UNRWA Situation Report no. 100 on Gaza & W Bank-Jerusalem

Gazans queuing for food. © UNRWA

The Gaza Strip 

The Gaza Strip update will shift to twice a week, every Monday and Thursday.

• Israeli Security Forces (ISF) continued military operations across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure.  Airstrikes and bombardment continued in north Gaza, Khan Younis and Rafah where UNRWA estimates a total of 1.2 million people are now living, the vast majority in formal and informal shelters.  

• OCHA released its Gaza Humanitarian Access Snapshot for March 2024[1] .  The report highlighted that The Gaza Strip is undergoing unparalleled humanitarian crisis marked by relentless hostilities and mounting challenges in accessing critical aid and services. Despite ongoing humanitarian efforts, the situation is exacerbated by frequent aerial bombardments in densely populated urban zones, extensive military ground operations, risks posed by unexploded ordnance (UXO), pervasive insecurity, closures of key crossing points, restrictions on movement and access by Israeli authorities, and damage to infrastructure. 

• In March 2024, a total of 420 trucks food trucks were denied or impeded by Israeli authorities.  Following reports of imminent famine, 40.5 per cent of all food missions have been denied in February and March.  Gaza is on the brink of famine, with 1.1 million people—half of its population—experiencing catastrophic food insecurity due to the intense conflict and severe restrictions on humanitarian access. Immediate action is imperative from Israeli authorities and all involved parties to ensure safe and unhindered access for humanitarian organizations. This is crucial to address the urgent needs of Gaza's population.  UNRWA continues to be disproportionate restrictions on access, with no food convoys approved since March 2024. UNRWA was last able to deliver food to the north at the end of January. 

• On 5 April, a multi-agency mission led by WHO gained access to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City for a preliminary assessment of the damage and to determine the needs.  Leading up to the mission, WHO's attempts to reach the hospital for medical evacuations and assessments were repeatedly denied, delayed, or obstructed six times between 25 March and 1 April.  Despite coordination with Israeli authorities, the mission experienced significant delays at the military checkpoint on the way to Al-Shifa Hospital. Simultaneously, another WHO-led mission headed for Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals in northern Gaza faced setbacks. This mission aimed to deliver medical supplies, fuel, deploy emergency medical teams, and facilitate the referral of critical patients. However, it encountered unnecessary delays, including the detention of a supply truck driver who was part of the convoy. He was detained for over an hour at a separate location, away from the mission team. Eventually, due to safety concerns, the mission had to be aborted.

• On 7 April, on World Health Day, out of the 36 primary hospitals that once catered to the needs of over 2 million Gazans, only 10 are currently operational, albeit with significant restrictions on the range of services they can provide.  Similarly, only eight UNRWA health centres continue to operate out of 24, where two have been temporarily set up due to growing displaced populations. 

• There has been no significant change in the volume of humanitarian supplies entering Gaza or improved access to the north. Since the beginning of April, an average of 177 aid trucks have crossed into Gaza per day via the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) and Rafah land crossings. This remains well below the operational capacity of both border crossings and the target of 500 trucks per day.   

• Since 7 October, UNRWA provided over 1.8 million people, or 85 per cent of the population, with flour.  In addition, nearly 600,000  people have received emergency food parcels and almost 3.6 million patient consultations have been provided at health centres and points. UNRWA continues to provide storage and distribution for other agencies’ food commodities. 

• As of 7 April, the total number of UNRWA colleagues killed since the beginning of hostilities is 178, an increase of one.

• As of 1 April, up to 1.7 million* people (over 75 per cent of the population)** have been displaced across the Gaza Strip, the majority multiple times.*** Families are forced to move repeatedly in search of safety. Following intense Israeli bombardments and fighting in Khan Younis and the Middle Area in recent weeks, a significant number of displaced people have moved further south.  

*This includes 1 million people living in or near emergency shelters or informal shelters. As of 12 October, approximately 160,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were recorded in UNRWA shelters in Northern Gaza and Gaza City governorates. UNRWA currently estimates that the population of Northern Gaza and Gaza City governorates is up to 300,000 people. The ability of UNRWA to provide humanitarian support and updated data in these areas has been severely restricted. The ongoing hostilities, evacuation orders issued by ISF, and the constant need for safer locations have resulted in people being displaced multiple times.

**UNRWA reported on 15 January in Situation Report 64 that up to 1.9 million IDPs were either residing in 154 UNRWA shelters or near these shelters. Due to the continued escalation of fighting and evacuation orders, some households have moved away from the shelters where they were initially registered.

*** There are instances where the same IDPs are registered in multiple shelters due to the fluid movement of populations; hereafter, estimates are used for these shelters. UNRWA plans to conduct a more accurate count of IDPs in shelters, including informal shelters, as soon as the security situation allows. 

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem update will shift to once a week, every Monday.  

• Between 4 and 7 April there were at least 94 ISF search and arrest operations recorded, and 100 Palestinians detained, including Palestine refugees. This includes 12 Palestinians who were detained in an ISF search operation in Biddu, central West Bank, on 4 April. 

• Two Palestinians were killed during this period: one during an ISF operation in Nur Shams Camp on 5 April; and one during an ISF operation in Ya’bad on 4 April - both in the northern West Bank. 

• The last Friday of Ramadan, 5 April, saw a number of incidents in and around Al Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s Old City. Reports were received of Palestinians being detained while leaving the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, and of Palestinians being physically assaulted by ISF personnel. 

• In the southern West Bank, settlers harassed and attacked Palestinian shepherds and farmers in Masafer Yatta and Az Zuweidin on 7 April. They prevented Palestinians from reaching their fields and began grazing their own sheep on Palestinian-owned land.

Overall situation

The Gaza Strip 

• According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza as of 5 April, at least 33,091 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since 7 October. About 70 per cent of those killed are reported to be women and children. Another 75,750 Palestinians have been reportedly injured. 

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem

• According to OCHA, between 7 October 2023– 1 April 2024, 440 Palestinians, including at least 110 children, have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.