United Nations in Palestine

The UN and its partners in Palestine are working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: 17 interconnected Goals which address the major development challenges faced by people in Palestine and around the world. These are the goals the UN is working on in Palestine:

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17 July 2026

Gaza farmers battle to rebuild as WFP warns of West Bank settler violence

The UN is supporting farmers in Gaza who are struggling to rebuild their smallholdings in areas devastated by the Hamas-Israel war.These growers include Taysir Dahdouh, whose farm in the Zeytun neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, is a little smaller than a football pitch. His land was once covered with greenhouses, but they’ve been destroyed or lost during the conflict that erupted on 7 October 2023. Today, he needs tools, seeds, fertilizer and water to grow the cucumbers and tomatoes he used to.200 new homesAlessandro Mrakic, Head of the Gaza Office for the UN Development Programme (UNDP), told UN News’s correspondent in the enclave that families who had once lived in one heavily bombed area had had to move multiple times before returning. “We have provided 200 relief housing units to provide shelter to the families who came back and started, as you see behind me, agriculture – started producing eggplants, tomatoes, molokhia, among others,” he said.The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday it has scaled up its cash assistance programme to help around 1,500 Palestinian farmers cultivate land across Gaza during the 2026 planting season, enough to produce fresh vegetables for more than 100,000 people.Not enough spaceBut FAO warned that farmers “are squeezed into rapidly shrinking space” amid ongoing Israeli military activity, and it is calling for access to land, sea and production inputs including seeds, fertilizers, irrigation equipment and fishing gear.Elsewhere, Deputy Special Coordinator for the peace process Ramiz Alakbarov welcomed new commitments worth almost $58 million from eight Member States to the UN Horizon Fund, and called on further partners to join the initiative. The World Food Programme (WFP) said people forced to move within Gaza risk losing access to basic services and called for safe access to reach those in need; despite the obstacles, it and its partners reached more than a quarter of a million people across 36 distribution sites in the first 12 days of this month.Summer respiteHumanitarian partners also distributed more than 5,440 educational kits to support around 217,600 children during summer learning activities.Turning to the West Bank, a high-level delegation led by aid coordination office OCHA visited Deir Nidham village in the Ramallah governorate on Wednesday, meeting Palestinian families affected by settler violence and the expansion of settlement outposts. Settler attacks accounted for around 55 per cent of all Palestinian injuries in the West Bank so far during 2026.Guterres voices alarmUN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the Secretary-General is “deeply alarmed” that Israeli authorities have granted city status to Givat Ze’ev, a settlement northwest of Jerusalem, adding that the designation “does not alter the city’s legal status under international law as part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”All Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are illegal under international law, Mr. Dujarric reiterated, recalling the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion of July 2024. He said settlements remain a major obstacle to a two-State solution, and renewed the Secretary-General’s call on Israel to halt all settlement expansion.

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10 July 2026

Diplomats go virtual to witness Gaza displacement site up close

And heard from some of the residents about their pressing needs, the United Nations said on Thursday. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Ramiz Alakbarov, and his deputy, Suzanna Tkalec, led the online visit to the site in Al Mawasi, Khan Younis. “Just like journalists, diplomatic missions have had difficulty getting into Gaza since October 2023,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said during his regular briefing from New York. Water and work Via videolink, the diplomats observed the living conditions and relief efforts at the displacement site, interacting with children, adults and aid workers. At a distribution point, they saw how community members – including children – collected water carried by truck through a project operated by a local partner and funded by the UN’s OPT Humanitarian Fund. “Displaced people told the diplomats that they need sustainable water services, especially during the hot summer days, and cash-for-work opportunities to feed their families,” Mr. Dujarric said. “Participants in the virtual visit were also led through hundreds of tents crammed along the shoreline,” he added. Mr. Alakbarov thanked the diplomats for their financial support for relief efforts, indicating that more is needed to both sustain and scale up operations, including funding and political action to unblock persistent impediments. Deteriorating water access The UN agency that assists the Palestinian people, UNRWA, continues to provide support across the Gaza Strip, according to an update published on Wednesday. The latest Water and Sanitation Cluster monitoring, conducted in June, indicated a continued deterioration in water access, with some 84 per cent of assessed households experiencing moderate-to-high insecurity. UNRWA distributed roughly 79 million litres of domestic and drinking water between 16 and 30 June, reaching over 860,000 displaced people daily. During the same period, staff screened nearly 5,000 children aged between six and 59 months at UNRWA health centres and medical points, identifying 203 malnourished youngsters. In related developments, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it is providing specialized bottles for 45 infants in Gaza who were born with cleft lip or cleft palate, which prevents normal breastfeeding. WHO noted that the specialized feeding support required for the condition is increasingly difficult to access amid ongoing shortages of medical supplies inside the enclave.

