The UN and the crisis in Gaza: What you need to know

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

205
UN staff killed
39,677
Deaths
91,645
Injured
1.9
million people displaced

Source: UNRWA, 7 August 2024

25 June

The latest food security assessment on Gaza confirms the concerns of the World Food Programme about the ongoing levels of severe hunger across the Gaza Strip and shows the critical importance of sustained access to all areas of Gaza. (WFP)

  • UNRWA – Press conference: Philippe Lazzarini (UN Geneva/UNRWA)
  • Gazans “holding on by a thread”, UN aid worker’s harrowing testimony shows (UN Geneva/OCHA)
  • Starvation on top of displacement: Palestine Refugees deprived of basic needs as war rages on in Gaza (UNRWA)
  • End-of-Mission Statement of the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices (United Nations Special Committee)
  • Tor Wennesland Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Briefing to the Security Council on the Situation in the Middle East, reporting on UNSCR 2334 (2016) (UNSCO)
  • Statement on the killing and arbitrary detention of health workers in Gaza (UN Human Rights Office – OPT)

24 June

Statement by Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General at the Meeting of the Advisory Commission (UNRWA)


17-23 June

Gaza is “a world of devastation” and still in the grip of war after nearly nine months of conflict, UN humanitarians back from the enclave have reported. (UN News)

UNRWA/Fadi Children at an UNRWA school shelter in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on their way to fetch water.
UNRWA/Fadi Children at an UNRWA school shelter in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on their way to fetch water.

Desperate shortages of essentials in Gaza have left the enclave’s most vulnerable individuals struggling to carry on amid stifling heat, heavy fighting, disease spread and a breakdown in law and order, UN humanitarians warned (UN News)

More News:

  • Secretary-General’s Press Encounter on the Middle East (OSSG)
  • Humanitarian aid delivery into Gaza continues to be constrained (UNRWA)
  • World Refugee Day, Palestine Refugees in Gaza are struggling to survive a humanitarian tragedy that, for the older generations, is a chilling echo of their past dispossession. (UNRWA)
  • UN report: Israeli use of heavy bombs in Gaza raises serious concerns under the laws of war (UN Human Rights Office)
  • The environmental impacts of the war in Gaza are unprecedented, according to a preliminary assessment published today by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

14 June

WHO remains concerned about the escalating health crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory, including the West Bank, where attacks on health infrastructure and increased restrictions on movement are obstructing access to health care.

“The people want this war to end and so do we” says WFP Deputy Executive Director from northern Gaza (WFP)

The extreme level of fighting and devastation in Gaza is incomprehensible and inexcusable.

Nowhere is safe. Everywhere is a potential killing zone.

It is high time for the parties to show the political courage and political will to finally reach a deal.

António Guterres

Secretary-General of the United Nations (15 July)

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)

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:

FAO:

ILO:

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

IOM:

Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC):

UNDP:

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

UNESCO:

UNHCR:

UNICEF:

UNFPA:

UN WOMEN:

  • Gender alert: Voices of strength: Contributions of Palestinian women-led organizations to the humanitarian response in the Occupied Palestinian Territory [EN/AR]
  • 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

300 Days of War (WHO - Gaza)
oPt: 300 days of war - Health Cluster Overview, 7 August 2024
oPt: Humanitarian Fund Dashboard (July 2024)
oPt: Humanitarian Fund Dashboard (July 2024)
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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