Humanitarian Situation Update #340 | Gaza Strip

The Humanitarian Situation Updates on the Gaza Strip and on the West Bank are both issued every Wednesday/Thursday. The next Humanitarian Situation Update on the Gaza Strip will be published on 19 or 20 November.

Key Highlights

• Unexploded ordnance continues to pose a serious threat across the Gaza Strip, with injuries reported among people returning to devastated areas or searching for basic necessities, according to the UN Mine Action Service.
• In the first month of the ceasefire, 165 patients were medically evacuated from Gaza, compared with 146 patients in the previous month; more than 16,500 people still require urgent specialized medical care outside Gaza.
• Four hospitals and multiple other health facilities have resumed operations since the ceasefire, but more than 60 per cent of all facilities remain non-functional.
• More than 154,000 children – nearly a quarter of all school-aged children – are enrolled at over 300 temporary learning spaces.
• Israeli authorities announced the reopening of Zikim crossing for humanitarian cargo after a two-month closure.

Context Overview

• Following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from parts of the Gaza Strip under the ceasefire agreement, Israeli military strikes near or east of the so-called “Yellow Line” continue to be reported, resulting in casualties. Access to the sea remains prohibited and the detention of Palestinian fishers at sea by Israeli forces continues to be reported. In areas beyond the “Yellow Line,” where the Israeli military remains deployed (over 50 per cent of the Gaza Strip), daily detonations of residential buildings continue to be reported and access to humanitarian assets, public infrastructure and agricultural land remains restricted or altogether barred. Between 25 October and 4 November, Site Management Cluster (SMC) partners conducted a remote assessment via phone with focal points to survey identified displacement sites located in areas where the Israeli military remains deployed. The assessment identified 46 displacement sites, of which 18 are currently active. The active sites host more than 1,350 households comprising about 13,500 internally displaced people (IDPs). Having not been able yet to carry out physical assessments in the area given the security situation, SMC partners estimate that people in these areas are largely cut off from access to basic services.
• Between 5 and 11 November, according to official Israeli sources, the bodies of three deceased hostages were returned from Gaza to Israeli authorities, bringing the overall number of returned bodies of Israeli and other hostages since the ceasefire to 24. During the same period, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, the bodies of 45 Palestinians were returned to the Gaza Strip, bringing the total number of released bodies since the ceasefire to 315, of which only 91 were identified.
• According to the MoH in Gaza, between 5 and 12 November, six Palestinians were killed, one died of wounds sustained earlier, 19 were injured and 19 bodies were recovered from under the rubble. This brings the casualty toll among Palestinians since 7 October 2023, as reported by MoH, to 69,185 fatalities and 170,698 injuries. According to the MoH, the total number includes 284 fatalities who were retroactively added between 31 October and 7 November after their identification details were approved by a ministerial committee. MoH reported that since the ceasefire, 245 Palestinians were killed, 627 were injured and 532 bodies were retrieved from under the rubble. These include 104 Palestinians killed between 28 and 29 October.
• According to the Israeli military, between 5 and 12 November, as of noon, no Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza. The casualty toll among Israeli soldiers since the beginning of the Israeli ground operation in October 2023 stands at 471 fatalities and 2,978 injuries. According to Israeli forces and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,671 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed, the majority on 7 October 2023 and its immediate aftermath. As of noon on 12 November 2025, it is estimated that the bodies of four deceased hostages remain in the Gaza Strip.
• As of 10 November, the SMC estimates that about one million people, out of a total population of 2.1 million, are residing in 862 displacement sites across the Gaza Strip, of which 180 sites are in Gaza and North Gaza governorates, 264 in Deir al Balah, 410 in Khan Younis and eight in Rafah. According to UNRWA, as of 2 November, about 75,000 people are estimated to reside in about 100 designated UNRWA shelters and surrounding areas. SMC reports that population movements across the Gaza Strip continue as people attempt to return to their hometowns when possible or move to areas with relatively better access to essential services. Between 10 October and 9 November, more than 709,000 movements of people were recorded by SMC partners, including more than 580,000 movements crossing from southern to northern Gaza, primarily through Al Rashid Road. Over 113,000 movements were observed from western to eastern Khan Younis.
• An increase in reverse movements from northern to southern Gaza has also been observed, the SMC reports. Between 2 and 9 November, more than 1,200 such movements were recorded, compared with 850 movements the previous week. While displaced families face precarious and overcrowded conditions across the Gaza Strip, including in the south, SMC partners attribute the relative increase in southward movements to the relatively more acute shortages of adequate shelters, basic services and safe heating options in northern Gaza, with many households residing in damaged homes and having limited prospects for repair before colder weather sets in.
• Education partners continue to support the learning process by operating additional spaces to provide in-person education, previously concentrated in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, across the Gaza Strip. As of 11 November, 303 temporary learning spaces (TLS) are operational, including 16 in Gaza governorate, 140 in Deir al Balah, 147 in Khan Younis and none in North Gaza and Rafah. About 51 TLS have become operational since the ceasefire, allowing over 18,000 new children to enrol. More than 4,300 teachers at TLS are supporting a total of about 154,000 children, or some 24 per cent of Gaza’s school-aged population of about 637,000. The low coverage is attributed to extensive damage of school infrastructure, the continued use of schools as IDP shelters, and restrictions on the entry of educational and learning supplies.
• In addition to serving about 44,000 children at 46 of the TLS, UNRWA’s digital learning platform is providing Arabic and mathematics education to more than 294,000 children, facilitated by over 7,600 teachers. The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has also resumed in-person education in at least two universities, where hybrid learning is used. To reach all school-aged children, including the long waiting list of children trying to access learning centres, a spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Tess Ingram, highlighted the need for additional learning spaces, rubble clearance, ensuing that explosive ordnance (EO) does not pose a risk, repair of damaged classrooms, and the establishment of temporary structures.
• According to the Food Security Cluster (FSS), in the first nine days of November, partners have assisted more than 255,000 people (51,000 households) with two food parcels per family through 47 distribution points across the Gaza Strip. As of 10 November, FSS partners are distributing every day about 160,000 bread bundles and 1.27 million meals. The bread bundles continue to be produced at 19 UN-supported bakeries and distributed free of charge through more than 400 sites, including more than 50 UNRWA shelters, community kitchens, and other local facilities. The bread is also sold at a subsidized price of 3 NIS (US$0.90) per bundle through 71 contracted retailers, up from 43 in October, to broaden coverage and help revive markets across the Gaza Strip.