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07 July 2026

Occupied Palestinian Territory: Aid restrictions in Gaza, ‘senseless’ infant deaths in the West Bank

Amid mounting concern for children there and in the West Bank, the United Nations said. UN teams in Gaza continued to collect food and fuel from the Kerem Shalom crossing over the weekend, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York. He explained, however, that what humanitarians and the private sector can bring in is limited because all other crossings remain closed for cargo while restrictions on specific types of supplies remain in place. Drop in aid volume “Data from the UN 2720 Mechanism shows a decline in the overall volume of supplies that we and our partners have been able to bring in last month, less than 42,000 pallets, down from about 46,600 in May,” he said. The Mechanism, authorised under Security Council Resolution 2720 (2023), aims to accelerate aid flows into the enclave. Humanitarian organizations register planned aid consignments on a portal and database where they are tracked. The initiative supports the movement of the consignments, including through the Jordan Corridor route and by sea via the Ashdod port in Israel. Mr. Dujarric said that last week, only 42 per cent of the supplies from Egypt and 65 per cent of those from Ashdod port could be offloaded at the Kerem Shalom crossing, even though they were “already approved in principle”. Surviving childhood The UN continues to voice concern for children across the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Child rights agency UNICEF underscored the need for youngsters in Gaza to receive proper nutrition, healthcare and protection, after more than 1,000 days of war. Children “have been killed, maimed, displaced, and deprived of the essentials that they need to survive, grow, and recover,” Spokesperson Louise Wateridge told UN News on Monday. She said reports indicate that overall, more than 60,000 children have been killed or injured, while “a child has been killed on average every single day for more than eight months” despite the October ceasefire. “Children in Gaza have taken their first steps through rubble, spoken their first words against the deafening sounds of bombs and strikes, and they’ve known nothing but war, displacement, and loss. Others didn't even survive long enough to speak their first words,” she said. “Childhood should not begin in survival mode. No child’s earliest years should be defined by the sounds of bombs and strikes, the loss of home, or the absence of enough food, water, and care.” Young lives lost in the West Bank Meanwhile, the UN aid coordination office OCHA said that Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old in the West Bank on Sunday. The incident occurred at the Qalandiya camp, near Jerusalem. Two other children were shot in the lower limbs. “This is another reminder that Palestinians in the West Bank must be protected, as required by law, and that perpetrators of violations must be held accountable,” OCHA said.The UN human rights office, OHCHR, also reported on the death of a critically ill infant in Ramallah governorate on Sunday. The four-month-old boy died after Israeli forces refused to open a gate blocking the main entrance to his village, thus delaying his access to medical care while an ambulance was waiting on the other side. Writing on social media, OHCHR recalled that last month, a seven-month-old boy was shot and killed by an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint. “Both deaths are senseless, and both are emblematic of an occupying power continuing to show utter disregard for the humanity and rights of Palestinians living under occupation,” said Ajith Sunghay, Head of UN human rights in the OPT.

