OCHA update: People seeking aid reportedly attacked in Gaza

17 June 2025

OCHA reports that amid ongoing Israeli air strikes and shelling, attacks continue to deepen the suffering of civilians – including the reported killing and injury of people seeking food and other aid.

OCHA notes with alarm that such incidents are also increasingly occurring along routes used by the UN to deliver humanitarian supplies. Today, partners working on health reported that more than 60 people were killed and over 280 injured, some critically, while waiting for aid in Khan Younis. The Israeli military said its troops shot at a crowd and that the incident is under review.

The casualties were brought to Nasser Medical Complex, where emergency and intensive care units are already overwhelmed, and medical teams are operating with extremely limited supplies. Seventy of the injured were referred to field hospitals, primarily to the International Medical Corps’ Field Hospital.

According to the Ministry of Health, as of yesterday, 338 people had been killed and more than 2,800 injured while trying to access food near distribution sites, referring to non-UN militarized hubs.

Jonathan Whittall, the Head of OCHA’s Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory – who is currently in Gaza – said today’s mass casualty incident was horrific. “It’s a chilling pattern,” Whittall said in a social media post. “Repeatedly, survivors recount being attacked as they try to reach the aid that they need to survive.”

OCHA reiterates that civilians must never be targeted, let alone those seeking food amid ongoing starvation.

Against this backdrop, humanitarian partners continue to report that fuel stocks in Gaza have reached critically low levels. Without immediate resupply, essential services – including the provision of clean water – will grind to a halt very soon. In southern Gaza, diesel supplies needed to operate critical equipment are nearly exhausted.

The drastic depletion of fuel inside Gaza is pushing life-saving services and critical humanitarian operations toward collapse. The UN Population Fund warned yesterday that without fuel, 80 per cent of critical care units essential for births and medical emergencies will shut down.

The World Health Organization (WHO) noted in a social media post yesterday that no fuel has entered Gaza for more than 100 days, and that attempts to retrieve fuel stocks from evacuation zones have been denied. Highlighting the impact on the health system in Gaza, WHO stressed that 17 hospitals, seven field hospitals and 43 primary health centres – which are currently running on minimum amounts of daily fuel – will soon have none left.

The UN and its humanitarian partners call once again for immediate, unimpeded humanitarian access – to aid supplies, to families in the Gaza Strip, and to fuel stocks.

Partners working on telecommunications report that the fiber optic cable on the Al Rasheed Road between Khan Younis and Gaza governorate has been cut off due to hostilities. As a result, there are no Internet and landline services in central and southern areas of the Strip. This fiber optic was just fixed yesterday.

Meanwhile, Israeli displacement orders are compounding an already unbearable situation – particularly for children. Child protection partners report that several child protection centres have been forced to close due to these orders, increasing overcrowding in the few that remain operational.

Despite these challenges, partners report that they continue to manage critical child protection cases daily, providing case management and mental health and psychosocial support for children and caregivers.

West Bank: Movement restrictions isolate communities

OCHA reports that Israeli forces have intensified strict movement restrictions between Palestinian cities and villages in the West Bank, through a network of more than 800 physical checkpoints, gates, roadblocks and other barriers. This lockdown has effectively splintered the West Bank, isolating communities from essential services and sources of livelihood.

Meanwhile, Israeli operations in northern areas of the West Bank are intensifying, causing further displacement and destruction.

Today for the second consecutive day, Israeli forces continued a large-scale raid in Askar camp in Nablus. This has involved house-to-house searches and arrests. The Israeli authorities informed the Palestinian District Coordination Office that at least 15 residential buildings were to be evacuated, ahead of a planned 48-hour operation by Israeli forces. This has displaced about 75 people.

In Jenin city and its refugee camp, Israeli forces continue their large-scale operation, which started two days ago. OCHA reports that the forces extensively bulldozed and demolished structures. Several residential structures, some previously slated for demolition, have been torn down. In one of the neighbourhoods, the forces raided at least 10 homes and damaged their contents.

OCHA underscores that Israel, as the occupying power, has a legal obligation under international law to protect Palestinians in the West Bank and ensure their safety and dignity.