UNRWA Situation Report #173 on the Humanitarian Crisis in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. All information updated for 22 - 28 May 2025

Highlights

• On 28 May, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini posted on X (previously known as Twitter) that, based on information recently made available to UNRWA, “our colleague Kamal left his home in Rafah on 23 March, wearing his UN vest, and driving a clearly marked UN vehicle. Within an hour, UNRWA lost contact with him. His whereabouts unknown for a week. On 30 March, Kamal’s body was discovered near a mass grave, alongside the human remains of the PRCS humanitarian workers killed by the Israeli Forces.” The Commissioner-General stated that, despite several requests to the Government of Israel, “no response was directly received on Kamal’s death”, and called for independent investigations into his killing and those of all UNRWA staff killed since the war began.
• On 27 May, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated that, “Over the past 20 months, the Government of Israel has continuously made unsubstantiated claims against UNRWA and its neutrality.” He made available extracts of a letter he sent to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel where he “repeated the concrete steps that UNRWA has taken for more than a decade in cooperation with the Government of Israel in line with transparency and neutrality”, adding that the Agency has requested cooperation from the Government on Israel in “providing information and evidence to substantiate the accusations made against UNRWA.” The Commissioner-General stated that UNRWA had not “received any response, nor has the Government of Israel shared any sufficient evidence, to back up these very serious claims against the Agency and its personnel.”
• Since the collapse of the ceasefire in Gaza on the night between 17 and 18 March 2025, intense Israeli Forces activities escalated, resulting in tens of thousands of civilians reportedly killed and injured, further damage and destruction to civilian infrastructure, and new waves of forced displacement.
• According to OCHA, people are confined to ever-shrinking spaces, with 81 per cent of the Gaza Strip now within the Israeli-militarized zone, under displacement orders, or where these overlap. The UN estimates that over 632,700 people have been displaced yet again since the breakdown of the ceasefire, including over 195,000 between 15 and 27 May.
• On 19 May, after almost 80 days of siege on the entry of aid and any other supplies into Gaza, including food, medicine and fuel, the Israeli authorities allowed the UN to temporarily resume the delivery of limited aid into Gaza. OCHA confirmed that limited amounts of certain food, nutrition supplies and medical items have entered the Gaza Strip, adding that significant operational challenges persist.
• On 28 May, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), bringing together heads of UN entities and over 200 NGOs, stated that “the humanitarian situation in Gaza is at its darkest point yet”, with relentless bombardment, mass displacement, and people being “starved and denied the basic means of survival”. According to the statement, “a new militarized distribution system has been launched” – a system that “does not align with humanitarian principles, it puts people at risk, and it will not meet people’s needs, or dignity, across Gaza.” The HCT added that the humanitarian system needs predictable and at-scale aid to flow through multiple crossings, unimpeded access, and “all humanitarian partners, including UNRWA, to be enabled to provide supplies and, critically, services.”
• On the same day, the Head of OCHA oPt, Jonathan Whittall, stated that the new distribution scheme implemented through a US-Israeli backed entity “is surveillance-based rationing that legitimizes a policy of deprivation by design. And it comes at a time when people in Gaza, half of whom are children, are facing a crisis of survival.”
• On 26 May, a group of Israelis led by a Member of the Knesset and accompanied by Israeli media entered without authorisation into UNRWA’s compound in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem. Israeli police alerted to the scene failed to protect the compound. The Director of UNRWA Affairs in the West Bank, Roland Friedrich, posted on X (previously known as Twitter) that “This unauthorised entry represents another violation of Israel’s obligations as a UN member state to protect UN premises and facilitate humanitarian work”.

Key points

The Gaza Strip

• Since the night between 17 and 18 March, the Israeli Forces have escalated bombardments from air, land and sea across the Gaza Strip and expanded ground operations, resulting in tens of thousands of reported casualties, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and large-scale displacement. Hospitals continue to be hit with extremely severe consequences on the provision of lifesaving treatments, alongside residential buildings, schools, and tents where forcibly displaced people live. According to OCHA, fighting between the Israeli Forces and Palestinian armed groups has been reported.