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01 July 2026

Despite record $100 million shortfall, Palestine relief agency still ‘a critical platform’ for Gaza recovery

The UN agency serving 5.9 million Palestine refugees, UNRWA, continues to strive to deliver on its mandate while facing an unprecedented $100 million budget shortfall, a gap it hopes to narrow during Tuesday’s pledging conference at UN Headquarters.Operating primarily on voluntary donations since its inception in the late 1940s, UNRWA continues to provide lifesaving and essential services in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, from school programmes to polio vaccines, with the UN chief calling it a “lifeline” to Palestinians.However, UN Secretary-General António Guterres raised sharp concerns on Tuesday about the agency’s cash shortfall, which he said “has grave implications for the entire region”.“UNRWA is a stabilising force in an age of instability, registering, protecting and assisting highly vulnerable populations and countering the hopelessness that can fuel insecurity,” he said.Nominal ceasefireA pendulum of pledges followed the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel that left 1,200 dead and 250 taken hostage, with subsequent Israeli strikes that turned much of Gaza into rubble, displaced 80 per cent of the population and killed at least 70,000 people, according to local authorities.Since 2023, attacks on UNRWA have left some 390 staff dead and UN property bombed, striking such critical services as schools and hospitals alongside disinformation drives, with allegations in early 2024 that some agency staff were complicit in attacks on Israel.While the allegations were independently investigated and nations, except the United States, have thawed their frozen funding alongside growing private donations, a $100 million gap remains.Unkept pledging promisesEvery year, Member States gather to pledge their support for the agency, but what is promised is not always what arrives, making it challenging to operate and has forced the agency to cut back on what it is mandated to deliver.For example, in 2025, pledges reached $878 million, but UNRWA received only $839 million, a pattern also seen in 2024.“They cannot keep going like this without urgent backing and financial support from Member States,” Mr. Guterres said, adding that the liquidity crisis also jeopardises UNWRA’s ability to implement its mandate, given by the General Assembly and renewed six months ago with overwhelming Member State support.UN chief appalled by smear campaignsAppalled by continued efforts to marginalise or tarnish UNRWA’s critical work with diplomatic roadblocks and smear campaigns, the UN Secretary-General said “UNRWA has taken decisive steps to ensure its house is in order.” That included already implementing more than 40 recommendations from the 2024 independent Colonna report, he said.“I’m counting on you to keep speaking up for the agency,” he said, urging them to also pledge support for UNRWA’s essential work.‘Critical platform for recovery’ At the same time, the work of UNRWA remains unchanged, even though funding shortfalls have meant reduced service delivery and other cost-saving measures. Indeed, needs have grown since the war and amid the recovery, where most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents remain in shelters and tents facing food insecurity and a dearth of essential services.Today, with the stuttering ceasefire in Gaza stretching to eight months, nearly 1.7 million people still depend on UNRWA, which operates like a civil service, said Christian Saunders, the agency’s acting Commissioner-General.“UNRWA is a critical platform for recovery, institutional stability and lasting peace,” he said, underscoring that its capacities are “vital” for:Implementing Security Council resolution 2803 (2025) that recognised the Hamas-Israel ceasefire in Gaza and the [President Donald] Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and ProsperityEfforts of President Trump’s Board of PeaceThe international committee for the administration of GazaAmong UN’s first aid agenciesEstablished by the General Assembly in 1948, UNRWA was never meant to be permanent, but hinged on the notion of the creation of a Palestinian State alongside Israel.Nearly eight decades later, the UN agency continues to provide such lifechanging services as access to clean water, education, healthcare and hope, the UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock told Member States gathered at the pledging conference.“A Palestinian State means that UNRWA is no longer needed,” she said. “Until that day comes, let us never stop working for the two-State solution and let us never stop supporting UNRWA.”

