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Country analysis

Palestine


The conflict between Israel and Palestine continues to generate severe humanitarian needs in Gaza and the West Bank. The Israeli occupation, recurring periods of escalating hostilities, violations to international humanitarian and human rights laws, and internal Palestinian political divisions continue to drive humanitarian and protection needs. As at late 2023, 3.1 million people out of a total population of 5.3 million were estimated to need humanitarian assistance. These include the entire population in Gaza (2.3 million) and 900,000 people from the West Bank. Following the latest round of hostilities that erupted in October 2023, as at early 2024, over 75% of Gaza’s population had been displaced. Almost the entire population faces severe challenges in accessing adequate shelter, water, food, health services, and education. Prior to the latest hostilities, the Gaza Strip had been under an Israeli blockade since 2007, limiting people’s movement and the import of fuel and other basic goods. In the West Bank, Palestinians face serious protection challenges, including threats to their lives, liberty, property, and freedom of movement. The coercive environment and restrictive measures imposed by the Israeli occupation in the West Bank contribute to insecurity and prevent Palestinians from accessing essential services, basic housing, and livelihoods.

(OCHA 31/12/2020, UNRWA 07/02/2024, OCHA accessed 08/02/2024, OCHA 07/02/2024, OCHA 06/11/2023)

The conflict between Israel and Palestine continues to generate severe humanitarian needs in Gaza and the West Bank. The Israeli occupation, recurring periods of escalating hostilities, violations to international humanitarian and human rights laws, and internal Palestinian political divisions continue to drive humanitarian and protection needs. As at late 2023, 3.1 million people out of a total population of 5.3 million were estimated to need humanitarian assistance. These include the entire population in Gaza (2.3 million) and 900,000 people from the West Bank. Following the latest round of hostilities that erupted in October 2023, as at early 2024, over 75% of Gaza’s population had been displaced. Almost the entire population faces severe challenges in accessing adequate shelter, water, food, health services, and education. Prior to the latest hostilities, the Gaza Strip had been under an Israeli blockade since 2007, limiting people’s movement and the import of fuel and other basic goods. In the West Bank, Palestinians face serious protection challenges, including threats to their lives, liberty, property, and freedom of movement. The coercive environment and restrictive measures imposed by the Israeli occupation in the West Bank contribute to insecurity and prevent Palestinians from accessing essential services, basic housing, and livelihoods.

(OCHA 31/12/2020, UNRWA 07/02/2024, OCHA accessed 08/02/2024, OCHA 07/02/2024, OCHA 06/11/2023)

Latest updates on country situation

20 March 2024

Famine conditions in northern Gaza have continued to materialise in March 2024, with some reports emerging of children dying from malnutrition and dehydration. The latest IPC assessment projects famine to occur any time before May. Famine means extreme food unavailability for households even after they exhaust all coping strategies, leading to starvation, death, and critical acute malnutrition. As at mid-March, two-thirds of the households in the north were going days without eating at least ten times in the past 30 days. The starvation conditions are mainly resulting from the Israeli military restricting humanitarian access and destroying essential infrastructure, with around 70% of buildings in northern governorates damaged or destroyed as at March 2023. These include essential infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools, and WASH facilities. As at mid-March, humanitarian and commercial access remained highly restricted in these governorates since October 2023. (IPC 18/03/2024, OCHA 19/03/2024, UNICEF 15/03/2024)

20 February 2024

Between 16 October 2023 and 13 February 2024, around 312,700 acute respiratory infections, 222,600 acute watery diarrhoea cases, and 74,700 scabies and lice cases were reported in the Gaza Strip. It is estimated that around 93% of children under five had one or more diseases, more than 70% had diarrhoea, 60% had acute respiratory infections in the two weeks leading to 31 January. Deteriorating nutrition conditions and limited access to clean drinking water and WASH services are among the main drivers. As at January, 90% of children under two were experiencing severe food insecurity, consuming food with limited variety and low nutritional value. In the southern Gaza area of Rafah, 5% of children under two are acutely malnourished. In northern Gaza, where humanitarian access is severely restricted, around 15.6% of children under two are acutely malnourished. (WHO 19/02/2024, Health Cluster/WASH Cluster 20/02/2024, Global Nutrition Cluster 18/02/2024)

05 February 2024

As at 5 February 2024, the current conflict in Gaza continues to affect pregnant women in the Gaza Strip with additional challenges in accessing special foods, medicine, and vitamins. The Israeli siege and indiscriminate targeting of civilian infrastructure have exposed them to unstable shelter and inadequate nutrition. They face challenges in accessing special food items, medicine, and vitamins, as well as in reaching health facilities, with some having had to give birth in shelters with no proper medical equipment. (Al Jazeera 24/12/2023, OCHA 06/02/2024, WFP 02/02/2024)

05 February 2024

As at 5 February 2024, school closures and attacks on the education sector in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023 had affected more than 625,000 students and 23,000 teachers. These attacks on schools and civilian infrastructure in general had led the Ministry of Education to suspend the school year in Gaza on 7 November. (OCHA 05/02/2024, UNICEF accessed 05/02/2024, Al Jazeera 24/01/2024)

