UNRWA Situation Report #202 on the Humanitarian Crisis in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem

According to OCHA, between 7 October 2023 and 20 December 2025, 1,043 Palestinians – at least 229 of them children – were killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Among them, 237 Palestinians, including at least 56 children, were killed since the beginning of this year alone.

• On 18 December, the Israeli Supreme Court froze the implementation of a demolition order issued by Israeli forces against 25 buildings inside Nur Shams Camp, which was due to commence the same day. The Director of UNRWA Affairs in the West Bank released a statement in response to the issuance of the demolition orders. The demolition order marks the latest in a series targeting Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams camps in the northern West Bank, all of which have been emptied of residents since the beginning of operation ‘Iron Wall’ in January 2025.
• In Qabatiya, in the northern West Bank, a child was shot and killed on 20 December during an operation by Israeli forces, when clashes purportedly broke out with local residents.
• On 21 December, the Israeli government formally announced the establishment of 11 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, as well as the legalisation of eight existing settlements and/or settlement outposts, the latest in a series of moves advancing settlement expansion. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law.

Gaza Humanitarian Overview and Response:

1.1. Humanitarian access, armed conflict-related incidents

• UNRWA has provided over 15.8 million health consultations since the start of the war. This includes 10.8 million medical consultations through UNRWA doctors and another 5 million through nurses and other health staff, for vaccination, health checks, and counselling.
• Between 1 and 15 December, UNRWA screened 3,720 children from six to 59 months of age at its health centres and medical points, identifying 315 malnourished children.
• As of 14 December, only four health centres and four additional UNRWA-rented facilities used as temporary health centres were operational in the Gaza Strip. In addition, as of 14 December, UNRWA provides primary health services through 103 mobile medical teams working in 32 medical points inside and outside shelters in the Middle Area, Khan Younis, Al Mawasi and Gaza City[4].
• Between 8 and 14 December, an average of 1,156 UNRWA health personnel per day worked in UNRWA health facilities across the Gaza Strip, providing 56,270 medical consultations in total.
• Between 8 and 14 December, UNRWA health teams provided 4,753 consultations for post-natal and pregnant women at high risk, 3,265 dental and oral health consultations in fixed and mobile clinics, and 2,264 physiotherapy rehabilitation services sessions in health centres and medical points. A total of 5,274 lab tests were conducted in UNRWA health centres and medical points.
• From 8 to 14 December, 2,875 vaccination sessions were provided at health centres and medical points. Additionally, 535 students received vaccination services through school health services.
• Over the reporting period, UNRWA conducted blood donation campaigns in Gaza City with more than 60 blood units collected to support patients in need.

• UNRWA remains one of the largest providers of emergency learning and PSS services across the Gaza Strip.
• With the support of 236 school counsellors and over 300 assistant counsellors, the Agency has conducted 340,032 critical PSS sessions for approximately 730,000 displaced persons, including more than 520,000 children, since the beginning of the war.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 22 December 2025, UNRWA’s social work team provided services to 244,851 displaced persons, including psychological first aid, PSS services, family and individual activities, and case management. During the same reporting period, services were provided to 3,073 survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and 6,876 children, including 2,673 unaccompanied children. The team supported 30,845 persons with disabilities with PSS. Awareness sessions on GBV, child protection, disability and special needs, as well as managing social and psychological stressors, were conducted for 150,182 displaced persons.
• UNRWA heath 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 UNRWA health centres and shelters. From 8 to 14 December, UNRWA teams provided 4,753 consultations in health centres and at health points.

Learning

• UNRWA provides learning services in the Gaza Strip in Temporary Learning Spaces (TLS) and through its distance learning initiative.
• Between 8 and 14 December, 60,247 children (27,158 boys and 33,089 girls, including 694 children with disabilities) benefited from the learning activities conducted across over 400 classrooms in 67 schools turned shelters[5].
• UNRWA has also leveraged digital tools to provide basic literacy and numeracy activities to 296,028 children in Gaza, facilitated by 7,665 teachers through self-learning material developed by UNRWA, hosted on the Agency’s digital learning platform, and delivered through a community-based approach.

Food Security

• Since 7 October 2023 and until the start of the previous ceasefire (19 January 2025), UNRWA reached over 388,000 families (nearly 1.9 million people) with two rounds of flour; at least 374,000 of those families have received three rounds. During that ceasefire, UNRWA reached over 2 million people with critical food assistance.
• UNRWA ran out of food at the end of April. The Agency has been blocked by the Israeli Authorities from directly bringing in any humanitarian assistance including food for almost 10 months (since 2 March 2025).

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Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

• Since October 2023, UNRWA has carried out emergency WASH activities across the Gaza Strip, at UNRWA shelters and informal displacement areas. Activities include operating and maintaining water wells and desalination systems and supplying water with water trucks. In addition, UNRWA continues to maintain hygiene in its shelters and sites through cleaning supplies, community-based solid waste management, water tanks disinfection campaigns and pest control.
• In 2025, UNRWA water provision and solid waste collection have reached around 1.4 million people (to date).
• Between 1 and 15 December UNRWA distributed over 40,000 cubic metres of domestic and potable water in different areas, reaching around 300,000 IDPs. Expansion of water distribution activities is expected in 2026.
• Between 1 and 15 December, UNRWA teams collected around 3,500 tons of solid waste inside UNRWA shelters and surrounding areas. More than 400 cleaning campaigns were conducted inside its areas of responsibility, benefiting over 500,000 displaced persons. Cleaning activities included cleaning of DES, cleaning of manholes and water desludging. UNRWA teams also conducted over 500 hygiene promotion sessions over the same period.