.
• With the continued closure of Zikim crossing since 12 September, the suspension of cargo movement from Jordan following a security incident at the Allenby Bridge on 18 September, and the closure of all Gaza crossings on 23 and 24 September due to Israeli-announced Jewish holidays, supply lines to the Gaza Strip, particularly to the famine-struck Gaza city, have been unpredictable. Between 12 and 22 September 2025, 436 truckloads were collected through the UN 2720 mechanism from Gaza’s crossings, compared with about 1,040 truckloads collected in the previous 11-day period between 1 and 11 September, marking a 58 per cent decrease.
• Moreover, according to data from the UN 2720 mechanism, between 1 and 22 September, a total of 1,075 aid trucks were intercepted during transit in Gaza – either peacefully by desperate civilians or forcefully by armed criminals. These incidents accounted for 73 per cent of all collected supplies so far in September, significantly undermining the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Notably, on 18 September, armed individuals in Gaza city took over four UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) trucks carrying ready-to-use therapeutic food for malnourished children, taking the supplies at gunpoint. According to UNICEF, the loss of these supplies deprived at least 2,700 severely malnourished children of life-saving nutrition.
• Cargo movements at Al Karama/Allenby Bridge border crossing have been suspended since 18 September, when a Jordanian truck driver transporting cargo for the Gaza Strip shot and killed two Israeli soldiers. On 23 September, Israeli authorities announced the closure of Al Karama/Allenby Bridge crossing for passenger access in both directions. The crossing is critical for commercial imports and exports, and the entry of humanitarian supplies from Jordan. In August, about one quarter of humanitarian relief items entering Gaza through the UN 2720 mechanism came via Jordan, including food, tents, and other urgently needed supplies. The closure has also disrupted the rotation of international humanitarian staff to and from the Gaza Strip. The UN is engaging with relevant stakeholders to urgently address these concerns, warning that the continued closure of this border crossing without viable alternatives would severely undermine the humanitarian response in Gaza and seriously impact the movement of Palestinians.

Shrinking Space for Lifesaving Services in Gaza City

• Constant bombardment, displacement orders and the limited availability of basic supplies are threatening the continued operation of lifesaving services in Gaza city, including ambulances, health facilities, nutrition services, and community kitchens. Fuel supplies also remain limited, with the last reported successful delivery on 20 September, when the UN Office for Projects Services (UNOPS) delivered 92,000 litres of fuel to Gaza city to support health facilities, water and sanitation services, and telecommunications.
• On 22 September, the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) reported that an Israeli airstrike destroyed Ash Shawa building, in As Samer area of Gaza city, which also housed key humanitarian facilities, including a primary health-care centre of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), a training and community centre of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP), and the offices of several other civil society organizations. The GCMHP centre was providing mental health and psychosocial services to thousands of people, including children, women and people with disabilities. According to PMRS, the attack destroyed its health centre which provided critical services including blood donation and testing services, trauma care, cancer medications, and chronic disease treatment. Following the incident, WHO Director-General emphasized that attacks on health care must end and warned that the “continued destruction of Gaza City's health facilities will cause more deaths and further overwhelm already overcrowded hospitals in the south.” In addition, on 24 September, PMRS reported that their main headquarters in Tal al Hawa in Gaza city was hit. According to PMRS, this attack has rendered all PMRS health facilities in Gaza non-operational.
• On 22 September, the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) announced the relocation of the Jordanian field hospital from the Tal al Hawa area of Gaza city, where it had been operational for more than 16 years, to Khan Younis, citing staff safety concerns. Affirming their readiness to resume operations in Gaza city when conditions allow, the JAF noted that continuous shelling and heavy bombing in recent weeks had caused damage to the hospital’s façade and equipment, the hospital had become increasingly isolated, and the road leading to the hospital has become dangerous.
• On 23 September, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that the oxygen station at Al Quds Hospital, which it operates in the Tal al Hawa in Gaza city, has stopped functioning after being hit by gunfire from Israeli forces. As a result, the hospital is now relying only on pre-filled oxygen cylinders, which are expected to last for three days. PRCS added that Israeli military vehicles were positioned at the hospital’s southern gate, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.
• Since 1 September, four hospitals in North Gaza and Gaza governorates were forced to shut down, bringing the total number of functioning hospitals in Gaza to only 14, including eight in Gaza city, three in Deir al Balah and three in Khan Younis. None of them, however, is functioning at full capacity. The four hospitals that were rendered out of service are Al Rantisi Children's Hospital, Ophthalmic Hospital, and St. John Eye Hospital in Gaza city and Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics in North Gaza. Hamad Hospital is one of the main three specialized rehabilitation facilities in the Gaza Strip, which was serving 250 outpatients with rehabilitation services, in addition to providing medical care for people injured while seeking aid in North Gaza at its trauma stabilization point, with about 200 patients served daily. Al Rantisi Hospital had sustained severe damage from a direct strike days earlier and most of its medical equipment, according to the Health Cluster, were transferred to Al Helou, As Sahaba and Patient Friendly hospitals, all in Gaza city, on 21 September.
• In addition, according to the Health Cluster, between 1 and 23 September, 16 medical points and 11 primary health centres were forced to suspend or shut down services in Gaza city. At the same time, the situation at the remaining eight hospitals and one field hospital in the city is critical. Those health points are overwhelmed by the influx of casualties resulting from strikes, in addition to providing medical care for non-trauma patients.

