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.

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

Source: UNRWA, 28 April 2024, 22.30 local time

12 March

Enough aid for 25,000 people has reached Gaza City for the first time in weeks, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Tuesday, in a call for daily aid missions and better access.

11 March

According to UNICEF, child malnutrition levels in northern Gaza are particularly extreme, with now at least 18 children reported to have died from malnutrition and dehydration in northern Gaza. UNFPA has cautioned that “malnutrition rates amount pregnant and breastfeeding women have spiked, posing significant health risks”.

The first nine days of March saw an average of 168 aid trucks per day crossing into the Gaza Strip. This remains well below the operational capacity of both border crossings and the target of 500 per day.

7 March

Days from the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan and with no ceasefire agreement in sight for Gaza, UN humanitarians reiterated deep concerns on Thursday that a growing number of children are dying of starvation.

5 March

Efforts by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to deliver desperately needed food supplies to northern Gaza resumed on Tuesday, but were largely unsuccessful, the agency reported.

Also on Tuesday, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that humanitarian personnel working on water, sanitation and hygiene in the enclave are reporting extremely challenging conditions amid high levels of displacement and overcrowding in shelters.

1 March

Thanks to support from donors like the European Union, the World Food Programme was able to provide over 1.4 million Gazans, inside UN shelters and within host communities either food parcels, wheat flour or hot meals in the first three months of the war.

29 February

The UN Secretary-General said on Thursday he was “appalled by the tragic human toll of the conflict in Gaza”, where more than 30,000 people have now reportedly been killed and over 70,000 injured.

27 February

Well over half a million Gazans are just a step away from famine, said senior UN humanitarians, briefing the Security Council Tuesday on food security in the stricken enclave. The deputy head of UN aid coordination told ambassadors that famine is “almost inevitable” unless aid can be scaled up immediately.

26 February

Very little humanitarian aid has entered besieged Gaza this month, with a 50 per cent reduction compared to January, the head of the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said on Monday.

22 February

Occupied Palestinian territories: first days of hearings at the ICJ

21 February

The IASC called on Israel to fulfil its legal obligation, under international humanitarian and human rights law, to provide food and medical supplies and facilitate aid operations, and on the world’s leaders to prevent an even worse catastrophe from happening.

20 February

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is pausing deliveries of life-saving food aid to northern Gaza until conditions are in place that allow for safe distributions.

The UN Security Council met again in emergency session in New York on Gaza Tuesday, where the United States vetoed a resolution put forward on behalf of Arab States by Algeria demanding “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire that must be respected by all parties”.

19 February

A steep rise in malnutrition among children and pregnant and breastfeeding women in the Gaza strip poses grave threats to their health, according to a comprehensive new analysis released by the Global Nutrition Cluster. In the Northern Gaza Strip, 1 in 6 children under 2 years of age – are acutely malnourished. (UNICEF)

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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