Gaza Humanitarian Response Update (20-26 May 2024) – OCHA

Response

• Partners continue to conduct Mid-Upper Arm Circumference screenings in shelters and healthcare facilities across the Gaza Strip. Since mid-January, 93,409 children aged 6-59 months have been screened for malnutrition, of whom 7,280 have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition, including 5,604 with Moderate Acute Malnutrition, and 1,676 with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). These children are currently receiving treatment in line with the simplified protocols. A post-distribution monitoring survey conducted by the Cluster shows that dietary diversity has worsened in May, with 95 per cent of children eating less than two different food groups per day. Moreover, 85 per cent of children did not eat for a whole day at least once in the three days before the survey was conducted.
• Since 1 May, WFP and its partners have reached around 60,000 children under the age of five and 22,820 pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) with a 15-day allocation of Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements for the prevention of malnutrition.
• Nutrition Cluster partners have increased their services in Al Mawasi, Khan Younis, Deir al Balah and Gaza City.
• As of 26 May, 21,355 caregivers of children under the age of two, including PBW, have received sensitization sessions on Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in Emergencies and 389 mother-to-mother support groups have been established.
• WHO partners and the Ministry of Health (MoH) continue to offer stabilization services for children suffering from SAM with complications. To-date, 68 children have received treatment. However, due to the recent escalation of hostilities, the Stabilization Centre in Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza is currently out of service.

Challenges

• Limited access to Gaza city and North Gaza has prevented the establishment of new nutrition services in these locations. Overall, access constraints across Gaza continue to hamper the early detection of children and women requiring nutrition services and the scale-up of operational presence and needed support.
• Despite redeployment efforts, the limited number of partners present in Khan Younis is insufficient to address the increased need for nutrition services following large-scale displacement to the area, heightening the risk of inadequate or no follow-up on the cases of children under treatment.

Response

• Child Protection: Between 1 and 15 May, partners reached only 3,761 children and 1,904 caregivers with child protection services across the Gaza Strip.
• Protection from Gender-Based Violence (GBV): Between 1 and 15 May, GBV actors reached 2,535 displaced women and girls with GBV services, including psycho-social first aid, psycho-social support, case management, referral, and legal counselling; 472 displaced women and girls with recreational activities; and 141 with awareness sessions on menstrual and personal hygiene. The mapping of partner support services in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah has been updated and disseminated. GBV messages were shared for dissemination to communities during distributions of food and Non-Food Items (NFIs). The GBV Sub-Cluster continued distributing the remaining sanitary pads and hygiene kits to the most vulnerable women and girls and is advocating for the entry of additional hygiene kits to address present shortages.
• Mine Action: Due to the situation in Rafah, most Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) and Conflict Preparedness and Protection (CPP) activities have been relocated to West Rafah and Khan Younis; Mine Action partners are coordinating with UNRWA to organise EORE-CPP sessions in schools, camps and shelters receiving the largest influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Efforts continue to deploy additional Explosive Ordnance Disposal officers to Gaza and, where access permits, conduct Explosive Hazard Assessments; deliver Training of Trainers sessions on EORE and CPP to local partners and humanitarian workers; undertake EORE campaigns via radio and flyers; and map suspected unexploded ordnance and high-risk areas. Mine Action partners are in the process of procuring EORE-CPP materials, including flyers and brochures, for local partners for onward distribution to the communities, to enable the scale-up EORE-CPP activities through local partners across the Gaza Strip. The integration of mine action into the management of debris, when circumstances will allow, is currently in the planning phase.
• Released detainees continue to seek UNRWA support. During the reporting period, 89 released detainees requested from the UNRWA protection team in Deir al Balah food and NFI assistance as well as accommodation support, which is proving increasingly difficult to address due to limited resources. Among this group, 22 sought psychological support and were referred to UNRWA’s health and psychosocial services. On 22 May, UNRWA received information through local media sources that another 30 detainees were released at Kissufim Crossing, but its protection teams have not been unable to locate their whereabouts. The teams were deployed to Nasser and Al Aqsa hospitals in case any of those released sought medical care and UNRWA shelter managers were alerted to communicate with protection teams if any of the released detainees arrives at UNRWA shelters.
• UNRWA’s protection teams in Rafah, Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, and to a smaller extent in Gaza city, continue their monitoring activities across UNRWA’s shelters and IDP sites.

