<\/p>\n
2 September 2026<\/p>\n
Good morning excellencies, colleagues.<\/p>\n
I thank the Committee for the invitation to brief this meeting.<\/p>\n
The humanitarian situation across the OPT remains deeply alarming.<\/p>\n
There are few words that can convey the scale of suffering present in Gaza, where people continue to endure very difficult conditions. Most of the population of 2.1 million people remains displaced, while ongoing airstrikes, and hostilities continue to cause civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Humanitarian needs remain immense, and humanitarian organizations face continued constraints on our ability to bring in certain items, to move into certain areas, and to operate. These occur alongside significant funding shortfalls, where only 40 per cent of our annual funding request has been met, with only four months left in the year.<\/p>\n
Most of the population of Gaza, today, is confined to less than 40 per cent of the Strip, as the Israeli authorities continue imposing access restrictions on the Gaza Strip\u2019s area, beyond the so-called \u201cOrange\u201d and \u201cYellow\u201d lines.<\/p>\n
Children are among those most affected. They have experienced repeated displacement, exposure to violence, loss of family members, psychological distress, and disruption of nearly every aspect of daily life.<\/p>\n
We will hear shortly about the devastating shelter situation from the colleague from the Shelter Cluster, so I will not speak to that, but confirm that the conditions are very dire.<\/p>\n
Health needs remain staggering. Damage to health facilities, shortages of equipment and medicines, and repeated displacement continue to undermine access to care.<\/p>\n
Widespread displacement and overcrowding, combined with limited access to safe water, overstretched sanitation services, accumulating solid waste, are driving persistent rat and pest infestations, heightening public health risks and contributing to disease outbreaks across Gaza.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery and essential equipment to remove debris and denied access to sanitation landfills prevent adequate and sustainable solutions to these public health risks.<\/p>\n
Education remains severely compromised, with damage to schools and educational infrastructure, and insecurity limiting learning opportunities.<\/p>\n
As we approach the cold and rainy season, the risks facing the population are becoming even more urgent. Last winter, more than 70 per cent of families experienced flooding, many on multiple occasions.<\/p>\n
Aid agencies are working to support at-risk families, but efforts are being hampered by restrictions on the entry of critical supplies, limited access to land, and serious funding gaps.<\/p>\n
We need more shelter supplies, along with equipment, spare parts and engine oil \u2013 all of which are critical to help protect people from flooding, hypothermia and disease during the winter months.<\/p>\n
In spite of the challenges, humanitarian partners continue to deliver assistance wherever possible.<\/p>\n
But what we are able to do is nowhere close to meeting the massive need levels we see in Gaza.<\/p>\n
Turning to the West Bank, humanitarian concerns continue to intensify as the situation rapidly deteriorates and many Palestinians face a near-complete lack of protection. Operations by Israeli forces, settler violence, demolitions, displacement and movement restrictions are creating insecurity, and humanitarian needs across many communities.<\/p>\n
Demolitions and displacement continue to disrupt life and access to services. Education remains under pressure, with schools facing demolition proceedings and movement restrictions hindering access for students and teachers alike.<\/p>\n
To mention but a few figures, since the beginning of 2026, 79 Palestinians, including 19 children, have been killed and about 1,870 injured in the West Bank.<\/p>\n
Of these, 23 Palestinians were killed and over 1,040 injured in the context of settler attacks.<\/p>\n
Over 900 movement obstacles impede Palestinian access to essential services and places of work.<\/p>\n
Plans for construction of the E1 settlement create additional risks, threatening to displace the residents of some 18 Palestinian Bedouin communities and further fragment the West Bank.<\/p>\n
Already in 2026, more than 3,700 people have been displaced in the West Bank due to demolitions, settler violence and access restriction; 47 communities have been completely displaced since 2023.<\/p>\n
Recent developments in Qusra, in the Nablus governorate, highlight just how alarming the situation has become. The establishment of a new settlement outpost in early August near three Palestinian households has been followed by increased presence of Israeli forces and settlers, damage to water and electricity infrastructure, and restrictions on Palestinian movement and access.<\/p>\n
And while humanitarian partners work to meet needs, they are forced to cut assistance due to lack of funding. WFP just announced yesterday that funding shortfalls are forcing them to cut food, cash, and nutrition\u00a0assistance\u00a0by half, from 400,000 people per month to 200,000 people \u2013 this happens as food needs\u00a0in the West Bank\u00a0have more than doubled since 2023.<\/p>\n
Colleagues, we cannot allow further deterioration of the situation in the OPT. People in need cannot wait. Their needs are immediate and their vulnerabilities are growing.<\/p>\n
Today, allow me to conclude with three urgent asks: <\/em><\/p>\n First, civilians must be protected, in line with international humanitarian law.<\/p>\n Second, humanitarian access must be enabled and sustained.<\/p>\n Third, the humanitarian response must be adequately funded, particularly ahead of the winter season.<\/p>\n The international community must act with urgency and resolve.<\/p>\n Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2 September 2026 Good morning excellencies, colleagues. I thank the Committee for the invitation to brief this meeting. The humanitarian situation across the OPT remains deeply alarming. There are few words that can convey the scale of suffering present in Gaza, where people continue to endure very difficult conditions. Most of the population of […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1338],"document-source":[1753,2169],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[6650,2005,5200,1745,6866,6251],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-320044","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-statement","document-source-ceirpp","document-source-office-for-the-coordination-of-humanitarian-affairs-ocha","document-subject-funding-needs","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-humanitarian-relief","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","document-subject-settler-violence","document-subject-west-bank","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/320044","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":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/320044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":320068,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/320044\/revisions\/320068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=320044"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=320044"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=320044"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=320044"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=320044"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=320044"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=320044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}