Gaza: News, Stories & Official Statements

What you need to know about the United Nations response to the conflict in the Middle East.

1.7
million people displaced
34,356
Deaths
77,368
Injured
182
UNRWA colleagues killed

Source: UNRWA, 28 April 2024, 22.30 local time

6 May

  • Guterres calls on Israel and Hamas to end Gaza war (UN News)
  • UN pledges to stand with Gazans in Rafah; Guterres says ceasefire opportunity ‘cannot be missed’ (UN News)
  • Unexploded ordnance leaves dark legacy for Gaza, warn mine action experts (UN News)
  • Intensified military operations will bring increased death and despair for Rafah’s 700,000 women and girls (UN Women)
  • Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territory: Rafah threat is inhumane, says UN Human Rights Chief (OHCHR)
  • Impunity for attacks on medical facilities and health workers must end, says UN expert (UN HCR)
  • Onslaught of violence against women and children in Gaza unacceptable: UN experts (UN HCR)
  • There is ‘nowhere safe to go’ for the 600,000 children of Rafah (UNICEF)

5 May

#Gaza: The Israeli Authorities continue to deny humanitarian access to the United Nations (UNRWA)

3 May

  • Targeting Rafah could lead to slaughter, warns UN aid agency (UN News)
  • Rafah incursion would substantially increase mortality and morbidity and further weaken an already broken health system (WHO)

2 May

  • Protecting Civilians from the Risk of Explosive Ordnance in the Gaza conflict (UNMAS)

30 April

  • A ground operation in Rafah will be nothing short of a tragedy beyond words – Statement by Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA)

29 April

  • World Food Programme Goodwill Ambassador, The Weeknd, to Help Provide 18 Million Loaves of Bread to Families in Gaza (WFP)

26 April

  • UN experts demand safe passage for Freedom Flotilla’s humanitarian mission to Gaza (OHCHR)

25 April

  • Recovery in Gaza ‘is not only physical’, UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator says (UN News)
  • Testimonies from the Occupied Palestinian Territory show new depths of Israel’s atrocities: UN expert (OHCHR)
  • Israel: Withholding tax revenue and revoking banking waivers could paralyse Palestinian economy, UN experts warn (OHCHR)

24 April

  • Nearly 2 million people depend on assistance from UNRWA as war in Gaza enters 200 days and violence increases in the West Bank (UNRWA)
  • UNRWA Preliminary Response – Final Report of the Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality (UNRWA)
  • Remarks to the Security Council by Sigrid Kaag, Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza (OCHA oPt)

22 April

  • Independent review panel releases final report on UNRWA (UN News)
    • Final Report – Independent Review Group on UNRWA
    • The Independent Review on UNRWA Adherence to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality From Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner General (UNRWA)
  • Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General – on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (OSSG)

18 April

  • $2.8 billion appeal for three million people in Gaza, West Bank (UN Palestine)
  • US vetoes Palestine’s request for full UN membership (UN News)
  • Security Council Fails to Recommend Full United Nations Membership for State of Palestine, Owing to Veto Cast by United States (UN)
  • Guterres appeals for maximum restraint in the Middle East (UN News)
  • Palestine’s status at the UN explained (UN News)
  • Gaza: UN experts decry ‘systemic obliteration’ of education system (UN News)

17 April

  • Statement by the Commissioner-General of UNRWA to the Security Council (UNRWA)
  • ‘Insidious campaign’ by Israel is denying lifesaving aid to Gaza says UNRWA chief (UN News)

16 April

  • Gaza: No let up in deadly toll as rights chief demands end to suffering (UN News)
  • Six months into the war on Gaza, over 10,000 women have been killed, among them an estimated 6,000 mothers, leaving 19,000 children orphaned (UN Women)
  • Gender alert: Scarcity and fear: A gender analysis of the impact of the war in Gaza on vital services essential to women’s and girls’ health, safety, and dignity (UN Women)
  • Armed conflict incidents impacting UNRWA facilities and displaced persons seeking shelter in the Gaza Strip (UNRWA)
  • Statement by Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, following her two-day visit to the Middle-East (UNICEF)
  • Risk of Starvation and Imminent Famine for Children in Gaza, Sudan; Imperative to Immediately Scale Up Humanitarian Access (OSRSG Children and Armed Conflict)
  • Detention and alleged ill-treatment of detainees from Gaza during Israel-Hamas war (UNRWA)

14 April

  • ‘Step back from the brink,’ to avert full-scale Middle East conflict, says UN chief (UN News)
  • Secretary-General’s remarks to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East [as delivered] (OSSG)

