{"id":318699,"date":"2026-05-20T11:58:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T15:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&#038;p=318699"},"modified":"2026-06-05T12:31:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T16:31:38","slug":"unrwa-situation-report-222-on-the-humanitarian-crisis-in-the-gaza-strip-and-the-occupied-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/unrwa-situation-report-222-on-the-humanitarian-crisis-in-the-gaza-strip-and-the-occupied-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem\/","title":{"rendered":"±¬ÁÏÍøRWA Situation Report #222 on the Humanitarian Crisis in the Gaza Strip and the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>20 May 2026<\/p>\n<p>All information updated for 13 &#8211; 19 May 2026<\/p>\n<p>Days 948 &#8211; 954 since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-318703 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_1.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"587\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27587%27%20height%3D%27440%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20587%20440%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27587%27%20height%3D%27440%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_1-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_1-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_1-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_1-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_1.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 587px) 100vw, 587px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Highlights:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Gaza Strip<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Strikes by Israeli forces continued across the Gaza Strip, resulting in civilian casualties and damage to critical facilities. Several strikes occurred in the vicinity of ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA facilities, including in the north. However, no casualties or damage to ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA installations were reported.<\/li>\n<li>Severe shortages of engine oil and spare parts are placing life-saving humanitarian operations at risk across the Gaza Strip. Health services are particularly affected, as most facilities rely on generators that face frequent breakdowns. At the same time, water production, pumping and distribution systems &#8211; alongside wastewater and solid waste management &#8211; are at imminent risk of failure, as they depend almost entirely on ageing generators that are operating beyond design limits. Without urgent resupply, disruptions to healthcare, safe water access, and waste collection are expected to rapidly escalate public health risks and operational constraints.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Key points<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Gaza Strip<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Fatalities and injuries<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Between 7 October 2023 and 12 May 2026, according to the Ministry of Health, as reported by OCHA, 72,742 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip and another 172,565 injured.<\/li>\n<li>±¬ÁÏÍøRWA has recorded 391 colleagues killed in Gaza since the start of the war (310 ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA personnel, and 81 persons who were supporting ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA), up to 18 May.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Health crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Medical surveillance teams continue to report an increase in ectoparasitic infections, such as scabies, as well as chickenpox. The ability of ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA and humanitarian partners to control the spread of rodents and parasites remains constrained by a severe shortage of pesticides and hygiene supplies, as well as by a lack of supplies to sustain waste removal and sewage operations, lack of access to landfills, and limited progress on rubble removal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Displacement, Site management<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>±¬ÁÏÍøRWA continues to monitor the movement of displaced persons and displacement sites. An estimated 65,000 displaced people are living in 82 collective emergency shelters managed by the Agency.<\/li>\n<li>Currently, 126 ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA facilities are located within the Israeli-militarised zone behind the so-called \u201cYellow Line\u201d, as well as in areas within the \u201cOrange Line\u201d where access is subject to Israeli approval or coordination.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Operational implications and humanitarian response<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Around 11,000 Palestinian ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA personnel continue to provide services and assistance to people in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA also plays a central role with over 4,000 of the Agency\u2019s Palestinian personnel providing education, health, and other services to Palestine Refugees.<\/li>\n<li>All ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA international staff are prevented from entering the Occupied Palestinian Territory &#8211; the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This follows the implementation of laws passed by the Israeli parliament on 28 October 2024 that purport to prohibit ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA\u2019s operations in areas that Israel considers its sovereign territory, including occupied East Jerusalem, and seek to bar any contact by Israeli officials with ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA. The Israeli authorities have not granted the Agency\u2019s international staff visas or permits to enter the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Gaza, since the end of January 2025.<\/li>\n<li>Since March 2025, the Israeli authorities have been blocking ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA from directly bringing humanitarian personnel and aid into the Gaza Strip. Despite the huge needs on the ground, ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA was therefore unable to distribute the aid it had pre-positioned outside Gaza, which included enough food parcels, flour, and shelter supplies for hundreds of thousands of people.