All information updated for 1-11 November 2024,[1] valid as of 11 November 2024 at 22:30 

Days 392-402 of Hostilities

Highlights

• An Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC ) Famine Review Committee Alert on the Gaza Strip published on 8 November 2024 says there is a likelihood that famine is imminent in areas within northern Gaza.
• In October, an average of only 37 humanitarian trucks per day entered the Gaza Strip. This is the lowest daily average since the third week of October 2023 when the Israeli Authorities allowed the first aid trucks to come in after the war started.
• Even when humanitarian aid is allowed in, movement within the Gaza Strip is severely restricted, with bombardment and intense fighting constantly ongoing and missions frequently denied or not facilitated by the Israeli Authorities.
• OCHA reports that, in comparison with September, denials of movements across Gaza have increased by over 100 percent in October, while facilitation of movements has decreased by 21 percent.
• The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published a report highlighting that, based on the number of killings verified by OHCHR by 2 September 2024, close to 70 percent of people killed in Gaza by strikes, shelling, and other conduct of hostilities are children and women.
• Over 556,000 children were vaccinated against polio by UNRWA and partners during the second round of the polio vaccination campaign which took place between October and November 2024.

Key Points

The Gaza Strip

• Strikes by Israeli Forces continue, with aerial, land and maritime bombardments across the Gaza Strip, resulting in civilian casualties and the destruction of residential structures and public infrastructure.
• In northern Gaza, since 6 October 2024, the Israeli Forces have been carrying out a ground offensive and imposed a tightened siege, particularly around the area of Jabalia. Intense military operations are ongoing amid a near-total lack of humanitarian aid, as well as severe communications and internet disruptions. As of 4 November, the UN and its partners estimated that about 100,000 people had been displaced over four weeks from the North Gaza governorate to Gaza City and between 75,000 and 95,000 people were estimated to remain in North Gaza.
• On 1 November 2024, the Israeli Forces issued an evacuation order for IDPs sheltering inside shelters in Jabalia camp. Approximately 19 UNRWA installations are located within the remit of the area affected by the evacuation order.
• On 1 November, the Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) issued a statement co-signed by 15 UN and humanitarian organisations describing the situation in the northern Gaza Strip as “apocalyptic”. The joint statement calls on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, facilitate humanitarian operations, and respect international humanitarian law, and it calls for a sustained, unconditional ceasefire and the release of all hostages. The statement also mentions that, if implemented, the legislation adopted by the Israeli Parliament against UNRWA would be “a catastrophe for the humanitarian response in Gaza”, where “there is no alternative to UNRWA”.
• On 2 November, UNRWA, WHO, UNICEF and partners resumed the second round of the polio vaccination campaign, which took place in October in the middle and southern areas. Between 2 and 4 November, over 105,000 children received the vaccine and nearly 84,000 received Vitamin A supplements in northern Gaza. However, the area of the humanitarian pause was limited to Gaza City, being therefore substantially reduced compared to the first round of vaccination conducted in northern Gaza in September 2024. Despite the agreed-upon pause, WHO reported that the Sheikh Radwan primary health-care centre was hit on 2 November 2024 while parents were bringing their children to be vaccinated, resulting in six people, including four children, injured.
• During the second round of the polio vaccination campaign, which reached 94 per cent of the intended population, a total of 556,774 children under 10 across the Gaza Strip were vaccinated against polio, and 448,425 children between 2 and 10 received Vitamin A.
• On 5 November, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), Muhannad Hadi, visited a UNRWA school sheltering hundreds of families in Gaza City and described conditions there as “unbearable”, amid the lack of food, water and functioning toilets. He explained that, with sewage running everywhere and waste accumulating, “this is not a place for humans to survive,” adding it is “beyond imagination.”
• On 6 November, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini addressed the UN General Assembly highlighting the consequences Palestine Refugees would have to face, should the legislation adopted by the Israeli Parliament against UNRWA be implemented. The Commissioner-General warned that “in Gaza, dismantling UNRWA will collapse the United Nations humanitarian response, which relies heavily on the Agency’s infrastructure,” and added that “in the West Bank, UNRWA’s collapse would deprive at least 50,00 children of education, and hundreds of thousands of Palestine Refugees of healthcare.” He called on the Member States to act to prevent the implementation of the legislation, to ensure that any plan for a political transition delineates UNRWA’s role, and to maintain funding to UNRWA without withholding or diverting funds on the assumption that the Agency can no longer operate.
• On 8 November, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) published a Famine Review Committee Alert on the Gaza Strip, according to which there is a likelihood that famine is imminent in areas within northern Gaza. The Alert warns that, since the latest IPC analysis published on 17 October 2024, the situation in the Gaza Strip has further deteriorated due to several factors, including the intensification of Israeli military operations – particularly in northern Gaza – new evacuation orders, decreasing levels of supplies entering the Strip, attacks on health and nutrition care facilities. Moreover, the IPC highlights that, if the legislation against UNRWA adopted by the Israeli Parliament is implemented, “it will have extremely serious consequences for humanitarian operations.”
