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Country analysis

Palestine


The conflict between Israel and Palestine – particularly the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza – continue to generate severe humanitarian needs among the Palestinian populations of Gaza and the West Bank. An estimated 2.1 million Palestinian people (out of a total population of 5.3 million) are in need of humanitarian assistance. Of those in need, 800,000 reside in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and 1.3 million are in the Gaza Strip.

Protracted conflict, the Israeli military occupation, the Gaza blockade, violations to international humanitarian and human rights laws, internal Palestinian political divisions, and periods of escalating hostilities continue to drive humanitarian needs.

The protracted humanitarian crisis in Palestine has resulted in acute humanitarian consequences – including a lack of access to services and displacement. People in need face a lack of adequate health assistance given an overburdened healthcare system, inadequate shelters, food insecurity, and increased poverty and unemployment.

Palestinians in the West Bank face serious protection challenges, including threats to their lives, liberty, security, property, and freedom of movement, with a lack of accountability and effective remedies.

The Gaza Strip has been under blockade since 2006, limiting imports of fuel and other basic goods and hindering the movement of people in and out of the area.

(OCHA 25/01/2023, OCHA 31/12/2020 a, OCHA 31/12/2020 b, OCHA 29/06/2022)

The conflict between Israel and Palestine – particularly the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza – continue to generate severe humanitarian needs among the Palestinian populations of Gaza and the West Bank. An estimated 2.1 million Palestinian people (out of a total population of 5.3 million) are in need of humanitarian assistance. Of those in need, 800,000 reside in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and 1.3 million are in the Gaza Strip.

Protracted conflict, the Israeli military occupation, the Gaza blockade, violations to international humanitarian and human rights laws, internal Palestinian political divisions, and periods of escalating hostilities continue to drive humanitarian needs.

The protracted humanitarian crisis in Palestine has resulted in acute humanitarian consequences – including a lack of access to services and displacement. People in need face a lack of adequate health assistance given an overburdened healthcare system, inadequate shelters, food insecurity, and increased poverty and unemployment.

Palestinians in the West Bank face serious protection challenges, including threats to their lives, liberty, security, property, and freedom of movement, with a lack of accountability and effective remedies.

The Gaza Strip has been under blockade since 2006, limiting imports of fuel and other basic goods and hindering the movement of people in and out of the area.

(OCHA 25/01/2023, OCHA 31/12/2020 a, OCHA 31/12/2020 b, OCHA 29/06/2022)

Latest updates on country situation

05 July 2023

On 5 July 2023, the Israeli military withdrew its forces from the Jenin refugee camp after a two-day raid, during which more than 3,000 of the estimated 14,000 camp residents fled. The Israeli forces killed 12 Palestinians, injured around 100, and detained 120 during the raid. The violence damaged the main water pipeline and three main electric transformers, leaving the camp residents without drinking water and electricity. Food, drinking water, and milk powder are some of the immediate needs. The Israeli forces restricted access to the camp during the raid by bulldozing many of the roads leading to it and setting a checkpoint at the only remaining entrance. Medical responders reported that Israeli forces prevented and delayed ambulances from entering the camp, forcing some paramedics to enter by foot to provide medical assistance. OCHA 03/07/2023, Al Jazeera 04/07/2023, The Guardian 04/07/2023)

12 April 2023

On 4 April 2023, Israeli forces raided holy sites in Jerusalem, resulting in the beating up and injuring of hundreds of Palestinian worshippers and highlighting the increase in violence in the West Bank in the month of April.


The rise in violence is increasing the humanitarian needs of Palestinians, including protection from risks that include threats to life, insecurity, loss of property, and movement restrictions.
(UN HRC 06/04/2023, Al Jazeera 02/04/2023, UN 05/04/2023, OCHA 31/12/2020, OCHA 31/03/2023)

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

PSE002 - Conflict

Last updated 30/08/2023


Drivers

Conflict
Socio-political
Violence

Crisis level

Country

Severity level

3.7 High

Access constraints

4.0

Analysis products
on Palestine

Palestine: escalation of violence in Jenin

12 July 2023

Palestine: escalation of violence in Jenin

DOCUMENT / PDF / 264 KB

On 3 July 2023, Israeli forces conducted a two-day largescale air and ground operation in Jenin Refugee Camp and its surroundings. This is the largest Israeli operation in the occupied West Bank since 2002. The objective of the operation, as stated, was to counter the presence of armed Palestinians in Jenin.

Conflict and violence
Palestine: escalation of violence in Gaza

18 May 2023

Palestine: escalation of violence in Gaza

DOCUMENT / PDF / 419 KB

On 9 May 2023, Israel launched air raids on several areas across the Gaza Strip, with claims to target members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement. On 13 May, a ceasefire was declared between the Israeli authorities and PIJ. The destruction of homes and safety concerns had displaced more than 1,200 Palestinians and about 3,000 housing units have been reported as damaged, severly damaged or totally destroyed. 

Conflict and violence

Attached resources

State of Palestine: Violence in Huwara, Westbank

16 March 2023

State of Palestine: Violence in Huwara, Westbank

DOCUMENT / PDF / 394 KB

Since 26 February 2023, there has been an increase in violence against Palestinian citizens in Huwara, a Palestinian town located in Nablus governorate, northern West Bank. On 26 February, more than 400 Israeli settlers stormed Huwara and three surrounding villages, vandalising and torching 75 houses and more than 100 cars of Palestinian residents in what has been described as a ‘pogrom’ by an Israeli commander overseeing the West Bank. 

Conflict and violence
Palestine: flooding in the Gaza Strip

10 January 2023

Palestine: flooding in the Gaza Strip

DOCUMENT / PDF / 1 MB

Since November 2022, Gaza has been experiencing intermittent heavy rainfall that has accumulated in Israeli-controlled dams and reservoirs near the Gaza Strip. Between 24–26 December 2022, Israeli authorities opened dam gates and levees along the perimeter fence east of Gaza, flooding the central and southern areas of the Gaza Strip with accumulated rainwater.

Natual hazards

Attached resources

Palestine: Social impacts analysis

19 October 2021

Palestine: Social impacts analysis

DOCUMENT / PDF / 800 KB

This report approaches the analysis of the humanitarian situation in Palestine with a focus on social impacts. It is part of a series of independent analysis products to support humanitarian decision-making in Palestine in the aftermath of the escalation of violence in May 2021.

View more