• On 19 May, after almost 80 days of siege on the entry of aid and any other supplies into Gaza, including food, medicine and fuel, the Israeli authorities allowed the UN to temporarily resume the delivery of limited aid into Gaza. OCHA confirmed that limited amounts of certain food, nutrition supplies and medical items have entered the Gaza Strip since then, adding that significant operational challenges persist.

• On 23 May, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, stated that “Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law. It must treat civilians humanely, with respect for their inherent dignity. It must not forcibly transport, deport or displace the civilian population of an occupied territory. And as the occupying power, it must agree to allow and facilitate the aid that is needed.”

• On 28 May, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), bringing together heads of UN entities and over 200 NGOs, stated that “the humanitarian situation in Gaza is at its darkest point yet”, with relentless bombardment, mass displacement, and people being “starved and denied the basic means of survival”. While a very limited quantity of aid has been allowed into the Gaza Strip since 19 May, this only includes some nutrition and medical supplies and is nowhere near enough to respond to the massive needs of the population. According to the statement, “a new militarized distribution system has been launched” – a system that “does not align with humanitarian principles, it puts people at risk, and it will not meet people’s needs, or dignity, across Gaza.” The HCT added that the humanitarian system needs predictable and at-scale aid to flow through multiple crossings, unimpeded access, and “all humanitarian partners, including UNRWA, to be enabled to provide supplies and, critically, services.”

• On the same day, the Head of OCHA oPt, Jonathan Whittall, told the press that “The newly developed distribution scheme is more than just the control of aid. It is engineered scarcity: four distribution hubs located in central and southern Gaza, secured by private US security contractors, where those Palestinians who can reach them will receive rations.” He stressed that this system cannot meet the needs of people in the Gaza Strip, adding that “Knowingly designing a plan that falls short of minimum obligations under international law, is essentially an admission of guilt.

• OCHA reported that “Over the past week, several incidents have taken place whereby aid was looted or taken by crowds whilst being transported from Karem Abu Salem/ Kerem Shalom crossing”. The World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed that, on 28 May, “Hordes of hungry people broke into WFP’s Al-Ghafari warehouse in Deir al-Balah, Central Gaza, in search of food supplies that were pre-positioned for distribution.” The WFP stated that “Humanitarian needs have spiralled out of control” after the 11-week-long siege imposed by the Israeli authorities. According to initial reports, two people died and several were injured in the incident.

• Briefing the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East on 28 May, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Sigrid Kaag, said that “Since the resumption of hostilities in Gaza, the already horrific existence of civilians has only sunk further into the abyss,” adding that this is man-made.

• According to an analysis based on April 2025 data and conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT), only around 4.6 per cent of cropland across the Gaza Strip is available for cultivation, with more than 80 per cent of the total cropland being damaged and 77.8 per cent not accessible to farmers. FAO Deputy Director-General, Beth Bechdol, said that “This level of destruction is not just a loss of infrastructure – it is a collapse of Gaza’s agrifood system and of lifelines. What once provided food, income, and stability for hundreds of thousands is now in ruins.”

• UNRWA medical services are critically under-resourced. Forty-five per cent of essential supplies are already out of stock and around one fourth (24 per cent) are projected to run out in under two months.

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 19 out of 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip remain operational, with at least 94 per cent of all hospitals damaged or destroyed. Moreover, across the Gaza Strip, “only 2,000 hospital beds remain available, for a population of over 2 million people, grossly insufficient to meet the current needs.”

• OCHA reports that 72 per cent of WASH assets and facilities are now falling within the Israeli-militarized zone or in areas that have been placed under displacement orders since 18 March. Access constraints, damage to infrastructure, and the fuel crisis are further undermining the WASH response in the Gaza Strip. According to the Gaza Municipality as reported by OCHA, with over a quarter of a million tons of waste piling up, solid waste keeps accumulating creating ideal conditions for the spread of disease.