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21 April 2026

Gaza: Human development set back 77 years as recovery costs rise to $71 billion

with $71.4 billion needed over the next decade for recovery and reconstruction.That’s according to the final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), jointly conducted with the UN-partnered World Bank.The assessment says $26.3 billion will be needed in the first 18 months to restore essential services, rebuild critical infrastructure and support economic recovery.Since full-scale war erupted in Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel in October 2023, the physical damage in the Strip is estimated at $35.2 billion, with a further $22.7 billion in economic and social losses.Entire sectors have been devastated, including housing, health, education, commerce, and agriculture. Over 371,888 housing units have been destroyed or damaged, more than 50 per cent of hospitals are non-functional, and nearly all schools have been destroyed or damaged. The economy has contracted by 84 per cent.Devastating human toll The impact on the lives of Gazans is just as devastating: more than 60 per cent of the population having lost their homes and 1.9 million people displaced, often multiple times. Women, children, persons with disabilities, and those with pre-existing vulnerabilities bear the greatest burden.Over two years of conflict has resulted in more than 71,000 Palestinian fatalities and over 171,000 injured, according to local authorities, with many still missing under the rubble. Framework for reconstructionThe report provides the foundation for early recovery planning and reconstruction, stressing it must must run in parallel with humanitarian action to ensure an effective transition from emergency relief toward reconstruction at scale in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank.The assessment is framed in line with Security Council adopted resolution 2803 (2025) of the US-backed Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, which welcomed establishment of the Board of Peace led by President Trump as a transitional administration to set the framework for redevelopment and authorised the mechanism to set up a temporary International Stabilisation Force (ISF). The EU and UN emphasise that recovery and reconstruction should be Palestinian-led and should support the transition of governance to the Palestinian Authority, while advancing a durable political settlement based on the two-State solution.Planning and implementation should be inclusive, transparent, and accountable, with particular attention to the needs of women, children, elderly, and persons with disabilities.Conditions neededThe assessment recognises that a set of enabling conditions are essential for recovery, reconstruction, and implementation of the broader political framework:A sustained ceasefire and adequate securityUnimpeded humanitarian access and immediate restoration of essential servicesFree movement of people, goods, and reconstruction materials, within and between Gaza and the West Bank, and a functional, transparent financial systemClear, accountable governance, including defined mandates and establishment of conditions for the transitional administrative bodies in coordination with the Palestinian Authority (PA)A credible pathway for the PA’s future governance across the entire Occupied Palestinian territory, including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, is essentialDebris clearance, explosive ordnance management, and resolution of housing, land, and property rights are prerequisites for reconstruction.The international community must mobilise resources in a targeted, sequenced, coordinated mannerAll obstacles to the deployment of expertise and equipment must be removed rapidly

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15 July 2026

Sawasya Field Visit Highlights Support for Women’s Rehabilitation and Gender-Responsive Justice Services in Palestine