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>According to\u00a0<a class=\"ext\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ochaopt.org\/data\/casualties\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">OCHA<\/a>, between 7 October 2023 and 13 May 2026, 1,095 Palestinians \u2013 at least 240 of them children \u2013 were killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Forty-nine of them have been killed since the beginning of 2026.<\/li>\n<li>On 13 May, a Palestinian was shot and killed and four others injured during a settler attack on the communities of Sinjil and Jiljilya, during which Israeli forces opened fire.<\/li>\n<li>Settler violence persisted across the West Bank, marked by both Palestinian casualties and the destruction of property including livestock and crops.<\/li>\n<li>A 16-year-old Palestinian child was shot and killed by Israeli forces in Al Lubban ash Sharqiya, south of Nablus, late on 14 May.<\/li>\n<li>Violence and harassment occurred in the Old City of Jerusalem on 15 May, linked to the annual Israeli events marking Jerusalem Day, including marches. Palestinian-owned businesses were forced to close, and several detentions were reported.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Gaza Humanitarian overview and response<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-318704 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_2.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"492\" height=\"369\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27492%27%20height%3D%27369%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20492%20369%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27492%27%20height%3D%27369%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_2-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_2-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_2-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_2-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/infograph_sitrep_222_2.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"border-top-bottom\"><span class=\"blue\"><strong>1.1. Humanitarian access and armed conflict-related incidents<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>From 12 to 18 May, one significant armed incident impacted ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA facilities, personnel and persons supporting ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA\u2019s activities.<\/li>\n<li>Since the beginning of the war and up to 18 May,\u00a0<strong>973*<\/strong>\u00a0incidents impacting ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA premises and the people inside them have been reported.\u00a0<strong>312*<\/strong>\u00a0(or nearly all) ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA installations have been impacted by armed conflict-related incidents, some of them multiple times. ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA continues to verify and update the number of casualties caused by these incidents.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>1.2 ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA Response<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"blue-with-border-left\"><strong>Health and nutrition<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>±¬ÁÏÍøRWA has provided over 18.3 million health visits, including 12.3 million medical consultations since the start of the war in October 2023.<\/li>\n<li>From 16 to 30 April, ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA screened 5,765 children aged between six and 59 months at its health centres and medical points, identifying 189 malnourished children.<\/li>\n<li>By 10 May, six health centres and four additional ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA-rented facilities used as temporary health centres were operational in the Gaza Strip. In addition, by that date, ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA was providing primary health services through 69 mobile medical teams working in 28 medical points inside and outside collective emergency shelters in the Middle Area, Khan Younis, Al Mawasi and Gaza City.<sup><a id=\"_ftnref1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unrwa.org\/resources\/reports\/unrwa-situation-report-222-humanitarian-crisis-gaza-strip-and-occupied-west-bank#note\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[5]<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n<li>From 4 to 10 May, an average of 1,068 ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA health personnel per day worked in the Agency\u2019s health facilities across the Gaza Strip, providing 76,586 medical consultations in total.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0Between 4 and 10 May, ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA health teams provided 7,224 consultations for post-natal and pregnant women at high risk, 3,497 dental and oral health consultations in fixed and mobile clinics, and 2,557 physiotherapy rehabilitation services sessions in health centres and medical points. A total of 12,476 laboratory tests were conducted in ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA health centres and medical points.<\/li>\n<li>From 4 to 10 May, 2,520 vaccination sessions were provided at health centres and medical points. In addition, a total of 185 students received routine immunizations through school health services.<\/li>\n<li>±¬ÁÏÍøRWA\u2019s tele-medicine initiative began in March 2024 and has gradually expanded to include other services such as tele-dentistry, tele-physiotherapy, and tele-psychosocial counselling. Currently, following the establishment of the Centralised Telemedicine Centre, the team provides tele-consultations for curative outpatient care, non-communicable diseases, as well as maternal and cardiological consultations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div id=\"ftn1\">\n<p class=\"blue-with-border-left\"><strong>Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>±¬ÁÏÍøRWA remains one of the largest providers of emergency learning and psychosocial support (PSS) services across the Gaza Strip.<\/li>\n<li>Between 7 October 2023 and 17 May 2026, ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA\u2019s social work team provided services to 270,658 displaced persons, including psychological first aid, PSS services, family and individual activities, and case management. During the same reporting period, services were provided to 4,356 survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and 7,340 children, including 3,337 unaccompanied children. The team supported 36,114 persons with disabilities with PSS. Awareness sessions on GBV, child protection, disability inclusion, as well as managing social and psychological stressors, were conducted for 157,744 displaced persons.