Humanitarian Access

• As of 10 November, about 227,000 metric tons (MT) of the aid positioned across the region were approved and cleared by Israeli authorities for transfer into Gaza, of which about 72 per cent are food supplies, according to the UN 2720 Mechanism. Between 10 October and 10 November, according to the UN 2720 Mechanism, about 47,000 MT of aid were collected by the UN and its partners from two operational crossings, including 14,200 MT between 4 and 10 November. On 12 November, Israeli authorities announced the reopening of Zikim crossing for humanitarian cargo following a two-month closure.
• Since 10 October, more than 6,480 MT of UN-coordinated relief materials have been denied entry into Gaza. Of these, over 3,550 MT were rejected on the grounds that the organizations were not authorized to bring relief items into Gaza. These include eight requests by two local and international NGOs for the entry of 507 MT of aid comprising shelter, water and sanitation supplies, which were rejected between 4 and 10 November. Many international NGO partners continue to face difficulties in being registered in Israel, preventing them from bringing supplies into Gaza and operating at scale, and UNRWA continues to be banned by Israeli authorities from bringing in food and other supplies into Gaza. Critical items also continue to be denied entry into Gaza. For example, UNICEF reported during a recent UN press briefing that denied items included spare parts for water trucks and vehicles, materials for water treatment and purification, high-power generators, and education and recreational kits for children, which they have not been permitted to bring into Gaza for several months.
• Coordination with Israeli authorities continues to be required for humanitarian convoy movements in Gaza, to crossings as well as in or near other areas where the Israeli military remains deployed. Between 4 and 10 November, humanitarian organizations coordinated 58 missions with the Israeli authorities, of which 30 were facilitated, eight were cancelled, 16 were impeded and four were denied. Movements included, among others, 31 movements to collect cargo from the two operational crossings (Kerem Shalom and Kissufim), two search-and-rescue missions, three road repair, assessment and clearing missions, and three movements related to the crossing of humanitarian personnel.
• On 5 November, the World Health Organization (WHO) facilitated the medical evacuation of 19 patients, including 17 children and two men, in addition to 93 companions. This brings the total number of patients evacuated in the month since the ceasefire to 165 patients, including 105 children, 32 men and 28 women, compared with 146 patients evacuated from Gaza in the month prior to the ceasefire. Over 16,500 patients still need urgent specialised care unavailable inside the Strip. WHO stated that the Rafah crossing is a vital exit for medical evacuations, through which WHO has transferred to date about 4,000 patients for treatment in Egypt and abroad. WHO added that the crossing is also key to the entry of health supplies into Gaza and called for the urgent and sustained opening of Rafah and all entry points into Gaza.
• In a statement issued one month into the ceasefire in Gaza, Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that humanitarians are continuing to seize every opportunity to save lives. He noted that the UN and its partners have provided food to over one million people, nutrition sites have been reopened, and hospital services are treating more patients. According to his statement, vital immunizations are also being resumed, while water lines have been repaired, winter supplies distributed, and mental health support provided. Despite that progress, Mr. Fletcher said that humanitarian operations in Gaza still face obstacles, including red tape and insecurity. He stressed that if these constraints are eased, humanitarians can do much more to reach more people in need with life-saving assistance.