For the sake of the people of Gaza, for the sake of the hostages and their families in Israel and for the sake of the region and the wider world, I strongly encourage the Government of Israel and the Hamas leadership to reach now an agreement

António Guterres

Secretary-General of the United Nations (6 May)

KEY RESOURCES

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA):

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

United Nations

Resources
Videos
Visuals

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

  • Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory 2023 Extension through March 2024
  • Humanitarian Access Snapshot – Gaza Strip | End – February 2024

UNOSAT Maps – Gaza Damage:

OCHA – Situation in Lebanon:

UNRWA

UN-I-SPAL:

The United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine
Gaza-Israel: Escalation of Violence:

United Nations in Palestine (Resident Coordinator Office)

UN News Middle East and الحالة في الشرق الأوسط | | أخبار الأمم المتحدة

Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process

UNRIC Library Backgrounders:

ILO:

  • Report: Impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on the labour market and livelihoods in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
  • Bulletin No. 2

IOM:

UNDP:

  • Expected Socio-Economic Impacts on the State of Palestine – Update (April 2024) (ESCWA/UNDP)

UNESCO:

UNHCR:

UNICEF:

UNFPA:

UN WOMEN:

  • A gender analysis of the impact of the war in Gaza on vital services essential to women’s and girls’ health, safety, and dignity
  • In-focus: The conflict in Gaza (dedicated website)
  • Facts and figures: Women and girls during the war in Gaza (UN Women)
  • UN Women Palestine 6-month response framework (UN Women)

WFP:

2023/24 – WFP Palestine – Monthly Market Dashboard

WHO:

ReliefWeb – Occupied Palestinian Territory
http://reliefweb.int/country/pse

Gaza Strip: Access Constraints on Humanitarian Aid (27 March 2024)
Gaza Strip: Access Constraints on Humanitarian Aid (27 March 2024)
Impact of health attacks in the West Bank (7 October 2023 until 12 March 2024)
Impact of health attacks in the West Bank (7 October 2023 until 12 March 2024)
Lebanon: At a Glance - Escalation of hostilities in South Lebanon, as of 7 March 2024
Lebanon: At a Glance - Escalation of hostilities in South Lebanon, as of 7 March 2024
Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory 2023 Extension through March 2024
Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory 2023 Extension through March 2024
200 days of War – Health Cluster Overview (WHO)
200 days of War – Health Cluster Overview (WHO - 25 April 2024)
oPt: Humanitarian Fund Dashboard (February 2024)
oPt: Humanitarian Fund Dashboard (February 2024)
Education under attack in the Gaza Strip, as of 30 January 2024
Education under attack in the Gaza Strip, as of 30 January 2024
oPt Emergency Situation Update 20 (As of 11 January 2024 at 13:00)
oPt Emergency Situation Update 20 (As of 11 January 2024 at 13:00)
Gaza: Partners presence by governorate (directly implementing partners) (as of 17 January 2024)
Gaza: Partners presence by governorate (directly implementing partners) (as of 17 January 2024)
https://e4k4c4x9.rocketcdn.me/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2024/01/100-days-of-war-Health-Cluster-Overview.pdf
oPt: 100 days of war - Health Cluster Overview
Overview of the damage to agricultural land and infrastructure due to the conflict in the Gaza Strip as of 31 December 2023
Overview of the damage to agricultural land and infrastructure due to the conflict in the Gaza Strip as of 31 December 2023
Impact of health attacks in the Gaza Strip (Update 28 November 2023)
Impact of health attacks in the Gaza Strip, as of 28 November
Gaza response: Palestine Logistics Cluster - One month after activation (16 November 2023)
Gaza response: Palestine Logistics Cluster - One month after activation (16 November 2023)
oPt: a Month of War (Update 6 November 2023)
oPt: a Month of War (Update 6 November 2023)
Health System Functioning: Gaza, 7 October - 6 November 2023
Health System Functioning: Gaza, 7 October - 6 November 2023
Aid Trucks Crossing From Egypt to Gaza (As of 15 November 2023)
Aid Trucks Crossing From Egypt to Gaza (As of 15 November 2023)
Gaza updated flash appeal
Occupied Palestinian Territory - Flash Appeal, as of 3 November 2023
Gaza Strip critical water and wastewater infrastructure, as of 22 October
Gaza Strip critical water and wastewater infrastructure, as of 22 October
Health Attacks in the oPt (7-17 October 2023)
Health Attacks in the oPt (7-17 October 2023)
Gaza hospital evacuation orders map
Hospital Evacuation Orders Mapping as of 16th October 2023

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