Challenges Facing the Health-care System in Central and Southern Gaza

• At Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, the situation is extremely dire. Patients, especially children, face critical shortages in both treatment services and hospital beds. According to Nasser Medical Complex, dozens are crowded into hallways and shared rooms, while families are left sitting on the floor amid a severe lack of medicines and essential care. The extreme overcrowding is largely due to the mass displacement of families from northern Gaza, leaving the facility unable to absorb the surge in patients. On 22 September, Dr. Ahmed Al-Fara, Director of the Children's and Maternity Center at Nasser Medical Complex, described the situation as one of unprecedented overcrowding across the entire facility, and particularly in the paediatric departments. “We are witnessing extreme congestion in the neonatal units, with up to three babies sharing a single incubator – a very serious precedent in the nursery departments,” he said. He added that the paediatric departments are beyond capacity, receiving approximately 1,000 cases in just 24 hours, with nearly 200 children admitted, despite the department's capacity of only 40 beds. “These are numbers we’ve never seen before,” he emphasized. Dr. Al-Fara also reported a dramatic increase in the number of premature and low-birth-weight infants, now accounting for 60-70 per cent of newborns, compared with 20 per cent before October 2023. “The conditions are catastrophic in every sense of the word,” he concluded.
• Like many other health facilities, Al Aqsa Hospital, in Deir al Balah, is facing severe overcrowding and insufficient bed capacity to cope with the rising number of patients. Despite having the largest bed capacity among hospitals in the area, with 350 beds, this remains inadequate. In response to extreme overcrowding and amid the arrival of thousands of displaced people in the central governorate, Al Aqsa Hospital has set up fully equipped medical tents to receive the injured along with an additional tent designated for emergency cases, due to the lack of available space in internal wards.
• Shortages of medical supplies and equipment continue to weaken the health system in Gaza. The Kuwait Specialized Field Hospital announced, on 18 September, the forced suspension of all scheduled surgical operations, limiting its services to life-saving surgeries only. This is due to a severe shortage of medications and medical supplies and the deterioration of equipment and devices over the past two years. The hospital is also facing a significant shortage of essential medical necessities, including anaesthesia drugs, medical solutions, sterilization materials and supplies, and critical surgical instruments, the hospital added. Similarly, blood shortage remains a pressing challenge, threatening the lives of patients, with continuous appeals by MoH for blood donation campaigns at all hospitals across the Gaza Strip.