As part of its continued commitment to advancing gender-responsive justice and ensuring access to protection and rehabilitation services and legal aid for women in vulnerable situations, the Sawasya III Joint Programme organized a donor field visit to the Jericho Correction and Rehabilitation Centre, highlighting ongoing efforts to support women inmates and strengthen institutional responses within correctional settings.The visit showcased the collaborative work of the Sawasya Programme and the Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture (TRC) to enhance psychosocial support, rehabilitation opportunities, and gender-responsive services for women in conflict with the law across Correction and Rehabilitation Centres in the West Bank.Through this long-standing partnership, Sawasya III supports the provision of integrated services that promote the dignity, well-being, and rehabilitation of women inmates, while strengthening the capacities of social workers and correctional officers to respond effectively to women’s specific needs. The interventions contribute to creating safer and more responsive correctional environments that uphold human rights principles and support pathways for reintegration. Through this partnership, women inmates receive tailored psychosocial support, including individual, group, and family counselling, alongside recreational, therapeutic, and skills-building activities that contribute to their well-being and future reintegration.During the visit, donors were introduced to the different activities implemented with the support of TRC, including individual, group, and family psychosocial support sessions, recreational and therapeutic activities, staff well-being initiatives, and capacity-building interventions aimed at strengthening gender-sensitive approaches within correctional facilities.During the visit, Ms. Hanan Qamar, Rule of Law and Protection Specialist and Sawasya Programme Manager at UN Women, emphasized: "The Sawasya Programme is grounded in the principle that access to justice is a fundamental human right for all, with particular attention to vulnerable groups, including women inmates. Through partnerships with national institutions and civil society organizations, the programme supports integrated, gender-responsive legal, psychosocial, and protection services that uphold women's rights and dignity, strengthen their resilience, and promote their safe and sustainable reintegration into society." She added. The programme also continues to advance timely access to legal assistance, promote early legal representation and fair trial guarantees, and support alternatives to detention in line with international human rights standards."Brigadier (Legal) Dr. Saleh Al-Barghouthi, Director of the Correction and Rehabilitation Centres Administration, emphasized that these programmes are central to the mission of preparing women and men deprived of liberty for successful reintegration into society. He added: "The support of our international partners is essential to strengthening rehabilitation programmes and enhancing the quality of services provided within correction and rehabilitation centres. Visits such as this reinforce our partnerships and help ensure that support continues to address priority needs."Dr. Khader Rasras, Director of the Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture (TRC), stated: "We highly value our collaboration with the Correction and Rehabilitation Centres Administration and our partners, which has enabled us to reach women deprived of liberty with essential psychosocial support services. These interventions are fundamental to restoring self-confidence, fostering resilience, and empowering women to rebuild their lives. Through this partnership, we strengthen family connections, promote social reintegration, and help create pathways towards a more stable future—one that preserves dignity and reduces the stigma and social exclusion that too often persist after the completion of a legal sentence."The visit also highlighted the impact of programme-supported interventions. During the first half of 2026, 55 women inmates received mental health and psychosocial support services, including psychological first aid, individual counselling, group therapy, and family sessions. In addition, recreational and sports activities reached 30 women inmates across four Correction and Rehabilitation Centres, contributing to improved well-being and social connection.Recognizing the importance of rehabilitation and future reintegration, Sawasya JP also supported economic empowerment initiatives for women inmates and female correctional officers. In 2026, 19 women inmates and eight female police officers participated in intensive small business accounting training, strengthening practical skills related to financial literacy, bookkeeping, pricing, and entrepreneurship.The field visit reaffirmed the importance of continued collaboration among justice institutions, civil society partners, and international actors to strengthen inclusive and gender-responsive justice services in Palestine. Through the Sawasya III Joint Programme, UN Women continues to support efforts to build justice systems that are more accessible, accountable, and responsive to the needs of women and marginalized groups.

