OCHA flash update 54 (29/11/23)
Hostilities and casualties
- On 27 and 28 November, 160 bodies were recovered from the rubble, according to the Government Media Office (GMO) in Gaza. The office also stated that, since the start of hostilities, more than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including about 6,150 children and 4,000 women.
- The fatality toll since 7 October includes at least 198 Palestinian medics, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health; 112 UN staff; 70 journalists and media workers, according to the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate; and at least 15 Civil Defense staff, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense.
Displacement
- Some [Internally Displaced People, IDPs] in the south have been trying to go back to their homes in the north, despite the Israeli forces’ announcement that such movement is forbidden. On 24, 25 and 26 November, there were reports of shooting by Israeli forces towards IDPs attempting to move north, resulting in several casualties.
- The movement of unaccompanied children and separated families continues to be observed in the "corridor" in recent days. Humanitarian actors are assisting these children, including through registration of cases.
- Up to 1.8 million people in Gaza, or nearly 80 per cent of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced. However, obtaining an accurate count is challenging; including because of difficulties in tracking IDPs staying with host families and accounting for those who returned to their homes during the pause but remain registered in UNRWA and other shelters.
- Nearly 1.1 million IDPs are registered in 156 UNRWA facilities across Gaza, of whom about 86 per cent (946,000) are registered in 99 UNRWA shelters in the south. Another 191,000 IDPs are estimated to be staying in 124 public schools and hospitals, as well as in other venues such as wedding halls, offices, and community centres. The rest are hosted by families.
- Due to the overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions at UNRWA shelters, there have been significant increases in some communicable diseases and conditions such as diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, skin infections and hygiene-related conditions like lice. There are also initial reports of disease outbreaks, including hepatitis.
- Concerns have been raised about vulnerable groups of people who are struggling with difficult shelter conditions. This includes people with disabilities; women who are pregnant, have recently given birth, or are breastfeeding; people who are recovering from injuries or surgeries; and those with compromised immune systems.
Humanitarian Access
- On 29 November, the humanitarian pause entered its sixth consecutive day. It has enabled a major increase in the delivery of basic supplies into and across Gaza, primarily by the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent Societies and UN agencies. However, as the UN Secretary-General stressed in a briefing to the Security Council, the level of aid “remains completely inadequate to meet the huge needs of more than two million people.”
- Despite the pause, there has been almost no improvement in the access of residents in the north to water, as most of the main water production facilities remain shut down, due to the lack of fuel and some also due to damages. Concerns about dehydration and waterborne diseases due to water consumption from unsafe sources persist.
Health care, including attacks
- The health system across the Gaza Strip continues to be overstretched amid severe shortage of medical supplies.
- On 29 November, UN agencies delivered to two hospitals in Gaza city, Al Ahli and Al Sahaba, lifesaving medicines and surgical supplies (in addition to fuel) estimated to be sufficient to meet the urgent health needs of 100 patients at each facility. Along with another three hospitals, these are the only five hospitals in the north (out of 24 prior to the hostilities), which are now functional, albeit partially, and admit some patients.
- the MoH in Gaza announced that the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, also in the north, will reactivate parts of its dialysis department.
- On 28 November, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delivered medical supplies, including, pain relief medication and blood bags to the European Gaza hospital in Rafah, in the south.
Water and sanitation
- The Gaza Municipality has reportedly warned about the potential flooding of large areas in the Sheikh Radwan quarter due to the overflow of a wastewater and rainwater lagoon in the city, following the accumulation of rain in recent days. Pumping from the lagoon has stopped for several weeks due to lack of fuel needed to operate the pumps, as well as damage to several conveyor lines.
- In the south, UNRWA continues to operate eight water wells that provide potable and domestic water to IDP shelters, alongside water trucking operations. Solid waste collection from the camps, and emergency shelters and transfer to landfills also continues in the south.
Food security
- On 28 November, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) stated that Gaza suffers a US$1.6 million daily loss in farm production. The institution assesses the losses are likely higher considering the destruction of farm equipment and farmland, and damage caused to thousands of trees, especially olive trees. The economic impact is also significant, considering that 55 per cent of Gaza’s agricultural products used to be sold outside the coastal enclave, PCBS stated.
- The amount of cooking gas that has reportedly entered Gaza from Egypt since the start of the pause (about 85 tons per day) is a third of the equivalent daily average that entered between January and August 2023. Queues at a filling station in Khan Younis have reportedly extended for about 2 kilometres, with people waiting at them overnight. Meanwhile, reports indicate that people are burning doors and window frames to cook.
- Since 25 November, one WFP bakery has resumed operations on an ad-hoc basis, allowing the provision of bread to about 90,000 people in UN shelters in the south. Other bakeries are operating intermittently.