• On 28 May, UNFPA, the Gaza sexual and reproductive health working group, GBV sub-cluster, Health Cluster and WASH Cluster issued a brief highlighting that nearly 700,000 women and girls of menstruating age in the Gaza Strip are facing a silent menstrual hygiene emergency. According to the document, an estimated 10.4 million sanitary pads are needed each month, with over 75 per cent of this need remaining unmet. The lack of privacy, necessary hygiene conditions, adequate infrastructure and supplies has a considerable impact on women’s and girls’ physical and mental wellbeing and safety.

• All UNRWA international staff are banned from entering the Gaza Strip since the few remaining left at the end of March. This follows the passage of two laws by Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on 28 October 2024[2], which aimed to prohibit UNRWA’s operations in “Israeli territory” and bar any contact between UNRWA and Israeli officials. Meanwhile, around 12,000 Palestinian UNRWA personnel in Gaza continue to provide services and assistance to an entire population in need, while spearheading the collective humanitarian response. In the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem, over 4,000 UNRWA Palestinian local staff continue to provide education, health and other services to Palestine Refugees. No visas have been issued from the Government of Israel to UNRWA international staff since end of January 2025.

• With at least 31 displacement orders issued by the Israeli military since 18 March, about 229.4 square kilometres of the Gaza Strip are now under active displacement orders (the total area of the Gaza Strip is approximately 365 square kilometres). According to OCHA, over four-fifths (or 81 per cent) of the Gaza Strip are within the Israeli-militarized zone, under displacement orders, or where these overlap. The UN estimates that over 632,700 people have been displaced yet again since the breakdown of the ceasefire (mid-March), including over 195,000 only between 15 and 27 May.

• Between 21 and 27 May, three displacement orders affecting areas with 114 UNRWA installations were issued by Israeli Forces. Some of these installations were impacted multiple times.

  • On 26 May, the Israeli Forces issued a displacement order impacting Khan Younis City Centre, Abasan area, Al Qarara, Bani Suhaila and east Deir Al Balah. Seventy-Five UNRWA installations were located in affected areas.
  • On 22 May, the Israeli Forces issued a displacement order impacting north Gaza (neighborhoods of Ghaben, Al-Shaimaa, Fadous, Al-Manshiyah, Sheikh Zayed, Al-Salateen, Al-Karama, Mashrou’ Beit Lahia, Al-Zuhour, Tel Al-Zaatar, Al-Noor, Abdul Rahman, Al-Nahda, and Jabalia Camp). Thirty-Nine UNRWA installations were in the affected area.
  • On 21 May, the Israeli Forces issued a displacement order impacting north Gaza (neighborhoods of Ghaben, Al-Shaimaa, Fadous, Al-Manshiyah, Sheikh Zayed, Al-Salateen, Al-Karama, Mashrou’ Beit Lahia, Al-Zuhour, Tel Al-Zaatar, Al-Noor, Abdul Rahman, Al-Nahda, and Jabalia Camp). Thirty-Nine UNRWA installations were in the affected area.

• At least 167* UNRWA installations – or around half of all UNRWA installations in the Gaza Strip – are located within the Israeli-militarized zone, under displacement orders, or where these overlap.

• Despite the lack of aid and existing challenges, UNRWA continues providing services to communities overwhelmed by over 1.5 years of bombardment, forced displacement, and lack of critical resources. However, the resumed bombardment and the 11-week-long siege, which completely banned entry of basic supplies between 2 March and 18 May, have further worsened an already dire situation, severely hindering humanitarian actors’ ability to respond to the population’s need for food, water, sanitation, shelter and more.

• According to the UN, at least 1.9 million people – or about 90 per cent of the population – across the Gaza Strip have been displaced during the war. Many have been displaced repeatedly, some 10 times or more. Since the recent displacement orders were issued, more people have been forced to flee in search of safety.