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30 June 2026

UN official reports concerning developments in West Bank, Gaza

Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, reiterated the Secretary-General’s strong condemnation of the relentless expansion and acceleration of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.“These developments further entrench the unlawful Israeli occupation and threaten the viability of a fully independent, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State,” he said, stressing that all Israeli settlements and related infrastructure have “no legal validity”, constitute a flagrant violation of international law, and must cease immediately. Turning attention to the ceasefire announced eight months ago in Gaza, he said that the strip still faces profound uncertainty and immense human suffering.“I condemn the continued killing and injury of civilians in Gaza, including women and children,” he said. He also expressed particular concern over recent increasing calls for a resumption of widespread hostilities in Gaza. “This would be disastrous for the Palestinian people of Gaza, for Israelis and for the entire region,” he said. Despite the ceasefire announced eight months ago, humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip remain bleakwith 70 per cent of the population lacking dignified housing, sanitation systems destroyed and Israel still blocking much of the food and medical aid required to meet Palestinian residents’ “immense” needs, a senior UN official told the Security Council.Gaza still faces profound uncertainty and immense human suffering,” said Ramiz Alakbarov, who serves as Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.Mr. Alakbarov briefed the 15-member Council alongside two civil society experts, delivering a quarterly update on the implementation of resolution 2334 (2016) — a landmark text which declared that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory were illegal under international law.However, he also focused much of his briefing on the implementation of resolution 2803 (2025), through which the Council endorsed the United States-facilitated Comprehensive Peace Plan in Gaza in October 2025 and authorized the deployment of an international stabilization force.“The legitimate needs, concerns and aspirations of the people of Gaza must be addressed through the full implementation of [that resolution],” stressed the Deputy Special Coordinator. Instead, the situations in both Gaza and the West Bank have remained volatile. Israeli air strikes and military operations have continued across Gaza, resulting in further fatalities and bringing the total killed since the ceasefire to over 1,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.Meanwhile, he said, Israeli forces continue to expand their territorial control, now holding approximately 70 per cent of the Strip. “This encroachment of areas under Israeli control is reducing the space available to civilians,” he said. “Palestinians in Gaza are concentrated in increasingly limited areas, living amid insecurity and violence.”Needs in Gaza ImmenseNoting improvements in the humanitarian situation in Gaza since the signing of the ceasefire, he said the share of households going to bed hungry dropped from 92 per cent to 36 per cent. More humanitarian access has been granted. “But […] the needs in Gaza remain immense,” he stressed, warning that 70 per cent of the population still lacks dignified shelter and sanitation conditions are alarming.Turning to the West Bank, where the situation continues to deteriorate, he said Israeli military activity continued in Jenin, displacing Palestinians. He voiced concern over escalating violence in the West Bank, adding: “I am appalled at the numerous instances in which officials glorified violence and engaged in dangerous provocations, incitement and inflammatory language.”Outlining several important developments on the political front — including a recent Palestinian Authority decree committing to holding presidential elections in 2027 — he strongly condemned Israel’s plan to establish military facilities at the Sheikh Jarrah compound of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), in East Jerusalem, and urged it to rescind that decision.

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22 June 2026

Gaza: Sneeze and you might get shot, warns UNICEF in alert on child killings

Aid agencies issued a new alert for Gaza, where 265 Palestinian children have been killed since a ceasefire was announced in October 2025.“During a period supposedly defined by restraint and protection, a child has been killed, on average, every single day for more than eight months,” said UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder. “That is an absurd and devastating figure.”Killed while playingBriefing journalists in Geneva via video from Amman, the UNICEF aid veteran noted that the children “were not killed in a warzone” but rather in their homes, schools while playing football or fishing. “They were shot, they were bombed, they were struck by quadcopters” operated by the Israeli military, Mr. Elder continued.The child fatalities are included among the nearly 1,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza and more than 3,100 injured since the ceasefire began, according to the enclave’s health authorities. “You sneeze near the Orange Line and you may well get shot,” Mr. Elder maintained, referring to the “continual creeping” of Israel’s so-called “Yellow Line” and “Orange Line” boundaries of occupation. ‘Utter lack of accountability’The uncertainty of these moving boundaries and “an utter lack of accountability” are the reason for such a high number of killings, with the Israeli forces responsible for “the vast, vast majority – 90 per cent plus”, the UNICEF spokesperson said.The UN and partners have repeatedly warned that the conflict has had a catastrophic humanitarian impact since war erupted in October 2023, in response to Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel. According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), no hospital is fully operational in Gaza, while UNICEF warns that water remains a daily uncertainty for 1.1 million children.“I talk to mothers who have children screaming because they don't have the clean water to wash [their skin]. Imagine a parent unable to fix that night after night,” Mr. Elder said. “The scale of human suffering in Gaza being inflicted upon Gaza and enabled by others on Palestinian children, it's almost beyond comparison in our lifetime.”Today, nearly 1.9 million people have been displaced in Gaza, many repeatedly, while more than 1.2 million have lost their homes. In an update to the Security Council on Thursday, UN emergency relief chief Tom Fletcher reported that Israeli denial rates for aid missions into Gaza had dropped from 31 per cent before the ceasefire to 11 per cent today. Nonetheless, Palestinians in Gaza remain “deprived of the basics that you would all demand for your own families: safety, shelter, clean water, healthcare, education”, he stressed.Mr. Elder echoed that dire assessment, explaining that although some fuel is reaching generators still in working order, the Israeli authorities are not allowing spare parts into the enclave to fix broken machines, nor the oil needed to keep engines running smoothly. “This is the environment my colleagues on the ground work in, keeping children breathing without a semblance of dignity,” he said.Other major problems continue to go unresolved in Gaza caused by delays and denials of aid deliveries, not least the massive amount of solid waste still piling up, said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.“We've all heard the stories about the rats, the insects, and so on and so forth, that this causes. So, there is an opportunity, there is a possibility to get rid of all that, but we are not getting the access to it,” he told journalists in Geneva.

