UNRWA Report no. 113 on situation in Gaza Strip & West Bank

UNRWA staff working to remove waste and provide sanitation services amid the rubble in Khan Younis,

The Gaza Strip

• Ongoing strikes by Israeli Forces continue, with aerial, land and maritime bombardment across the Gaza Strip. These result in civilian casualties, displacement and the destruction of residential structures and civilian infrastructure. Airstrikes have reportedly been especially intense in central Gaza, particularly in Bureij, Maghazi, and Nuseirat refugee camps and eastern Deir Al Balah. The Israeli Forces’ ground offensive continues to expand, particularly in the southern regions of Gaza City and eastern Rafah, deepening the humanitarian crisis and significantly destabilizing humanitarian aid flows.  

• 1.7 million people (more than seven out of every 10 people in the Gaza Strip) are currently displaced; families already displaced multiple times are on the move again due to military operations and Israeli evacuation orders.

• As of 9 June, almost all Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have left Rafah, with fewer than 100,000 people who stayed in the area. All UNRWA shelters in Rafah have been forced to vacate.

• According to OCHA, on 6 June, an UNRWA school sheltering about 6,000 IDPs was struck overnight in Nuseirat refugee camp. The strike reportedly resulted in the killing of around 40 people, including 14 children and nine women, and the injury of 74 others, with some casualties believed to still be under rubble. UNRWA is unable to verify or confirm the above figures.

• According to OCHA, between 1-6 June, out of the 17 coordinated humanitarian assistance missions to northern Gaza, eight (47 per cent) were facilitated by Israeli authorities, three (18 per cent) were denied access, four (23 per cent) were impeded, and two (12 per cent) were cancelled, due to operational or security reasons.

• In addition, out of the 74 coordinated humanitarian assistance missions to areas in southern Gaza, 52 (70 per cent) were facilitated by the Israeli authorities, three (four per cent) were denied, 12 (16 per cent) were impeded, and seven (10 per cent) were cancelled. Many missions classified as impeded experienced extended delays, with some delays reaching up to nine hours at sensitive and insecure locations, placing humanitarian personnel at increased security risks.  

• The ongoing Israeli military operation in Rafah is directly impacting the ability of aid agencies to bring critical humanitarian supplies into Gaza as well as the ability to rotate critical humanitarian staff.  UNRWA has maintained a presence in Rafah with a focus on continuing missions to Kerem Shalom to retrieve fuel and aid. UNRWA is scaling up operations to significantly increase its capacity to retrieve aid via Kerem Shalom pending Israeli Authority movement approvals and cross-UN support to manage logistics.  As UN and UNRWA are only able to access Kerem Shalom to retrieve humanitarian aid, UNRWA is only reporting on trucks entering Kerem Shalom which are being handled/verified by UNRWA and/or UNRWA on behalf of others (e.g. other UN agencies and NGOs).    

• As of 9 June, the total number of UNRWA colleagues killed since 7 October is 193.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem

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

• According to OCHA, between 7 October 2023-3 June 2024, 508 Palestinians, including 124 children, were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

• Between 3 and 9 June there were at least 161 recorded Israeli Security Forces (ISF) search and arrest operations across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The ISF detained more than 225 Palestinians including Palestine Refugees during this period, representing the highest number of detentions recorded in one week since the beginning of February 2024. Dozens of detentions were recorded in Kafr Malik (Ramallah Governorate) and Beit Ummar (Hebron Governorate) on the morning of 5 June, and in Qalqiliya on the morning of 6 June.

• Between 3 and 9 June, 11 Palestinians were reported killed. Three Palestinians were killed on 6 June in an ISF operation in Jenin Camp and Jenin city in the northern West Bank, during which rockets were launched at a house and an ISF helicopter opened fire. Two Palestinians were killed during an exchange of fire in Nablus, in the vicinity of Balata Camp, on 3 June. Two other Palestinians were killed in Tulkarm (north) on the morning of 4 June, when the ISF opened fire on their vehicle. On 9 June, a child was killed during a search operation in El Fara’a camp, in the northern West Bank.

