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UNRWA Situation Report #106 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem - All information from 25-28 April 2024, is valid as of 29-5 May 2024, is valid as of 5 May 2024 at 22:30 (local time)

UNRWA

7 May 2024

Day 206-212 of Hostilities

Key Points

• Israeli Security Forces (ISF) operations from air, land and sea continue across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, infrastructure damage and displacement.

• On 5 May, UNRWA's Commissioner-General released a statement highlighting the continual denial of humanitarian access by the Israeli Authorities, which is in violation of humanitarian law. For the second time UNRWA Commissioner-General has been denied entry to the Gaza Strip to meet UNRWA teams including those on the front line. Over the past two weeks, UNRWA has recorded over 10 incidents involving shooting at convoys and bullying and harassment of UN staff.

• On 30 April, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of "serious" consequences of a potential military operation on Rafah. Similarly on 3 May, the Global Protection Cluster released a statement that up to 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip face death and injury from Israeli strikes, explosive ordnances and collapsing buildings. They added that the potential military incursion in Rafah and the magnitude of consequences make the already catastrophic situation impossible.

• On 3 May, WHO confirmed[1] that only one third of Gaza's 36 hospitals and 30 per cent of primary health care centers are functional in some capacity amid repeated attacks and shortages of vital medical supplies, fuel, and staff. UNRWA currently operates eight out of 23 health centres across the Gaza Strip.

• On 1 May, OCHA released its weekly Humanitarian Needs and Response Update. Across Health, Education, Protection, Education and Nutrition Clusters, the same challenges continue to persist, with continued restrictions on the entry of critical lifesaving supplies and/or continued access and security concerns.

• In April, the highest volume of humanitarian and commercial supplies entered the Gaza Strip since the opening of land routes on 21 October 2023. The total number of trucks in April was 5,671 trucks (an average of 189 trucks per day) via Kerem Shalom and Rafah land crossings into the Gaza Strip. The first five days of May have seen a greater number of trucks entering with an average of 252 trucks per day. This is still much less than the daily average of 500 trucks per day needed.

• As of 5 May, the total number of UNRWA colleagues killed since the beginning of hostilities is 188, an increase of six since the last report.

• As of 5 May, 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 29 April and 5 May there were at least 159 ISF search and arrest operations recorded across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. At least 105 Palestinians, including Palestine Refugees, were detained during this period. At least five Palestinians were reportedly killed in Deir al Ghusun, in the northern West Bank, on the night of 3-4 May following an exchange of fire between ISF and Palestinians. Anti-tank grenades were used against a house targeted in an ISF operation. A resident of Nur Shams Camp was killed in an exchange of fire with the Palestinian National Security Forces (PSF) on 1 Mayin Tulkarm, in the northern West Bank.