Gaza: hostilities take heavy toll on civilians – OCHA

19 September 2025

OCHA reports that ongoing strikes and ground operations continue to exact a heavy toll on battered and exhausted civilians in the Gaza Strip. As the offensive on Gaza city intensifies, the influx of newly displaced people arriving in the south is putting even more stress on already overstretched services, as space in southern Gaza continues to shrink due to overcrowding.

Humanitarians on the ground report that people are arriving deep into the night, many of them walking for long hours without food, water or shelter. The coastal Al Rashid road remains extremely congested as vehicles, donkey carts, tuk-tuks and people on foot make their way south amid escalating attacks. Despite the announcement by the Israeli authorities to allow Salah Ad Din road to be used by people fleeing south, partners report that the road is impassable for travel by vehicle, as the route requires repairs. Today, Israeli authorities also announced that the 48-hour window to use the road is now closed, making Al Rashid the only passage available for civilians to leave the north.

The UN and its partners continue to respond wherever and whenever possible, despite extremely challenging circumstances and ongoing insecurity. Yesterday, an OCHA-led interagency mission carried out an assessment in multiple areas of Khan Younis where people displaced from the north have recently arrived. The assessment noted high levels of need among the displaced families, especially for shelter, food, water and medical care.

OCHA reiterates that the volumes of supplies entering Gaza remain below the threshold necessary to address people’s deepening needs. Furthermore, humanitarians require conditions on the ground to enable them to reach the most vulnerable people with assistance safely, rapidly and consistently.

The looting of supplies remains a critical obstacle preventing the UN and its partners from being able to deliver aid at scale, including by using community-based mechanisms. In a statement today, UNICEF reported that yesterday, four trucks full of ready-to-use therapeutic food were stolen at gunpoint in Gaza city.

The stolen supplies would have helped at least 2,700 severely and acutely malnourished children with life-saving support – at a time when famine has been confirmed in Gaza governorate and the ongoing military operation is creating further displacement, compounding the devastating impact on children. UNICEF underscored that a lasting ceasefire is necessary to create an environment where such incidents no longer occur, and aid can reach those who need it most – safely, quickly and effectively. Today, UNICEF was also forced to cancel the agency’s mission to Kerem Shalom to pick up supplies for the third day in a row due to the high risk of looting on the route provided by Israeli authorities.

Access impediments and delays persist, adding to the challenges faced by humanitarians delivering aid to people in desperate need. Zikim crossing – the only direct access to the north – remains closed. Furthermore, since last Thursday, attempts to coordinate water trucking in the north have been denied, and access to the water pipeline that runs from Israel into Gaza remains blocked, further limiting available water sources.

Today, a mission to deliver fuel to Gaza city had to be aborted, as the convoy waited over five hours for an approval and a green light to move. As thousands of people continue to flee south on Al Rashid road, the congestion that builds later in the day makes it impossible for the UN and its partners to reach Gaza city safely.

OCHA reiterates that humanitarians must have safe, rapid and unimpeded access, including to and within northern Gaza, to reach people in need. Those who are fleeing must be allowed to do so safely, and they must be allowed to return once the situation allows, if they wish.

West Bank: Israeli forces install more movement obstacles

OCHA warns that Israeli forces are installing more movement obstacles between Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank. In the first two weeks of September alone, 27 new closures were added, including iron gates, earth mounds and concrete blocks.

This comes on top of nearly 850 physical closures that OCHA mapped back in February – checkpoints, road gates, earth walls, trenches, earth mounds and roadblocks – all located inside the West Bank. This is in addition to the 442-mile Barrier, most of which is also built inside the West Bank.

Of the 27 new closures, seven earth mounds were installed across six villages in the Biddu Barrier enclave in Jerusalem governorate, following last Monday’s fatal shooting attack in East Jerusalem.

OCHA says these obstacles restrict Palestinian movement and access to livelihoods, healthcare, education and other essential services – or at least have the potential to do so whenever they are closed. Just yesterday, following the shooting incident at Allenby bridge, Israeli forces tightened restrictions across Jericho governorate using the existing array of checkpoints and roadblocks.

OCHA notes that these measures entrench territorial and social fragmentation and worsen humanitarian conditions, including by disrupting access to key routes such as Road 60, which connects the northern and southern West Bank.