Displacement and the Struggle for Survival

• According to the Site Management Cluster (SMC), more than 388,400 displacement movements were recorded between 14 August and 23 September – an average of about 9,700 movements per day. The majority of these movements originated from Gaza city, with most people reportedly heading toward Khan Younis and Deir al Balah – areas that, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), are projected to face famine by the end of September 2025. The cluster notes that the displacement figures are likely higher, as many people are also moving during the night when monitoring is limited. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of people remain in Gaza city and, according to UNRWA, ‘’are facing daily bombardment, famine and compromised access to means of survival.’’
• The journey to the south is long and dangerous. On 19 September, the Israeli military announced that Salah al Din Road, which opened for 48 hours only, is closed for southward movement. Since mid-August, Al Rashid Road has been the main route available for people moving from Gaza city southward. Prior to departure, many report waiting many days to secure space on trucks for their belongings, with high transportation costs placing an additional burden on already exhausted families. UNRWA reports that costs can reach more than US$3,000, including for transportation, purchasing a tent and land space to set up the tent - where such space is available. According to SMC partners, many families cannot afford transport to the south, forcing some to travel on foot. Families are also facing multi-day delays and travelling along overcrowded and arduous displacement routes, often increasing the risk of family separation. This is especially the case for children under 10, UNICEF highlights. Reports from partners at the four flow monitoring points on Al Rashid Road – comprising partners working on site management and protection, including child protection and addressing gender-based violence (GBV) – indicate that the road is heavily congested, with vehicles, donkey carts, tuk-tuks, and large numbers of exhausted and worn-out people travelling on foot. With the majority of people in Gaza already displaced multiple times, the most vulnerable, particularly children and the elderly, are bearing the brunt of the hardship, including the risk of dehydration during the journey. Layan, an 11-year-old student, told UNRWA: “I am supposed to be in sixth grade. My school was destroyed… I am so tired of evacuation and displacement. This is our sixth time to move in search for a safe place.”
• Between 9 and 23 September, six child protection partners at the four monitoring points reached more than 24,000 people, including over 14,000 children with psychological first aid and referred 44 unaccompanied children for family tracing, reunification and temporary care arrangements. Child protection partners had distributed 4,760 identification bracelets in shelters, displacement corridors, and sites over the past three weeks to facilitate family reunification – each bracelet includes the child’s name, date of birth, caregiver contact information, and displacement site registration.
• The Shelter Cluster reports conditions in the south are alarming: families are squeezed into makeshift tents along the beach, packed into overcrowded schools, or sleeping in the open air or amid the rubble of destroyed homes, services are stretched beyond capacity and cannot meet the needs of those already present, let alone new arrivals. The majority of IDPs are arriving without tents, and tents remain both scarce and unaffordable, according to the cluster, with market prices reaching approximately $1,000 – well beyond the means of most families. According to the Protection Cluster, severe overcrowding in displacement sites in the south is heightening risks of violence, abuse and exploitation of all groups, with a particular risk of neglect for children, and eroding dignity of displaced people. Congestion in sites is also exposing women and girls to the heightened risk of GBV. Families are additionally experiencing extreme stress and trauma, which is fuelling both community-level and intra-familial tensions. On 19 September, an inter-agency mission led by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs visited three displacement sites hosting approximately 4,000 people in Khan Younis and identified critical levels of need, with the most urgent gaps in food , water, sanitation and hygiene, health, shelter, protection, child protection, GBV and site management. In Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, SMC reports that there are currently about 64 displacement sites, including 25 UNRWA designated emergency shelters and other numerous scattered sites along the beach, with a total population of about 460,000 IDPs, including about 20,600 IDPs who have newly arrived from northern Gaza.

Funding

• As of 24 September 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately $1.06 billion out of the $4 billion (26 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 August 2025, the oPt Humanitarian Fund managed 104 ongoing projects, totalling $62.3 million, to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (87 per cent) and the West Bank (13 per cent). Of these projects, 48 are being implemented by INGOs, 42 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Notably, 35 out of the 62 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.