• Israeli settlers’ violence against Palestinians remained high, with an escalation over 7-9 June. Palestinians and their property were attacked in Burqa, in the northern West Bank, with at least two houses subject to arson and several cars burnt. In Masafer Yatta, in the southern West Bank, settlers uprooted olive trees and stole agricultural equipment.

Overall situation 

he Gaza Strip

• According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, as of 9 June, at least 37,084 Palestinians have been reportedly killed in the Gaza Strip since 7 October. Another 84,494 Palestinians have been reportedly injured.

Humanitarian access and protection of civilians

The Gaza Strip

UNRWA is working to verify the details of incidents reportedly affecting UNRWA premises. Further information will be provided once it becomes available. Six incidents have been reported impacting UNRWA installations and IDPs sheltering in them. While verification of details and casualty figures are ongoing, initial reports indicate:

• On 6 June, ISF reportedly fired at a school in Middle Area operating as an UNRWA designated emergency shelter killing 40 IDPs sheltering in the building and injuring at least 74. The building also sustained severe damage as a result of the strike, including damage to two classrooms on the first floor and one classroom on the second floor.

• On 6 June, ISF reportedly bombed a house adjacent to an UNRWA? school in the Middle Area. A shrapnel from the bomb fell inside the school yard, killing one IDP and injuring five.

• On 7 June, ISF reportedly fired a missile on a school in Gaza, killing five IDPs and injuring seven (including two UNRWA employees).

• On 8 June, an ISF drone reportedly shot at water tanks located at the roof of UNRWA's Alternate Office Base in Rafah.

• On 8 June, an ISF drone reportedly fired a small bomb inside the compound of Gaza Field Office, injuring one IDP, who was transferred to the hospital.

• On 8 June, ISF reportedly hit a location near a school in the Middle Area. Multiple injuries amongst the IDPs sheltering at the school were reported from the impact. The number of injured IDPs is yet to be confirmed.

441* incidents impacting UNRWA premises and the people inside them have been reported since the beginning of the war (some with multiple incidents impacting the same location), including at least 72 incidents of military use and/or interference at UNRWA premises. 187 different UNRWA installations have been impacted.  

UNRWA estimates that in total at least 497* IDPs sheltering in UNRWA shelters have been killed and at least a further 1,536* injured since the start of the war. UNRWA is still verifying the number of casualties caused by incidents that impacted its installations, and notes that these figures do not include some reported casualties where the number of injuries could not be determined.

*Numbers continue to be subject to change once further verifications have been conducted.

The Gaza Strip

Health

Due to the security situation, in combination with challenges to internet connectivity, we have been unable to provide any additional updates since Sitrep 112 published on 7 June.

Psychosocial support (PSS)

• With the support of more than 300 counsellors, UNRWA continues to provide life-saving psychosocial support services in Gaza, including psychosocial first aid, individual and group counselling, fatigue management sessions, recreational activities, Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) as well as protection case assistance targeting children, youth and adults.

• Since the onset of the conflict, it is estimated that 650,000 IDPs including over 400,000 children have benefited from a total of 209,915 PSS sessions/activities. During the period from 24 - 30 May a total of 32,511 IDPs, including 22,186 children, benefited from these services. Specifically, counsellors addressed 1,819 individual consultations and provided 413 group awareness sessions benefiting 5,577 adults. Additionally, they conducted 695 recreational activities engaging 15,579 children. Counsellors also provided 439 EORE sessions to 4,530 adults and 493 sessions to 6,607 children.

Food Security

• As of 22 May, UNRWA continued to distribute flour in the southern governorates. To date, a total of 380,225 families (nearly 1.9 million people) have been reached, of whom 337,468 families have received two rounds of flour and another 237,162 families have received three rounds.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Due to the security situation in combination with internet connectivity we are unable to provide any additional updates since sitrep 67

Quote from Janna, nine-year-old displaced girl in Gaza:

"We are tired of displacement, not knowing where to go, fear haunting us everywhere, and the sounds of bombing and explosions above us. […] I miss our home, which we’ve been away from for more than 200 days. A neighbour told us that the area we lived in the north has become a pile of rubble.”

#HearTheirVoices