Attachments
Highlights
• More than 800,000 people were recently reported as displaced from Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, and about 100,000 people were reported displaced in the north, according to UN estimates as of 22 May. Approximately 285 km² has been placed under evacuation orders (around 78 per cent of the Gaza Strip).
• Since the closure of the Rafah border crossing on 7 May 2024, UNICEF’s and partner ability to deliver humanitarian aid is seriously hampered given increased challenges related to ongoing population movements, lack of access and overall security, as well as the lack of entry of assistance.
• A report by the PSEA Network counted more than 4,800 complaints about sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) since October 2023. UNICEF provided care and counselling sessions through the helpline and the PSEA Network, which served as entry points for referrals to other services.
• Given the closure of the Rafah crossing, UNICEF was able to provide only 105,000 litres of fuel in the past two weeks, which marks a 43 per cent decrease compared with the preceding two-week period. The delivered fuel helped produce lifesaving water for over 1.1 million people, including over 600,000 children. However, the provision of WASH services has deteriorated due to a lack of fuel, damages to several WASH facilities, and restricted access into and within the Gaza Strip.
• UNICEF moved 11 trucks into the Gaza Strip during the reporting period via the Rafah border crossing prior to its closure (in the previous reporting period: 98 trucks), to bring in critical emergency supplies: 1,400 Dignified Family Hygiene Kits for 19,264 individuals; and 1,200 cartons of lipid-based nutrient supplements benefiting 24,000 children; as well as 1,080 cartons of ready-touse therapeutic food benefiting 1,080 children via the Erez border crossing.
Situation in Numbers
3.3 Million People in need nationally (OCHA Flash Appeal, April 2024)
1 Million Children affected in the Gaza Strip (PCBS, 2023 population projections)
Estimated 1.7 Million Internally displaced persons (UNRWA, 18 March 2024)
483 schools in the Gaza Strip sustained damage which is 86% of all schools (Education Cluster, 25 April 2024)
95% of population Facing high acute food insecurity in Gaza (IPC Phase 3 or worse, March 2024)
Funding Overview and Partnerships
The latest Inter-Agency Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territories1 was issued on 17 April covering April to December 2024. The appeal identifies a financial requirement of over US$ 2.8 billion to meet critical needs for 3.3 million people, 2.3 million population in the Gaza Strip and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. UNICEF is in the process of updating its Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) to align it with revised emergency response planning and the revised Flash Appeal. The current HAC has a US$ 70 million (27 per cent) funding gap.
UNICEF would like to sincerely thank partners for their contributions, including the governments of Austria, Australia, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom as well as the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), EU Humanitarian Aid and the World Bank. UNICEF thanks the UNICEF National Committees of Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. UNICEF would also like to thank the UNICEF private sector fundraising offices of Argentina, Bahrain, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Chile, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Greece, the Gulf Area Office, Indonesia, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Oman, Philippines, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Uzbekistan, which have supported the response to the escalation of hostilities. Last but not least, UNICEF benefited from the Global Humanitarian Thematic Funding, which enables UNICEF to respond flexibly to the acute needs of the most vulnerable children and their families in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. UNICEF has received US$ 8 million from the internal Emergency Programme Fund and exceptionally US$ 10 million from an internal capital loan both of which will need to be replenished – these loans are not reflected in the funding received.