Gaza: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has once again sounded the alarm over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where civilians are continuing to suffer daily casualties amid Israeli airstrikes, shelling, and desperate attempts to secure basic necessities like food. The agency emphasized that the normalization of such tragedies must be firmly rejected and that the violence must stop immediately.
Earlier on Thursday, OCHA’s health partners reported a major mass casualty incident following an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah. Al Aqsa Hospital received the bodies of more than 20 people and treated at least 70 others for injuries. Several of the wounded were transferred to the Nasser Medical Complex and other local health facilities already stretched thin by previous attacks and shortages.
Health workers are also warning of a sharp increase in preventable diseases across the Strip. In just two weeks, over 19,000 cases of acute watery diarrhea were recorded, along with more than 200 cases of acute jaundice syndrome and bloody diarrhea. These outbreaks are directly tied to the ongoing collapse of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure, which OCHA links to severe shortages of fuel, clean water, and hygiene supplies.
In a small but significant development, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced it had managed to deliver its first batch of medical supplies to Gaza since Israel imposed a complete blockade on March 2. A convoy of nine trucks entered through the Kerem Shalom crossing, carrying essential medical equipment, 2,000 units of blood, and 1,500 units of plasma. These were delivered to the Nasser Medical Complex for cold storage and will be distributed to hospitals urgently treating injuries, particularly from incidents at overcrowded food distribution sites. However, the WHO cautioned that the supplies are “a drop in the ocean” compared to what is urgently needed.
OCHA continues to stress that the influx of humanitarian and commercial goods must increase to meet overwhelming needs and prevent further unrest. This includes ensuring safe and unrestricted distribution across Gaza. However, access remains a serious obstacle. Of 17 humanitarian movement requests submitted by UN agencies yesterday, six were denied outright by Israeli authorities. These included missions to deliver clean water and repair damaged roads. Nine were allowed, and two others were partially impeded.
In the West Bank, OCHA expressed grave concern over intensifying violence and settler attacks. In a particularly brutal incident yesterday, hundreds of settlers, some armed and reportedly accompanied by Israeli forces, raided the village of Kafr Malik in the Ramallah governorate. Three Palestinians were killed and several others injured, as settlers set fire to homes with residents still inside. A separate attack in Asira al Qibliya, in the Nablus governorate, saw around 20 settlers torch local farmland.
OCHA emphasized that civilians across the occupied Palestinian territories – from Gaza to the West Bank – are enduring the devastating consequences of the protracted Israeli occupation. The agency renewed its urgent call for the protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel, adherence to international law, and the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid.