• Between 7 October 2023 and 28 May 2025, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, as stated by OCHA, at least 54,084 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in Gaza and 123,308 have been injured.

• At least 310 UNRWA team members have been confirmed killed since 7 October 2023.

• OCHA reported that, of the 71 planned aid movements coordinated with Israeli authorities across Gaza from 21 to 27 May 2025, 31 were denied, 11 were initially accepted but faced impediments, four withdrawn, and 25 facilitated. Overall, of the 238 planned aid movements coordinated with Israeli authorities across the Gaza Strip between 1 and 27 May, 136 were denied, 26 impeded, 12 withdrawn, and 64 facilitated.

*After further verification, the total number of UNRWA installations located within the Israeli-militarized zone, under displacement orders, or where these overlap is lower than the one reported in UNRWA Situation Report #172.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem

• According to OCHA, between 7 October 2023 and 27 May 2025, 939 Palestinians – including at least 198 children – were killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Of those, 133 Palestinians, including at least 25 children, were killed only since the beginning of 2025.
  • At midday on 26 May, a group of Israelis led by a Member of the Knesset and accompanied by Israeli media entered without authorisation into UNRWA’s compound in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem. The group claimed they were “liberating” the “former UNRWA headquarters” on the occasion of Jerusalem Day, which for Israelis marks the 1967 reunification of the city. Israeli police alerted to the scene failed to protect the compound. The Director of UNRWA Affairs in the West Bank, Roland Friedrich, posted on X (previously known as Twitter) that “This unauthorised entry represents another violation of Israel’s obligations as a UN member state to protect UN premises and facilitate humanitarian work”.
  • On 25 May, it was publicly reported that the demolition of 58 houses in Tulkarm Camp would start the week beginning 26 May; the demolitions are linked to the order issued by the Israeli Forces on 1 May, affecting both Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps. These demolitions form part of the broader widescale destruction associated with the operation carried out in the northern West Bank by the Israeli Forces since 21 January 2025, which has left some 42,000 Palestinians forcibly displaced.
  • On 21 May, Israeli Forces opened fire on a diplomatic delegation in the vicinity of Jenin Camp during an official visit hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority. A few UNRWA staff members were present as part of the visit. In a later statement, the Israeli Forces described having “mistakenly identified [the delegation] as a threat.” No injuries occurred. The Director of UNRWA Affairs in the West Bank, Roland Friedrich, stated that “This incident is a stark reminder of the lax use of excessive force routinely deployed by Israeli Security Forces in the West Bank, often with lethal consequences”.
  • The escalation in Israeli settlers' violence following the killing of an Israeli settler by a Palestinian near Burqin on 14 May continued, with repeated attacks against Palestinian communities across the West Bank, including Burqin, Al Mu’arrajat, Maghayer Aad Deir, and Turmus’ayya. Between 21 and 27 May, at least 94 incidents of settlers' violence and harassment were recorded in the West Bank, resulting in injuries to at least 32 Palestinians.

Overall situation

The Gaza Strip

Between 7 October 2023 and 28 May 2025, according to the MoH in Gaza as stated by OCHA, at least 54,084 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in the Gaza Strip while 123,308 have been reported injured.

Humanitarian access, protection of civilians

• UNRWA is working to verify the details of incidents that reportedly impact UNRWA premises. Further information will be provided once it becomes available*.
• During the reporting period, several armed-conflict-related incidents have reportedly impacted UNRWA installations and personnel:
  • On 27 May, the Israeli Forces struck a community kitchen in an UNRWA school east of Gaza City. No damage to the facility and no casualties among UNRWA personnel were reported.
  • On 26 May, an Israeli Forces quadcopter opened fire striking the fourth floor of an UNRWA school in Gaza City. No damage to the facility and no casualties among UNRWA personnel were reported.
  • On 21 May, an UNRWA installation in Gaza City was hit twice by Israeli Forces airstrikes. No injuries were reported among UNRWA personnel.

