UNRWA Situation Report #122 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem - All information from 15-17 July 2024, valid as of 17 July 2024 at 22:30
UNRWA
19 Jul 2024
Days 283-285 of Hostilities
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Key Points
The Gaza Strip
- Ongoing strikes by Israeli Security Forces (ISF) 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. The ISF ground offensive continues to expand, particularly in the North and Gaza City, forcing people to be further displaced.
- As of 17 July, the total number of UNRWA colleagues killed since 7 October is 197.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded more than 1,000 attacks on healthcare facilities in the occupied Palestinian territory since 7 October 2023. The Palestinian health system continues to be severely overstretched. According to WHO, in the Gaza Strip, only 1,400 hospital beds are currently operational for a population of approximately 2.1 million people. Many of these hospital beds are already occupied/filled. According to the ICRC [1], the 60-bed Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza, is nearly at full capacity following repeated mass casualty events.
- The Commissioner General of UNRWA put out a statement on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) that attacks on schools in Gaza have become an almost daily occurrence with at least eight schools hit in the last 10 days (9-16 July), including six UNRWA schools; "the war continues to rob the girls and boys in Gaza of their childhood and education," he said.
- According to UNICEF [2], as of May 2024, 60 per cent of WASH facilities have been destroyed or severely damaged. This increases water shortages and limits access to sanitation, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases, while approximately 30 per cent of hospitals remain partially functional, with the remainder out of service.
- According to the UN, up to 1.9 million people (or nine in ten people) across the Gaza Strip are internally displaced, including people who have been repeatedly displaced (some up to 10 times).
- Several challenges stand in the way of collecting much needed humanitarian supplies from the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing point in southern Gaza. One of the factors is the deteriorating law and order, other factors are insecurity, damaged infrastructure, fuel shortages and restricted access.
- The latest information on supplies entering Gaza can be found below:
Gaza Supplies and Dispatch Tracking | UNRWA
[1] Gaza: Repeated mass casualty events put hospitals under severe strain - occupied Palestinian territory | ReliefWeb
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem update is now once a week.
- According to OCHA, between 7 October 2023 and 15 July 2024, 554 Palestinians, including 131 children, were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Overall Situation
The Gaza Strip
- According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, as of 15 July, at least 38,664 Palestinians have been reportedly killed in the Gaza Strip since 7 October. Another 89,097 Palestinians have been reportedly injured.
Humanitarian Access, 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.
- Three incidents have been reported impacting UNRWA installations and internally displaced people (IDPs) sheltering there. While verification of details and casualty figures is ongoing, initial reports indicate:
- [LATE REPORT] On 13 July 2024 (estimated date), ISF reportedly carried out a controlled detonation of a school in Rafah. The school was totally destroyed.
- On 15 July 2024, ISF reportedly launched a missile at an UNRWA school in Gaza City, which was being used as a shelter. Even though the missile did not explode, its impact killed two and injured 10 IDPs sheltering at the school. The missile penetrated the roof of the school building and caused significant damage to three classrooms in the school.
- On 16 July 2024, ISF reportedly fired a missile at an UNRWA school in the Middle Area, killing 20 IDPs sheltering in the school and injuring 50.
- 461* 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 74 incidents of military use and/or interference at UNRWA premises. 189 different UNRWA installations have been impacted by munitions or subjected to armed actor interference through these incidents.
- UNRWA estimates that in total at least 561* internally displaced people (IDPs) sheltering in UNRWA shelters have been killed and at least another 1,768* injured since the start of the war. UNRWA continues to verify 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.
UNRWA Response
The Gaza Strip
Health
- As of 11 July, 83 medical points and ten (out of 26 [1]) UNRWA health centres were operational. These health centres provide primary health care, including outpatient services, non-communicable disease care, medications, vaccination, antenatal and postnatal health care and dressing for the injured.
- On 11 July, almost 1,100 UNRWA health staff continued to work in operational health centres and medical points across the Gaza Strip, providing 16,317 medical consultations.
- As of 11 July, UNRWA provided mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services in the Middle and Khan Younis areas with teams of psychiatrists and supervisors to assist special cases referred from health centres and shelters. UNRWA teams responded to 605 cases. They responded to cases in health centres and at medical points through individual consultations, awareness sessions and support for cases of gender-based violence. The teams provided medical care for 485 post-natal and pregnant women at high risk.
- According to the Health Cluster, UNRWA remains one of the largest health actors operating in the Gaza Strip, contributing to over half of the people reached with health services. Between 7 October - 14 July, UNRWA provided over 4.7 million medical consultations in health centres and medical points across the Gaza Strip. In addition to medical consultations, UNRWA continues to provide vaccines with over 120,000 children vaccinated.
- Due to challenges in bringing health supplies into the Gaza Strip as well as challenges in retrieving health supplies and transporting them to health facilities, stock levels remain very low, with up to 60 per cent of medicines either fully depleted or available in very low quantities.
[1] Pre-conflict UNRWA had 22 health centres, following the conflict an additional temporary health centres have been established.
Psychosocial support (PSS)
- With the support of more than 300 counsellors, UNRWA continues to provide lifesaving psychosocial support (PSS) services in Gaza, including psychosocial first aid, individual and group counselling, fatigue management sessions, recreational activities, Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE), and protection cash assistance, reaching children, youth and adults.
- Since the onset of the conflict, around 700,000 IDPs, including 450,000 children, have benefited from a total of 235,666 PSS sessions/activities. From 23 June-7 July 2024, a total of 61,798 IDPs, including 26,645 children, benefited from these services.
Food Security
- 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 them 367,768 families have received two rounds of flour and another 300,978 families have received three rounds.
- As part of its emergency response, UNRWA distributes food parcels in the southern governorates. UNRWA food parcels include [1] flour, rice, chickpeas, lentils, cheese, hummus, and fish, and are designed to cover approximately 90 per cent of daily calorific needs. To date, nearly 1.15 million people have been reached, of whom nearly 215,000 people have received two rounds of food parcels since the war started.
- In addition to the distribution of UNRWA food parcels, the Agency distributed other food parcels on behalf of other UN organisations, reaching around 1.4 million people.
[1] Note the composition of the food parcel may change based on food item availability.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
Due to the security situation, in combination with challenges to internet connectivity, we have been unable to provide any additional updates since Sitrep 67.
Quote from Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General:
"The war robbed the girls and boys in Gaza of their childhood and education. Schools must never be used for fighting or military purposes by any party to the conflict. Schools are not a target."
ENDS
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