Access to Health Care

• The functionality of health services across the Gaza Strip has improved since the ceasefire, with 18 hospitals currently partially functional, compared with 14 in September. One of the newly re-opened hospitals is Al Kheir Hospital, in Khan Younis. On 10 November, WHO reported that last week Al Kheir Hospital became functional again after it supported the rehabilitation of water, sanitation, and power systems in the facility and supplied it with medical equipment and medicines. The hospital had been forced out of service in February 2024. WHO also established a new 20-bed nutrition stabilization centre at the hospital to provide inpatient care for children with acute and severe malnutrition. In total, seven nutrition stabilization centres currently provide care to cases of severe acute malnutrition with complications, with a total of 90 inpatient beds, compared with four centres in September, according to Nutrition Cluster.
• Compared with the period prior to the ceasefire, the number of functional primary health centres (PHC) similarly increased from 62 to 76 PHCs as of 8 November. Nonetheless, the overall number of functional health services, including hospitals, field hospitals, medical points and PHCs, stands at only 36 per cent of the total number of facilities (213 out of 589). Another challenge is that large-scale displacement and the lack of available alterative shelters have led many IDPs to seek shelter in main health facilities, according to MoH, affecting the functionality of two hospitals and four health clinics across the Strip.
• With 12,000 staff on the ground in Gaza, UNRWA continues to run shelters, clinics, and essential services and has expanded service provision since the ceasefire, including in northern Gaza. The agency is now operating four medical points in Gaza city, reaching over 1,650 patients per day, compared with an average of only 50 consultations per day during military operations before the ceasefire. UNRWA provides primary health services through seven health centres and 102 mobile medical teams working at 31 health points inside and outside shelters in Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Gaza city, with efforts underway to restore health services in North Gaza despite infrastructural and supply challenges. Furthermore, UNRWA reports that its work in safeguarding public health extends beyond medical consultations to include water, sanitation, hygiene, nutrition and protection services in an integrated manner.
• Current living conditions in the Gaza Strip, however, continue to raise serious concerns about public health risks. Describing these conditions as appalling, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said: “After being forcibly displaced repeatedly, many Palestinians are still living in makeshift tents and without access to running water and electricity, surrounded by piles of rubbish and overflowing sewage.” The health impacts of these dire conditions, MSF added, are causing many cases of respiratory, skin, and gastrointestinal infections, warning that colder temperatures, heavy rains, and strong winds will soon only worsen the situation.
• According to MoH, 343 out of 622 essential drug items (55 per cent) are currently at zero-stock levels. This includes 74 per cent of chemotherapy and blood disease drugs, 64 per cent of primary healthcare drugs, 56 per cent of mothers and child health drugs and 50 per cent of kidney transplantation and haemodialysis drugs. In addition, 710 out of 1,006 medical consumables (71 per cent) were at zero-stock levels in October 2025; these include 100 per cent of open heart and catheterization consumables, 99 per cent of orthopaedic surgery consumables, and 91 per cent of ophthalmic surgery consumables.
• Critical medical shortages have especially affected the access of diabetic patients to adequate treatment, heightening the risk of complications and death. According to MoH, there are about 71,000 people living with diabetes in Gaza. These include about 20 to 30 per cent who require approximately 25,000 vials of insulin per month and related supplies, according to the Health Cluster, but only a small fraction of these supplies are regularly available. The last shipment of insulin was delivered to hospitals in the Gaza Strip by humanitarian partners between 19 and 23 October 2025, containing 22,991 vials, the Health Cluster reported. According to UNRWA, due to the limited availability of insulin, some patients have been forced to use expired doses, further jeopardizing their health, and the lack of adequate and timely screening increases the risk of undiagnosed cases. Shortages of oral hypoglycemic agents, essential for managing Type 2 diabetes, have further undermined treatment. Combined with limited access to nutritious food, the Health Cluster notes that these challenges can lead to the prevalence of severe complications, such as diabetic foot, poor glycemic control, kidney failure, and blindness.
• The lack of treatment and diagnostic services have additionally affected cancer patients who can only access limited treatment at three facilities, according to the Health Cluster, namely: Al Razi Hospital, Al Helou Hospital, and Nasser Medical Complex. According to MoH, there are currently over 11,000 cancer patients in the Gaza Strip who need medical evacuation outside due to the lack of needed treatments. Since January 2025, according to WHO data, 594 cancer patients, including 152 children, 219 women and 223 men, were evacuated outside Gaza while many others are awaiting approvals for their evacuation from Gaza.

