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As of 3 December 2024, Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed 44,786 Palestinians and injured more than 106,000, while more than 10,000 are reported missing and likely buried under the rubble. Approximately 80% of Gaza's territory remains under forced displacement orders by Israeli forces, with 1.9 million people, or 90% of the total population, having been internally displaced multiple times during the past year.
Palestinians in Gaza are facing the combined effects of a lack of critical resources, collapse of public order, and worsening weather conditions. Without adequate humanitarian assistance, Gaza has become “unfit for human survival,” as Joyce Msuya, the acting UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs told the UN Security Council in November.
An average of only 65 humanitarian trucks per day entered Gaza in November, well below the 500 humanitarian truckloads per working day allowed before 7 October 2023, which were already insufficient to meet the needs of the population. In the same period, commercial supplies have come to a near halt.
Attacks on aid workers have continued: on 30 November alone, three separate Israeli airstrikes killed a Palestinian soup kitchen chef feeding hundreds of families in the besieged Beit Lahia, one Save the Children staff member and three staff from World Central Kitchen, pushing the latter to pause its operations altogether. The total confirmed death toll among humanitarian workers since 7 October 2023 now stands at 343.
As acute food insecurity and desperation spread across Gaza, UN and humanitarian organizations continued to experience looting of aid convoys, including by armed gangs, in central and southern Gaza. In some cases, unarmed individuals seized supplies during unloading or transit to distribution points. These incidents underscore the extreme desperation and suffering inflicted on Palestinians, who have been living in conditions that undermine their survival for over a year. As a result of the breakdown of public order, including in areas where there is a heavy presence of Israeli forces, on 1 December UNRWA announced that it was suspending aid deliveries through Karam Abu Salem / Kerem Shalom, the main crossing point for humanitarian aid into Gaza. According to media reports, on 12 December, Israeli forces reportedly targeted a security team escorting aid trucks, killing at least 12 and injuring dozens.
Meanwhile, heavy rains hit the Gaza Strip on 25 November, marking the start of the winter season. The worsening weather conditions are expected to affect more than 1.6 million people living in makeshift shelters, including half a million in flood-prone areas. In August, OCHA developed a comprehensive winterization plan targeting 2.1 million people and requiring US$242 million, but its implementation is being slowed down by a lack of sufficient funding, and a lack of facilitation by the Israeli authorities to ensure the entry of supplies and equipment.
NORTH GAZA
On 6 October, the Israeli military launched a renewed offensive on North Gaza, imposing a siege on Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia, leaving 65,000 - 75,000 people trapped without food, water, electricity or reliable healthcare. Humanitarian aid has been almost entirely blocked for 60 days, and only three hospitals remain partially operational with restricted access. Constant shelling creates fear, hampers humanitarian planning, and discourages movement to service points, while mass displacement towards Gaza City has further strained resources and complicated aid delivery. The population faces imminent risks of disease, starvation, and violence without urgent relief.
- All 41 attempts by the UN to deliver life-saving aid to the besieged people in North Gaza in November were either denied (37) or impeded (4). Only one Emergency Medical Team managed to reach Kamal Adwan hospital on 1 December, the first time in 60 days. A few days later, the hospital was heavily bombed with no previous warning, killing four health workers, and the medical team was ordered to leave.
- Several organisations, including War Child, Juzoor (Medicins du Monde and International Rescue Committee - IRC partner), Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), Oxfam and its partners, and the IRC reported a complete suspension of aid delivers to Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia due to movement denials, hostilities, and a complete blockade imposed by Israeli forces on North Gaza.
- Only three of the reporting organisations were able to deliver limited assistance to the North through Palestinian partners, who faced continued displacement and insecurity due to Israeli military operations.
- Organizations that were operating in North Gaza until 6 October were forced to relocate due to displacement orders and hostilities. For example, the Palestinian Medical Relief Society was forced to relocate from North Gaza to Gaza City after its medical points were destroyed.
- Organizations that were able to relocate their operations to areas outside of North Gaza, such as Oxfam, Première Urgence Internationale (PUI), Save Youth Future Society (SYFS), Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP), Community Training Centre and Crisis Management (CTCCM), Palestinian Hydrology Group and Juzoor reported limitations on their effectiveness even after relocation, due to ongoing hostilities, reduction of distribution points, extensive destruction of roads and facilities, and shortages of essential resources such as water, electricity, fuel, and medical supplies.
- Some organizations reported continued denials of authorization by the Israeli authorities. IRC has been waiting to send 600 boxes (12 pallets) of ready-to-use therapeutic food into North Gaza since October. Terre des Hommes (TdH) Italy requested 'pre-approval' for cargo through the Jordan corridor but was denied by COGAT.