As of 27 May 2025, 852* incidents impacting UNRWA premises and the people inside them have been reported since the beginning of the war. 311* UNRWA installations have been impacted by armed conflict-related incidents since the beginning of the war, with some installations impacted multiple times. UNRWA estimates that, in total, at least 767* persons sheltering in UNRWA installations have been killed and at least 2,419* injured since the start of the war. UNRWA continues to verify and update the number of casualties caused by these incidents.

*Since the start of the war in October 2023, the latest casualty figures are continuously under review as UNRWA gains access to locations that were previously inaccessible and as further verifications occur. The summary figures will be published/updated as information becomes available, noting that these numbers are subject to change once verifications are concluded.

The Gaza Strip

Health

• 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 since 7 October 2023. Between 7 October 2023 and 25 May 2025, UNRWA provided over 8.7 million medical consultations across the Gaza Strip.
• In addition to medical consultations, UNRWA (in partnership with and supported by other UN agencies, including UNICEF and WHO) continued to vaccinate children. Over 283,000 routine vaccines have been given to children from January 2024.
• Since 18 March (when the ceasefire collapsed) and until 25 May, UNRWA health teams provided nearly 800,000 health consultations, over 53,500 maternal consultations including antenatal, post-natal and family planning care, over 29,000 dental and oral health consultations in fixed and mobile clinics, and around 18,500 physiotherapy rehabilitation services sessions.
• As of 25 May, only five out of 22 UNRWA health centres and two additional UNRWA-rented facilities used as temporary health centres were operational in Gaza. In addition, health services are provided through 120 mobile medical teams working in 35 medical points inside and outside shelters in the middle area, Khan Younis, Al Mawasi, Gaza City and north Gaza. UNRWA health facilities provide primary health care, including outpatient services, non-communicable disease care, medications, vaccination for children, antenatal and postnatal health care, laboratory and dental services, physiotherapy and dressings for the injured. The number of operational health facilities changes constantly based on demand, access and security.
• Between 19 and 25 May, an average of around 1,155 UNRWA health personnel per day worked in UNRWA health centres, temporary clinics and medical points across the Gaza Strip, providing 88,556 health consultations during the reporting period (or around 14,800 per working day).
• UNRWA continued to provide mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services in Gaza City, the middle and Khan Younis areas, with teams of psychiatrists, psychosocial counsellors and supervisors to assist special cases referred from UNRWA health centres and shelters. Between 19 and 25 May, UNRWA teams responded to 2,992 cases in health centres and at medical points through individual consultations, awareness sessions and to address cases of gender-based violence (GBV).
• Between 19 and 25 May, UNRWA medical teams provided 6,231 consultations for post-natal and pregnant women at high risk, 3,368 dental and oral health consultations in fixed and mobile clinics, and 2,067 physiotherapy rehabilitation services sessions in health centres and medical points.
• Medical services are critically under-resourced, with 45 per cent of essential supplies already out of stock, and around one fourth (24 per cent) projected to run out in under two months.

Psychosocial Support and Learning

• UNRWA remains one of the largest providers of emergency learning and psychosocial support services (PSS) across the Gaza Strip. Since the onset of the war, UNRWA has been providing PSS and learning services in Gaza in Temporary Learning Spaces (TLSs) and through its distance learning initiative.
• To date, more than 56,000 children — over 55 per cent of them girls— have benefitted from learning and recreational activities delivered in up to 449 TLSs established across 58 UNRWA schools-turned-shelters. Between 19 and 25 May 2025, a total of 24,056 children (11,874 boys, 12,182 girls, including 533 children with disabilities) benefited from TLS-based learning activities in 251 active TLSs. UNRWA has also leveraged digital tools to provide basic literacy and numeracy education to 287,889 Palestine Refugee children (149,465 boys, 138,424 girls) in Gaza, facilitated by thousands of teachers.
• With the support of 236 school counsellors and over 300 assistant counsellors, since the start of the war UNRWA has conducted 300,749 critical PSS sessions for approximately 730,000 displaced persons, including more than 520,000 children. Between 19 and 25 May 2025, a total of 9,308 people accessed these essential services.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 25 May 2025, UNRWA’s social work team provided services to 270,949 displaced people, including psychological first aid, PSS services, family and individual activities, as well as case management. During the same reporting period, protection services were provided to 2,562 survivors of GBV and 3,882 children, including 1,766 unaccompanied children. The team also supported 25,048 persons with disabilities with PSS; 7,753 of these individuals received assistive devices and rehabilitation services. Awareness sessions on GBV, child protection, disability and special needs, as well as managing social and psychological stressors, were conducted for 199,730 displaced people.