Protection

• According to the Child Protection Area of Responsibility (CP AoR), following two years of escalated hostilities in Gaza, the collapse of education, health and social systems, compounded by displacement and repeated trauma, have eroded children’s sense of stability and safety; and they will require sustained, long-term efforts to recover. In a September 2025 CP AoR assessment, the most common symptoms reported among children were aggressive behaviour (93 per cent), violence toward younger children (90 per cent), sadness and withdrawal (86 per cent), sleep disturbances (79 per cent), and education avoidance (69 per cent). Caregivers also reported being overwhelmed and unable to provide adequate emotional support, while girls and children with disabilities were found to face heightened risks of violence, neglect, and unsafe access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, particularly in overcrowded shelters and informal displacement sites.
• CP AoR partners continue to scale up the delivery of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services for children and caregivers across the Gaza Strip. During the first month following the ceasefire, partners provided child protection and MHPSS services to over 132,000 children across the Gaza Strip, including nearly 1,600 children with disabilities and 45,000 caregivers. Services included individual psychological counselling, structured group sessions, stress management activities, recreational psychosocial support, and referrals to multisectoral services. CP partners aim to reach over 100,000 children per month through various child protection services to help meet the needs of nearly one million children in the Gaza Strip.
• Since 10 October, nearly 59,000 out of 132,000 children reached by CP AoR partners, benefited from group and individual sessions, psychological first aid, and counselling, while over 17,000 caregivers (of whom 72 per cent were women) participated in parenting programmes aimed at promoting well-being and strengthening their capacity to support distressed children. According to partners, key issues observed during service provision included increased anxiety among children, behavioural changes, and concerns about the continued lack of safe spaces. In the same period, 2,500 highly vulnerable children were referred to multisectoral services, including shelter support, hygiene kits, and other basic assistance. Case management services reached 1,344 children, of whom 166 unaccompanied and separated children were reunified with their families and 215 children were placed in temporary alternative care. Furthermore, 350 children with conflict-related injuries or disabilities received assistive devices and rehabilitation support. According to recent data by the MoH in Gaza, amputations among children comprise about 25 per cent of 6,000 amputations recorded by the ministry during the war.
• Unexploded ordnance continues to pose a serious threat in the Gaza Strip, with injuries reported among people returning to devastated areas, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) warns. In Gaza city, “unexploded shells and missiles are scattered across Al Rimal neighbourhood, visible among the rubble and along roadsides […] exposing civilians to the risk of detonation as they attempt to return to their homes or search for basic necessities,” UNMAS reported. Poor living conditions have also increased the exposure of people, including children, to EO, either while they are trying to collect firewood or upon being forced to set up tents near areas suspected of containing EO due to the lack of safe shelter options.
• Since 10 October, Mine Action (MA) partners have recorded three explosive incidents in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, which resulted in 11 injuries, including three boys. To scale up operations and facilitate the safe repair of civilian infrastructure and the reopening of schools and health facilities, since 10 October, MA partners have responded to 71 requests for explosive hazard assessments, supported 32 inter-agency missions, and delivered risk education sessions to more than 49,000 people across the Gaza Strip. Moreover, between 15 and 22 October, UNMAS conducted a training of trainers on explosive ordnance risk education and conflict preparedness and protection targeting 31 frontline humanitarian aid workers to enable them to disseminate safe messaging alongside their activities.
• Amid massive challenges, communities in the Gaza Strip continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience and solidarity, a recent monitoring report by the Protection Cluster, covering the period between 10 October to 6 November, highlights. Grassroots coordination committees have re-emerged to manage disputes, organize aid distribution, and communicate needs to humanitarian actors. Youth volunteers actively support vulnerable groups and maintain site conditions, reflecting strong civic engagement. Mothers and youth have also created informal learning and support circles to provide children with basic education and emotional comfort. According to the monitoring report, enduring social cohesion and mutual assistance remain key coping mechanisms helping families navigate daily hardships.

Funding

• As of 12 November 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately $1.49 billion out of the $4 billion (37 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 under the 2025 Flash Appeal for the OPT. Nearly 88 per cent of the requested funds is for the humanitarian response in Gaza, with just over 12 per cent for the West Bank. During October 2025, the oPt Humanitarian Fund managed 135 ongoing projects, totalling $77.7 million, to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (87 per cent) and the West Bank (13 per cent). Of these projects, 63 are being implemented by international NGOs, 56 by national NGOs and 16 by UN agencies. Notably, 69 out of the 79 projects implemented by international NGOs 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.