Challenges

• Evacuation orders have forced Protection Cluster actors to relocate their services, with many providers and their families displaced themselves. Coupled with the lack of tents, exorbitant rent costs in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah and increasing transportation costs, this has limited the presence of frontline staff in Al Mawasi. It has also negatively affected the re-establishment of GBV referrals and services, and heightened the cost of accessing services, including for women and girls.
• Cash shortages hinder the encashment of Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) by some recipients; this has negatively affected living conditions, increased the risk of exposure to violence or exploitation for women and girls, and hindered the ability of partners to pay local service providers and staff salaries.
• Frequent interruptions of internet and communications services as well as damage to key infrastructure continue to curtail mobility and operations.
• The lack of prior notification by Israeli authorities to either UNRWA or ICRC on the release of detainees, including recently at Kissufim Crossing. Combined with limited resources, including insufficient space at UNRWA shelters in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, this has rendered difficult the provision of needed support by UNRWA protection teams to an increasing number of released detainees.
• The unavailability of safe shelter options and limited space in UNRWA shelters in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah challenge the provision of services and expose IDPs, especially the most vulnerable, to heightened protection risks.
• Logistic and security constraints continue to hamper the creation of safe spaces for confidential GBV case management, including high-risk cases and the clinical management of rape, and the implementation of alternative care options for unaccompanied children. Partners, most of whom are operating in tents, also report a lack of privacy and confidentiality when providing services.
• Overcrowding, the overwhelming need for food, water, and NFIs, the lack of water and functioning toilets, and the increasing accumulation of garbage in shelters in Rafah. The main supplier of drinking water for IDPs in Rafah anticipated a halt in operations due to fuel shortage.
• Denial of entry of critical items, such as mine action supplies, sanitary pads, dignity and menstrual health management kits for women and girls, as well as recreational materials for children. This is exacerbated by the blockage or disruption of aid flows and the extremely limited availability or unaffordability of these supplies on the local market.
• The abrupt interruption in the entry of fuel has nearly halted the implementation, monitoring, and coordination of Cluster activities, and has posed additional challenges for people forcefully displaced from Rafah to Deir al Balah and Khan Younis.
• The closure of Rafah Crossing is impeding the entry/exit of international humanitarian workers.
• Administrative hurdles, such as registration of organizational entities and delayed provision of visas.

Response

• The Shelter Cluster continues to map shelter stocks and response activities to identify gaps. The Cluster is also sharing with partners an updated guidance on prioritization.
• The Shelter Cluster continues to advocate for an increased entry of trucks carrying shelter items into the Strip.

Challenges

• There are no remaining stocks of shelter materials inside Gaza to address the large-scale displacement caused by recent evacuation orders and intensified military activities.
• Lack of safely identified locations for shelters.
• Fuel shortages hamper the distribution of shelter and NFI assistance by partners.
• Households’ own lack of access to transportation hinders their ability to carry shelter items with them.

Response

• On 22 May, the ninth convoy, comprising 43 trucks of food, hygiene, and shelter items provided by three partners, departed from Amman via the Jordan Corridor for direct entry to northern Gaza through the Erez West Crossing. Planning for the tenth direct convoy is ongoing, and 43 trucks have already been loaded with shelter and health items.
• Convoys travelling in back-to-back modality from Amman have resumed after being on hold since 17 April. The 26^th such convoy was dispatched on 17 May, with 24 trucks of WFP food supplies entering Gaza through the Erez West Crossing.
• The Cluster is in the process of setting-up two new warehouses: one in Deir al Balah to expand common storage capacity inside Gaza and the other one in Amman, Jordan, to expand storage space for partners.
• On 19 May, the Logistics Cluster finalized the installation of two Temperature-Controlled Units in Durgham 2 area and two Mobile Storage Units at the seaport in Al Arish. These assets further expand the storage capacity of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society, including for temperature-sensitive humanitarian aid, such as medical supplies.
• As of 19 May, the pipeline forecast for the next three months stood at 314,141 metric tons (MT) of humanitarian aid, including 206,899 MT through the Egypt corridor, 42,649 MT through the Jordan corridor, 33,780 MT exclusively of flour from the Ashdod port, 7,800 MT through the maritime corridor from Cyprus, and an additional 23,013 MT of cargo that are yet to be allocated to a specific corridor.