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04 June 2026

Gaza’s public servants systematically targeted in Israeli strikes

including the enclave’s police force which is crucial to peace and reconstruction efforts, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Wednesday.Outlining “repeated attacks” and “routine targeting” of law enforcement personnel in Gaza, OHCHR said that they have been killed while directing traffic and patrolling streets and crowded markets.This “systematic targeting” of key public institutions and workers has caused a collapse of civic and public order since Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel sparked the war in Gaza on 7 October 2023, maintained Mayy El Sheikh, OHCHR spokesperson in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Obligations ignored“Israel as the occupying power actually has the obligation under international law to ensure civic and public order for Palestinians who live under the occupation… targeting them, unless they are directly participating in attacks or hostilities, would amount to war crimes,” she insisted.Since January 2026, OHCHR has recorded at least 12 attacks against police, killing more than 53 civilians including 35 police personnel, five boys, and one woman. Four attacks were recorded in May alone, killing 12 police workers.The UN office noted that the pattern of attacks raised concerns that Israeli forces apply “no distinction” between police personnel and fighters belonging to armed groups in Gaza.“Nearly eight months have passed since the announcement of a ceasefire, and there is no end in sight for the killings, the turmoil, and the misery,” said Ajith Sunghay, Head of OHCHR in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.The alleged incidents include:23 May – Israeli strike on a police checkpoint in Al Tawam, Gaza City, killing at least five police officers and two others, including a boy. 24 April 2026 – Israeli drone strike on a police vehicle in Al Mawasi camp, west of Khan Younis, killing four police workers and four civilians, including a boy of nine. 31 January 2026 – Israeli airstrike on Ash Sheikh Radwan Police Station, Gaza City, killing 11 people, including five police officers and a boy.The alert comes as Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe continues. Today, more than 1.9 million Palestinians of the 2.4 million total living in the enclave have been uprooted by the war, many of them multiple times. At least 1.2 million of them have lost their homes, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.‘Suspended in a nightmare’For many, the notional ceasefire between Hamas fighters and the Israeli military has not brought safety. Displacement orders continue to be issued “and Israeli forces in Gaza continue to destroy whatever is left of the built environment as well”, OHCHR’s Ms. El Sheikh told UN News.“Gaza remains suspended in a nightmare that is difficult to reconcile with the existence of a ceasefire,” she maintained. “Palestinians in Gaza are living on a small fraction of the land, and they are encircled from all sides by Israeli ground forces that continue to push further into Palestinian communities and contract the space that is available to civilians.”