• On 8 November, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published a six-month update report on the human rights situation in Gaza, covering the period between 1 November 2023 and 30 April 2024. The report broadly examines the killing of civilians and breaches of international law that in many instances could amount to war crimes. Based on the number of killings verified by OHCHR by 2 September 2024, close to 70 per cent of people killed in Gaza by strikes, shelling and other conduct of hostilities are children and women, indicating a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality. Of the verified fatalities, about 80 per cent were killed in residential buildings or similar housing, out of which 44 per cent were children and 26 per cent were women. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk stressed the imperative for Israel to fully and immediately comply with obligations to prevent, protect against and punish acts of genocide and associated prohibited conduct underscored by the International Court of Justice.
• OCHA reports that over 42 million tons of rubble and a large concentration of explosive hazards pose an imminent threat to civilians in the Gaza Strip, while the entry of specialized personnel and equipment and the conduct of explosive ordnance disposal activities are restricted.
• According to FAO’s recent rapid assessments, nearly 15,000 cattle, 95 per cent of the total, have died and almost all calves have been slaughtered, while fewer than 25,000 sheep (about 43 per cent), some 3,000 goats (approximately 37 per cent) and 34,000 birds (1 per cent of poultry sector) remain alive. OCHA highlights that this dramatic loss is coupled with large-scale damage of agricultural infrastructure and ongoing restrictions that hamper the entry of essential agricultural inputs, fodder and veterinary kits into Gaza. All this represents critical impediments to rehabilitating local food systems, perpetuating people’s reliance on increasingly shrinking humanitarian aid.
• In the Hunger Hotspot issued on 31 October 2024, FAO and WFP placed the Gaza Strip among the five “highest alert” territories in terms of catastrophic food insecurity conditions. WFP Chief Economist, Arif Husain, highlighted that the situation in Gaza is “the most intense”, with 91 per cent of the population facing crisis or worse levels of food insecurity and the economy shrinking to approximately one-sixth in the space of a year.
• OCHA reports that, while over 209 explosive hazard assessments have been conducted in Gaza to date, these are insufficient to allow a comprehensive understanding of the extent of explosive ordnance contamination in the Strip. However, available information indicates that, across all five Gaza governorates, explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination are likely to be both on the surface and sub-surface, involving not only land service ammunition (projectiles, mortars, rockets, missiles, grenades and landmines), but also deep-buried bombs, as well as weapons and ammunition caches. Despite the critical need to immediately scale up the Mine Action response, restrictions imposed by the Israeli Authorities on the entry of specialised personnel and equipment, coupled with access constraints, hamper mine action activities and curtail efforts to protect people from ERW and the safe and sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid.
• According to OCHA, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate reported that 174 journalists –representing 10 per cent of those working in Gaza – have been killed, 101 injured and 30 detained since October 2023. The same source stated that 514 family members of journalists were killed in airstrikes on their homes and areas of displacement, with approximately 115 homes belonging to journalists hit.
• According to OCHA, as of 26 October, around 80 per cent of the Gaza Strip is under active Israeli-issued evacuation orders.
• According to the UN, at least 1.9 million people – or about 90 per cent of the population – across the Gaza Strip are internally displaced. Many have been displaced repeatedly, some 10 times or more.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 5 November 2024, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza as reported by OCHA, at least 43,391 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in Gaza and 102,347 have been reported injured.
• OCHA reports that, on 20 October, the MoH published the breakdown of 40,717 out of 42,010 fatalities as of 7 October 2024. These reportedly include 13,319 children, 7,216 women, 3,447 elderly, and 16,735 men. Among the child fatalities, 786 children are under one year of age, representing about six per cent of killed children whose full identification details have been documented, MoH further reported. Additionally, as of 7 October 2024, MoH noted that 35,055 children had lost one or both parents over the past year.
• As of 11 November, the total number of UNRWA team members killed since 7 October 2023 is 243.
• Several challenges continue to stand in the way of collecting much-needed humanitarian supplies from the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing point in southern Gaza. These include deteriorating law and order, war and insecurity, damaged infrastructure, fuel shortages and access restrictions.
• According to OCHA, only 1,160 humanitarian trucks were permitted to enter the Gaza Strip crossing from 1 to 31 October 2024. This represents a daily average of only 37 humanitarian trucks, the lowest since October 2023. This is well below the pre-crisis average of 500 trucks per working day. OCHA reported that, of the 644 humanitarian movements coordinated with Israeli Authorities across Gaza from 1 to 31 October 2024, 278 were denied access, 99 were impeded, 26 were cancelled due to logistical and security challenges and only 241 were facilitated. Out of 183 coordinated movements to and within northern Gaza, 81 were denied, 39 were impeded, 10 had to be cancelled, and 53 were facilitated.
• In comparison with September, denials of movements across Gaza have risen by over 100 per cent, increasing from 138 to 278, while facilitation of movements has decreased by 21 per cent, dropping from 305 to 241. Furthermore, denials of movements to northern Gaza via the Al Rashid checkpoint have increased by 115 per cent, rising from 26 to 56 denied movements.
• The latest information on supplies entering Gaza can be accessed through the link below:
• Gaza Supplies and Dispatch Tracking | UNRWA

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem

The West Bank, including the East Jerusalem update, is now once a week.

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