Challenges

• Since 7 May, due to escalating hostilities and access constraints, the Logistics Cluster has been unable to access and assess its common storage facility in Rafah, facilitate storage services or operate the cargo notification system in support of humanitarian actors.
• The absence of a regular schedule for convoys travelling directly from Amman to Gaza prevents effective planning and a timely and reliable flow of aid via the Jordan Corridor.
• Lack of consistent, real-time cargo visibility along transportation routes.
• Infrastructural damage, access and security challenges, lengthy checkpoint clearance procedures, lack of logistical supplies, assets, and spare parts, as well as insufficient fuel supplies to sustain essential operations and services, continue to limit storage and transport capacity within Gaza.
• The overall deterioration in the security situation has either severely hampered or completely halted the movement of aid workers and humanitarian relief items into and across the Gaza Strip.
• Uncertainty around the opening of additional entry points continues to undermine effective cargo and international procurement planning.

Response

• The ETC and UNDSS are currently programming Very High Frequency [VHF] radios, discussing the technical set up of the Gaza Security Communications System [SCS] and licensing agreements, and seeking authorization to reactivate and operationalize the VHF network. Once operational, the network will provide a reliable and secure communication platform for humanitarian responders in identified locations.
• The ETC is supporting the set-up of common internet services for humanitarian responders relocating from Rafah to new locations in Deir al Balah٫
• For more information on ETC activities, please visit: Palestine: Conflict | Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) (etcluster.org). 

Challenges

• Due to escalating hostilities, damaged infrastructure and fuel shortages, local Mobile Network Operators and Internet Service Providers [ISPs] are experiencing network outages. Insecurity and prevailing conditions are also preventing the conduct of repairs and are rendering it difficult to maintain the functionality of the remaining network.
• The availability of telecommunications equipment on the ground is severely limited; large parts of it have been damaged or destroyed and the import of new equipment remains lengthy and extremely challenging. Only 20 satellite phones, four VHF repeaters, four solar power solutions, and 30 VHF handheld radios have been approved for import into Gaza by the Israeli authorities since 7 October 2023. This is all severely limiting the delivery of ETC services.
• The 30 VHF radios recently imported into Jerusalem could not yet be programmed at the UNDSS server for use in Gaza due to licensing restrictions and an expired agreement between UNDSS and the service provider. In Deir al Balah, challenges in setting up connectivity are hampering the reactivation of the SCS network. Across Gaza, the SCS network is unavailable due to damaged equipment.
• Insecurity heightens concern for the safety of humanitarian workers and renders challenging the deployment of shared ETC communications services, the dispatch of newly received ICT equipment to Gaza, and the provision of face-to-face technical support to humanitarian responders.
• The lack of funding has limited the ETC Cluster’s capacity to address immediate communications needs of humanitarian responders in Gaza. The ETC continues to appeal for funding from potential donors. However, thus far, only 23 per cent of the US$1.8 million requested in the oPt Flash Appeal launched on 17 April has been received.

Response

• Between 20 and 26 May, 1,689 households received one round of emergency MPCA and 2,127 households received a second round. Cash out operations remain concentrated in the governorates south of Wadi Gaza. Overall, as of 26 May, one round of emergency MPCA was delivered to 178,223 households; a top-up was delivered to 34,000 people, targeting persons with disabilities and nursing mothers; and 23,374 households have received a second round.
• Since 7 October, 130,738 households have cashed out their assistance while 5,922 payments have been cancelled after failing to cash out the assistance after several months, which is attributed primarily to the lack of connectivity and available agents, especially north of Wadi Gaza.

Challenges

• Liquidity shortage due to the inability of banks to transfer money among branches.
• Poor electricity supply and limited connectivity limit the ability of financial service providers to make cash accessible to MPCA recipients, compromising the encashment of received funds.
• Assistance falls well short of needs, given market collapse and price volatility.
• In recent weeks, some private sector commercial trucks have entered Gaza, resulting in more commodities being available on the formal market. However, informal markets remain the primary source of accessible goods, which complicates efforts to track distributions and gather market data.