Attachments
Highlights
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Up to 1.9 million people are displaced, with over 12,000 people per square kilometre in the south of the Gaza Strip, the most densely populated area. This is a fourfold increase from before the escalation and has resulted in dire living conditions for hundreds of thousands of IDPs who are squeezed into extremely overcrowded spaces.
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Lack of food and poor hygiene worsen living conditions, increase protection and mental health issues, and contribute to prevalence of diseases UNRWA shelters have recorded over 360,000 cases of infectious diseases, such as acute respiratory infections, meningitis, jaundice, impetigo, and chickenpox.
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UNICEF delivered lipid-based nutrition supplements covering the needs of 61,600 children aged 6-24 months inside shelters in the Gaza Strip for one month, ready to use therapeutic food for 3,000 children with acute malnutrition, micronutrient supplements for 1,660 pregnant and breastfeeding women, Vitamin A supplements for 3,370 infants aged 6-11 months.
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UNICEF provided 80,000 litres of fuel during the reporting period to run wells and desalination plants, reaching more than 1.3 million people, including over 676,000 children with clean water for drinking.
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In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, UNICEF provided child protection services and awareness-raising sessions on child rights to 562 individuals (320 women/girls) including 298 children. including on mental health, parental counselling and legal aid.
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35 UNICEF trucks with critical emergency supplies entered Gaza in the past week with hygiene kits to cover 27,000 people, medical pharmaceutical kits for 75,000 people, nutritional kits with supplements for 3,000 infants and young children, and winter clothing for 11,600 children aged 2-16 years.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Need
As of 19 December, at least 19,667 Palestinians were reported killed since the start of hostilities, including more than 5,350 children (disaggregated data as of 20 November). More than 52,586 Palestinians were reported injured, including at least 8,663 children (disaggregated data as of 7 November). Thousands of children continue to be reported missing and are likely injured or killed under the rubble of destroyed buildings. Rescue efforts are hampered by ongoing airstrikes, scarcity of fuel for vehicles and equipment, and limited communication capabilities. UNRWA reports that, as of 18 December, 136 UNRWA staff had been killed, while WHO reports one staff member killed. As of 18 December, there have been 183 incidents impacting 117 UNRWA installations, of which 55 installations have sustained direct hits.
According to OCHA, as of 19 December, there were over 1.9 million persons estimated to be internally displaced (IDPs) in the Gaza Strip, which is nearly 85 per cent of the population, half of whom are children. The Rafah governorate, in the south of the Gaza Strip, has become the most densely populated area with over 12,000 people per square kilometre. This is a fourfold increase from before the escalation and has resulted in dire living conditions for hundreds of thousands of IDPs who are squeezed into extremely overcrowded areas. Thousands of people queue at aid distribution centres for food, water, shelter, and protection. There is a lack of latrines and adequate water and sanitation facilities in informal displacement sites and makeshift shelters. The situation of displaced people has worsened due to the cold winter and recent rain that flooded tents and other makeshift shelters in the past week. UNRWA reports that, as of 19 December, at least 299 IDPs have been killed in their facilities, with a further 1,037 injured, due to the hostilities since 7 October. Disease outbreaks are increasingly caused by the overcrowding with reports of acute respiratory infections and diarrhoea.
Since 7 October, all schools in Gaza have remained closed to date, affecting the education of over 625,000 children for more than two months. The State of Palestine Ministry of Education reported that from 7 October until 19 December, 3,881 students were killed, of which 3,844 were from the Gaza Strip, and 6,399 students were injured in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank combined. Also, 85 arrests among students were reported. The Ministry of Education further reported that 209 teachers and administrative staff were killed and 623 injured in both Gaza Strip and West Bank, and over 65 teachers arrested in the West Bank.
Education Cluster reported that 352 schools sustained damages in the Gaza Strip, affecting the education of 400,700 students (52.1 per cent girls) and preventing 15,100 teachers to do their work. Three governorates (Gaza, Khan Younis and North Gaza) are highly affected, cumulating 74% of the total damages. Gaza governorate alone counts 126 school buildings destroyed affecting the education of 147,500 students followed by Khan Younis with 74 schools damaged compromising the education of 81,700 children and North Gaza registered 61 schools damaged affecting the education of 67,100 students. According to the Education Cluster, 89 per cent of total schools building are either being utilized as shelters by Internally Displaced Populations (IDPs) and/or sustained damaged – noting that severity of damages varies from minor (128 schools), moderate (110 schools), major (96 schools) and 8 schools are totally destroyed.
In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, OCHA reports that since 7 October, at least 291 Palestinians have been killed. At least 78 children have been reported killed in conflict-related violence in the same time period, with nearly half of incidents in the Jenin and Nablus governorates. The high number of military law enforcement operations and resulting confrontations, as well as settler violence and movement restrictions, continue to hamper Palestinian children’s rights to access services, while putting them at higher risk of violence including grave violations, and displacement. Since 7 October, at least 2,126 Palestinians including 1,027 children have been displaced, mainly in Area C and East Jerusalem, due to settler violence and access restrictions, home demolitions, and destruction of residences during military operations.
Israeli sources report that 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed, mostly in the attacks of 7 October, and more than 7,500 people are reported injured. At least 35 children have been reported killed. Around 240 Israelis, including more than 35 children were abducted into the Gaza Strip, of whom 34 have been released as of 20 December, with very limited information available on any children remaining in captivity.