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UNRWA Situation Report #86 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem - All information from 3-4 March 2024, is valid as of 4 March 2024 at 22:30

UNRWA

6 Mar 2024

Key Points

The Gaza Strip

• Intense Israeli bombardment from air, land and sea continued to be reported across much of the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Israeli airstrikes continue in heavily populated Rafah in southern Gaza, where on 2 March there were reports of airstrikes near an MSF supported primary maternal field hospital.

• WHO and UNICEF raised concerns that child malnutrition levels in northern Gaza were particularly extreme, with now at least 15 children reported to have died from malnutrition and dehydration in Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza, with a further six acutely malnourished children at risk of death. UNICEF spokesperson stated that malnutrition rates for children under five in northern Gaza, where access to aid has been limited, were three times higher than those in the south.

• The first three days of March saw a marginal increase in the number of trucks entering with an average of 127 trucks per day entering Gaza, well below the operational capacity of both border crossings. February saw a very low number of trucks entering Gaza with an average of nearly 99 trucks entering per day. The number of trucks entering Gaza remains well below the target of 500 per day, with challenges bringing supplies in through both Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) and Rafah. UNRWA trucks have struggled to enter the Gaza Strip due to the war and the inconsistent opening of both crossings. Security to manage the crossing has been severely impacted due to the killing of several Palestinian policemen in Israeli airstrikes near the crossings in early February.

• As of 4 March, the total number of UNRWA colleagues killed since the beginning of hostilities is now 162, an increase of two. As of 4 March, up to 1.7 million* people (over 75 per cent of the population) ** have been displaced across the Gaza Strip, some 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 one million individuals residing 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 North Gaza and Gaza governorates. UNRWA currently estimates that the population of North Gaza and Gaza governorates to be 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 Israeli Security Forces (ISF), and the constant need for safer locations have resulted in people being displaced multiple times.

** UNRWA reported 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

• Between 29 February and 4 March, 138 ISF search and arrest operations were recorded across the West Bank, with at least 90 Palestinians detained during this period. There were eight Palestinian fatalities reported, of whom three were children.

• On the night of 3 March, a large ISF operation took place in Nur Shams Camp, northern West Bank. Significant damage to infrastructure including roads was reported. UNRWA schools inside the refugee camp were forced to close for a day. In the early morning of 4 March, an ISF operation in Al Am'ari Camp in the central West Bank resulted in the killing of one Palestine refugee during the exchange of fire.

• On 1 March, settlers reportedly established a new outpost on Palestinian-owned land south of Al Lubban a-Sharqiya village (northern West Bank), enforced by access restrictions on Palestinians by ISF. This followed the confiscation of land in the area by ISF on 29 February. West of Bethlehem, bulldozing of Palestinian land was reported on 4 March near Husan village, purportedly to facilitate the expansion of the West Bank Barrier.