<\/li>\n<li>±¬ÁÏÍøRWA health teams, including 49 psychiatrists, psychosocial counsellors and supervisors, continued to provide MHPSS services in Gaza City, the Middle and Khan Younis areas, assisting special cases referred from ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA health centres and collective emergency shelters. From 4 to 10 May, ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA teams had 3,058 visits in health centres and at health points providing individual consultations, awareness sessions, and support for protection cases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"blue-with-border-left\"><strong>Learning<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>±¬ÁÏÍøRWA provides learning services in the Gaza Strip in Temporary Learning Spaces (TLS) and through its distance learning initiative.<\/li>\n<li>Between 11 and 17 May, 63,519 children (28,412 boys and 35,107 girls), including 1,080 children with disabilities, took part in learning activities conducted across 678 classrooms in 77 ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA collective emergency shelters<sup><a id=\"_ftnref1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unrwa.org\/resources\/reports\/unrwa-situation-report-222-humanitarian-crisis-gaza-strip-and-occupied-west-bank#note\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[6]<\/a><\/sup>.<\/li>\n<li>±¬ÁÏÍøRWA also leverages digital tools to provide basic literacy and numeracy activities for over 280,000 children in Gaza, facilitated by approximately 7,500 teachers using self-learning material developed by ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA that is hosted on the Agency\u2019s digital learning platform.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"blue-with-border-left\"><strong>Food security<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>From 7 October 2023 until the start of the previous ceasefire on 19 January 2025, ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA reached over 388,000 families, or nearly 1.9 million people, with two rounds of flour deliveries; at least 374,000 of those families received three rounds. During that ceasefire, which lasted until March 2025, ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA reached over 2 million people with critical food assistance.<\/li>\n<li><strong><u>±¬ÁÏÍøRWA ran out of food at the end of April 2025. The Agency has been blocked by the Israeli authorities from directly bringing in any humanitarian assistance including food since 2 March 2025.<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"blue-with-border-left\"><strong>Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Since October 2023, ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA has carried out emergency WASH activities across the Gaza Strip, at ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA collective emergency shelters and informal displacement areas. Activities include operating and maintaining water wells and desalination systems and supplying water by truck. In addition, ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA continues to maintain hygiene in its shelters and sites by distributing cleaning supplies, running community-based solid waste management, water tank disinfection campaigns, and pest control.<\/li>\n<li>In 2025, ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA distributed 970,000 cubic metres of drinking and\u00a0<span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">domestic-use water<\/span>\u00a0and collected and disposed of 70,000 tonnes of solid waste. ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA estimates that around 1.7 million people benefitted from the Agency\u2019s water provision and solid waste collection services in 2025.<\/li>\n<li>Between 1 and 15 May, ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA distributed around 51,300 cubic metres of domestic and potable water in various areas and from different sources, reaching over 750,000 displaced people daily.<\/li>\n<li>Between 1 and 15 May, ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA teams collected around 3,500 tonnes of solid waste inside the Agency\u2019s Designated Emergency Shelters and surrounding areas. More than 1,600 cleaning campaigns were conducted, benefitting over 750,000 displaced persons. Activities included cleaning emergency shelters, cleaning and clearing 1,000 manholes, as well as water desludging. ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA teams also conducted over 3,280 hygiene promotion sessions over the same period.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; 20 May 2026 All information updated for 13 &#8211; 19 May 2026 Days 948 &#8211; 954 since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip Highlights: The Gaza Strip Strikes by Israeli forces continued across the Gaza Strip, resulting in civilian casualties and damage to critical facilities. Several strikes occurred in the vicinity <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/unrwa-situation-report-222-on-the-humanitarian-crisis-in-the-gaza-strip-and-the-occupied-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem\/\"> [&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2929],"document-source":[1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1945,2005,2533,1961,1745,6251],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-318699","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-situation-report","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-health","document-subject-jerusalem","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","document-subject-west-bank","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/318699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/318699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":318707,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/318699\/revisions\/318707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=318699"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=318699"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=318699"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=318699"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=318699"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=318699"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=318699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}