09 January 2024

As at 9 January 2024, only 15 of the 36 hospitals in Gaza (nine in the south and six in the north) were functional with partial capacity. The southern hospitals were operating at three times their capacity while facing basic supply and fuel shortages. The six northern hospitals were offering maternity, trauma, and emergency services with shortages in medical staff, supplies, fuel, food, and drinking water. From 7 October 2023 to 5 January 2024, the Israeli military operation resulted in more than 300 attacks on the health sector in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the targeting of 94 healthcare facilities and damaging 26 hospitals. The attacks also targeted 76 ambulances, with 38 sustaining damage. As at 29 December 2023, Israeli forces had detained or arrested 65 health workers in Gaza since 7 October, aggravating the challenges facing the health sector in the enclave. (UN 05/01/2024, WHO 29/12/2023, OCHA 09/01/2024)

19 December 2023

The hunger situation in Gaza continues to worsen. The conflict has forcibly displaced 85% of the people in the enclave. The vast majority have been displaced to the southern governorates, where severe hunger levels have increased from 38% in a WFP assessment conducted during the humanitarian pause to 56% on 14 December, 12 days after the end of the humanitarian pause on 1 December. The hunger situation is likely worse for those who have remained in northern Gaza]. The siege imposed by Israel on Gaza hampers the delivery of essential goods, including food, and prevents large-scale humanitarian operations. Israeli military ground operations and air strikes on heavily populated areas, agricultural lands, and essential infrastructure, such as bakeries and water networks, are also aggravating the hunger situation in the strip. (WFP 14/12/2023, OCHA 18/12/2023, HRW 18/12/2023)

10 December 2023

Between 7 October and 9 December 2023, settler violence and access restrictions displaced over 1,000 Palestinians from 15 Bedouin communities in the West Bank. The Bedouin are highly dependent on humanitarian assistance. Settler violence and displacement have aggravated livelihood and food security needs for these communities and affected their access to humanitarian assistance, such as health and education services. (OCHA 09/12/2023, OCHA 25/01/2023, OCHA 01/11/2023)

current crises
in Palestine


These crises have been identified through the INFORM Severity Index, a tool for measuring and comparing the severity of humanitarian crises globally.

Read more about the Index

PSE003 - Conflict in West Bank

Last updated 28/02/2024


Drivers

Conflict
Displacement
Socio-political
Violence

Crisis level

Country

Severity level

3.5 High

Access constraints

4.0

PSE004 - Conflict in Gaza

Last updated 28/02/2024


Drivers

Conflict
Displacement
Socio-political
Violence

Crisis level

Country

Severity level

4.2 Very High

Access constraints

5.0

PSE002 - Conflict

Last updated 28/02/2024


Drivers

Conflict
Socio-political
Violence

Crisis level

Country

Severity level

4.4 Very High

Access constraints

5.0

Analysis products
on Palestine

Palestine: humanitarian access to and within the Gaza Strip

08 March 2024

Palestine: humanitarian access to and within the Gaza Strip

DOCUMENT / PDF / 349 KB

This report consolidates all available information on access into and within the Gaza Strip. The aim is to create awareness around access limitations and to support advocacy efforts to scale up the response. 

Humanitarian access
Egypt: potential impacts of the conflict in Gaza and tensions in the Red Sea

08 March 2024

Egypt: potential impacts of the conflict in Gaza and tensions in the Red Sea

DOCUMENT / PDF / 537 KB

This report aims to provide an overview of the anticipated impacts of the conflict in Gaza and the Red Sea tensions on Egypt’s economy, including analysis of the factors and events with the potential to trigger a deterioration in affected people’s humanitarian situation. It also explains the possible resulting humanitarian conditions for affected Egyptian households, existing refugees, and newly displaced Gazans.

Palestine: risk of famine in pockets of the Gaza Strip

05 March 2024

Palestine: risk of famine in pockets of the Gaza Strip

DOCUMENT / PDF / 353 KB

People in Gaza are facing extreme challenges in meeting their basic needs, including food, because of significant access constraints stemming from insecurity. At the same time, these constraints are preventing humanitarian responders from reaching the affected population.

Conflict and violenceHumanitarian access
Palestine: impact of the conflict on people with disabilities in the Gaza Strip

14 February 2024

Palestine: impact of the conflict on people with disabilities in the Gaza Strip

DOCUMENT / PDF / 501 KB

The Israeli forces’ aerial strikes, ground offensive, and blockade of Gaza that followed the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 have had a disproportionate impact on people with disabilities.

Conflict and violence
Palestine: impact of the conflict on children in the Gaza Strip

01 February 2024

Palestine: impact of the conflict on children in the Gaza Strip

DOCUMENT / PDF / 876 KB

As at 20 January 2024, almost one million children were estimated to be internally displaced within Gaza. Most were in the southern Rafah governorate bordering Egypt, currently the most populated governorate in the Gaza Strip.

Conflict and violenceProtection
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