Food Security

• Since 7 October 2023 and until the start of the ceasefire (19 January 2025), over 388,000 families (nearly 1.9 million people) have been reached with two rounds of flour; at least 374,000 of those families have received three rounds.
• Up until the start of the ceasefire, UNRWA reached at least 1.7 million people with food parcels. Of those, at least 215,000 people received two rounds of food parcels since the war started. These include[3] rice, lentils, beans, oil, salt, sugar, milk powder, hummus, halawa, yeast, and canned fish, and are designed to meet the needs of a family of five for two weeks.
• In addition to the distribution of UNRWA food parcels, the Agency has distributed food parcels on behalf of other UN organisations, having reached over 1.4 million people before the start of the ceasefire.
• During the ceasefire, UNRWA reached over 2 million people with critical food assistance. However, due to the 11-week-long siege imposed by the Israeli authorities between 2 March and 18 May, UNRWA ran out of flour and food parcels several weeks ago and was therefore forced to halt food distributions.
• Between 1 March and 19 April 2025, UNRWA distributed nearly 270,000 bags of flour, reaching an estimated 88,000 families – or over 700,000 people. Since the ceasefire collapsed and until 8 April, only around 15,500 families (or an estimated 77,500 people) have received UNRWA food parcels. UNRWA ran out of food to distribute given the siege. The Agency has not been allowed to bring any supplies including food since 2 March.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

• Since October 2023, UNRWA has carried out emergency WASH activities across the Gaza Strip. The main activities include operating and maintaining water wells and desalination systems and supplying water with water trucks and bottled water. In addition, UNRWA continues to distribute hygiene kits and maintain hygiene in UNRWA shelters and sites through cleaning supplies, community-based solid waste management and pest control.
• On a daily basis, UNRWA teams provide an average of 3 million litres of water and collect over 200 tons of solid waste. In Gaza overall, UNRWA contributes to 29 per cent of the water sector, 75 per cent of the sanitation sector, 57 per cent of the hygiene sector, and 39 per cent of the solid waste management sector.
• UNRWA water provision and solid waste collection translates into assistance for up to around 420,000 people monthly.
• Between 15 and 28 May, UNRWA teams provided over 28,000 cubic metres of domestic and potable water to displaced people across the Gaza Strip.
• During the same reporting period, a water well in North Gaza is under rehabilitation. However, UNRWA teams have evacuated the north due to displacement orders and no further services are being provided in the area.
• UNRWA continues to provide solid waste collection and transfer services wherever possible. Between 15 and 28 May, around 2,600 tons of solid waste have been collected by UNRWA sanitation teams and transferred to designated temporary dumping sites. UNRWA teams cleaned around 100 manholes, serving over 40,000 displaced people in different locations across the Gaza Strip, despite the shortage of personal protection equipment and maintenance tools.
• During the same reporting period, the team conducted 300 hygiene awareness sessions, 120 cleaning campaigns in different locations reaching around 40,000 people, and 30 pest and rodent control campaigns in southern Gaza, benefiting over 32,000 people. Due to the lack of aid, the stock of pesticides in southern Gaza is expected to run out soon, while it has already run out in the middle areas and North Gaza.