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UNICEF State of Palestine Humanitarian Situation Report No. 33 - 1 to 30 November 2024

Attachments

Highlights

  • The situation in the Gaza Strip continues to be dire, with the northern governorate in critical need of essentials like food, water, and medical supplies. Conditions in the Middle Area and the South, where most of the population reside, are rapidly deteriorating, marked by declining access to basic services and worsening health and nutrition conditions for children.

  • Across the Strip, restricted access and movement, coupled with deteriorating law and order, are major factors exacerbating the crisis.

  • UNICEF has reached over 1 million individuals (172,000 families, including 588,000 children) with humanitarian cash transfers channelled digitally since 7 October 2023, marking a critical milestone of UNICEF’s humanitarian cash programme, despite unprecedented challenges.

  • Through various intervention modalities, UNICEF operationalised 99 Temporary Learning Spaces, restoring learning and providing recreational activities to over 52,000 children.

  • UNICEF with partners ensured the provision of water to cover 1.8 million people (including over 700,000 children) across the Strip.

SITUATION IN NUMBERS

1,554,700 Children in need of humanitarian assistance

3,300,000 People in need of humanitarian assistance

1,900,000 Internally displaced persons (90% of the Strip)

534 Schools in the Gaza Strip sustained damage (94.7%)

SITUATION OVERVIEW AND HUMANITARIAN NEEDS

The situation in the Gaza Strip remains dire, especially with the onset of winter and the rainy season, which have made the need for humanitarian aid even more urgent. In November 2024, the total inflow of goods into the Gaza Strip saw a slight increase compared to October, which was the lowest in 2024. However, this improvement has not been uniform across all parts of the Gaza Strip, and the monthly total remains hopelessly inadequate to meet the needs of children, women, and other civilians.

Amid two months of intense military operations resulting in high casualties, mass displacement and destruction, and severely restricted access, the population remaining in the northern Gaza Strip requires protection and significantly increased humanitarian aid. Key indicators suggest that the situation in the Middle Area and the South, where most of the population resides, has been rapidly deteriorating. Participants of a survey conducted by UNICEF have reported a sharp decline in the availability of goods in the market in Khan Younis and Middle Gaza. Specifically, 50 per cent of respondents highlighted severe shortages of wheat flour, a central commodity, while many others reported unprecedented prices of 25 shekels per kilo (approximately US$ 6.90).

Over the past four months, dietary diversity among pregnant and breastfeeding women and children aged 6-23 months has steadily declined in Khan Younis and the Middle Area. The survey by UNICEF reveals that about 80 per cent of households across the Gaza Strip reported at least one child going without food in the last three days. Without restoring adequate commercial supply chains to complement humanitarian aid, further deterioration in access to essential goods is inevitable. While essential items remain available at high prices, cash transfers offer an immediate, targeted solution for vulnerable families.

As winter sets in, the energy crisis in the Gaza Strip is worsening. In the northern Gaza Strip, residents are increasingly resorting to burning waste as a cooking fuel, as cooking gas has been unavailable for over 13 months in the governorates of Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, cooking gas is sold at exorbitant prices on the black market, while availability on the formal market remains extremely limited and unstable. The persistent lack of cooking gas forces people to use firewood and burn waste, which hampers proper food preparation, reduces the intake of nutritious food, exacerbates health and protection risks, and creates environmental hazards. The Gaza Strip is also facing a severe shortage of medical supplies, compounded by a lack of food and water for patients. These conditions, combined with increased medical needs due to the onset of winter and hunger, are severely hindering the provision of essential healthcare. It has been reported that health workers are forced to turn people away at some facilities, pushing many to the brink.

As of 30 November 2024, 44,382 Palestinians were reported killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of hostilities. Up to 50 per cent (out of 40,717 identified fatalities) are reported to be children or women. Additionally, at least 105,142 Palestinians were reported injured, with up to 50 per cent (out of 54,000 identified injuries) reported to be women or children. As of 3 December, 343 aid workers have been reported killed. As of 28 November, there have been at least 585 attacks on health care, affecting at 122 health facilities including 33 hospitals damaged, and 145 ambulances.

Children across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remain at high risk of grave violations, reduced access to education and services, and harm to their physical and mental well-being, due to militarized law enforcement operations, movement and access restrictions, and settler violence. Three Palestinian children were killed in conflict-related violence in November, all with live ammunition. Since 7 October 2023, 745 Palestinians were killed in conflict-related violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, comprising 176 Palestinian children and two Israeli children. More than 1,170 children were reported injured in the same period, almost half with live ammunition.

Since October 2023, OCHA has documented approximately 1,600 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, particularly in communities near settlement outposts. More than 6,500 Palestinians, including more than 2,900 children, have been displaced, mainly in Area C and East Jerusalem, due to settler violence and intimidation, access restrictions, home demolitions, and destruction of residences during militarized law enforcement operations. According to OCHA, settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in casualties or property damage have tripled during the 2024 olive harvest season compared to each of the preceding three years, with 260 settler-related incidents across 89 West Bank communities, including against the Bedouin Al-Ka’abneh Elementary School. As of 28 November, there have been 658 attacks on health, affecting at least 59 health facilities, 22 mobile clinics, and 467 ambulances – with over 60 per cent of incidents recorded in Tulkarem, Jenin, and Nablus governorates.

Israeli authorities report that approximately 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed in the attacks of 7 October 2023, including 37 children and more than 7,500 people were reported injured. Some 255 people, including 36 children, were abducted from Israel into the Gaza Strip, of whom 154 were released or returned, including 34 children, with very limited information available on the children remaining in captivity.