Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory
Occupied Palestinian Territory
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the Israeli military stopped all aid missions from going north of Wadi Gaza today. This means humanitarian workers were unable to reach any of the hundreds of thousands of people in need. It also made it impossible for them to collect supplies from the northern entry point of Erez West.
OCHA has received multiple reports of military activity along the Israeli military road that separates north and south Gaza.
Meanwhile, OCHA has seen larger numbers of displaced people crossing from Gaza city into Deir al Balah governorate – at least 450 people today, compared to just over 1,000 the week prior.
Some of those new arrivals told aid workers that Israeli troops had shot at people trying to cross, forcing some of them to turn around. OCHA says there were also reports of people south of Wadi Gaza being shot at while waiting for their relatives to cross into Deir al Balah.
OCHA has not been able to independently verify these reports.
Once again, OCHA reiterates that civilians Gaza must be protected, and their essential needs must be met, wherever they are.
The head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) says at least eight schools in Gaza have been hit in the last 10 days. In a social media post, Philippe Lazzarini stressed that schools are not a target and must never be used for fighting or military purposes, by any party to the conflict.
UNRWA says nearly 70 per cent of the agency’s schools have been hit since the war in Gaza began. Over 95 per cent of these schools were being used as shelters when they were hit, and almost 540 people sheltering in UNRWA facilities have been killed.
Israeli military action is also forcing food distribution points in Gaza to close and relocate. The World Food Programme (WFP) says it has been forced to further reduce rations in Gaza city to ensure broader coverage for people who have been newly displaced. In July so far, WFP has provided more than 600,000 people in Gaza with food assistance, and more than 500,000 people with food parcels and wheat flour.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says just 15 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially functional as of today, and just 1,500 of the usual 3,500 hospital beds in Gaza are available – 600 of them in field hospitals.
In both Gaza and the West Bank, WHO says it has documented more than 1,000 attacks on health care since 7 October 2023. In a social media post, the agency appealed for the protection of health workers and health facilities, humanitarian access, and an immediate ceasefire.