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01 June 2026

Borrowed boots, borrowed joy: Football thrives in Gaza camps

for the thousands living in overcrowded tents, schools or damaged buildings in the shattered Occupied Palestinian Territory of Gaza.In the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, where tents stretch across the sand and snaking queues form for water and food, Asaad Al-Azzabi prepares for a match a world away from what he once knew.Before the war, Mr. Al-Azzabi played for Al-Tajammu Club in Rafah, where he and his teammates had access to pitches, training halls, coaches and equipment. Borrowed bootsNow, he’s lucky if he can find boots to play in. “Sometimes I borrow a pair from a friend or patch them up with tape,” he says.His home is now a tent in Al-Rahma Camp, a shelter for people displaced from Rafah, where access to clean water and sanitation services is scarce. He lives alone, after his wife left for Jordan with their son, who has cancer, to seek treatment.According to UN data, around 1.7 million people are living in around 1,600 displacement sites across the Gaza Strip, most of them in temporary or informal locations. Most residents rely on water brought in by truck and are forced to cope with restrictions on the entry of equipment, fuel and repair materials.Amid the struggle to meet basic needs, Mr. Al-Azzabi is preparing for the match with nearby Sheikh Al-Eid Camp. He explains the game plan to his players by drawing on the sand, before the team sets off on foot toward a pitch located among the tents of displaced people. The match appears to be more than a sporting activity – it is a respite from the daily hardships of life in the camps. Children and young men gather around the sandy pitch, applauding players, some of whom arrived after spending hours standing in queues for food, water or battery charging.Something out of nothingReferee Alaa Abu Taha, a referee with the Palestinian Football Association and a displaced resident of Rafah, says football has become the “only outlet” for many people in Gaza.“With the most limited resources, we try to play. Now there is no sports infrastructure. The pitch we are standing on now was originally prepared for basketball and volleyball, but our people create everything out of nothing,” he says.Gaza’s sports sector has suffered widespread destruction since the outbreak of the war. According to the Palestinian Football Association, hundreds of athletes have been killed, including many footballers, while hundreds of sports facilities have been damaged or destroyed, including pitches, club headquarters and training halls. In Al-Mawasi these losses have not prevented players from organising a championship between displacement camps. The big matchThe match kicks off in front of a small crowd of displaced spectators, with Mr. Al-Azzabi taking part in boots held together by plastic tape. At the end of the match, Al-Rahma Camp defeats Sheikh Al-Eid Camp 2–1.After the final whistle, young men from the camp lift him and his teammates onto their shoulders, while children and young people celebrate among the tents. For a few brief moments, the sound of displacement recedes from the scene, and football emerges as a rare space for joy.“Under these difficult circumstances, to be able to come out and play a match like this is a very good thing,” says Mr. Al-Azzabi. “Congratulations to our camp. I dedicate this championship to my wife and son in Jordan, and I wish my son a speedy recovery.”For him, the game is more than a sporting victory. It is a message to his distant family and an attempt to preserve what remains of his life as a former player, chasing the ball as if it were the last thing connecting him to who he was before the war.

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Press Release

08 July 2026

OHCHR calls on the Israeli Government to urgently protect Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and ensure his safety

Dr. Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, has been held in Israeli custody since December 2024 under Israel's Unlawful Combatant Law, without charge or trial. He was arrested at the hospital after refusing to evacuate while treating critical patients.According to his lawyers, Dr. Abu Safiya appears to be at imminent risk of death. Information available to UN Human Rights - OPT indicates he has been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including prolonged solitary confinement, repeated severe assaults resulting in grave injuries, and denial of medical care.His case raises serious concerns under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including the prohibition of torture, the right to liberty and security, the right to be brought to justice in a process respecting fair trial guarantees, and the protections afforded to medical personnel during armed conflict.Despite several appeals to Israeli courts challenging the legality of Dr. Abu Safiya’s detention, the courts have so far failed to protect his rights under international law, compounding concerns about the effectiveness of the Israeli judicial safeguards and remedies in relation to Palestinian detainees. Dr. Abu Safiya’s lawyers also stated that he was assaulted in detention in retribution for these legal actions.Thirteen other senior doctors remain in Israeli detention without charge. Around 9,300 Palestinians are currently in Israeli custody, including thousands held arbitrarily without charge or trial. UN Human Rights OPT documentation indicates that torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees is widespread and systematic. At least 91 Palestinians have died in Israeli detention since 7 October 2023, including several dying due to torture and ill-treatment, according to credible information.Israel must ensure that its laws governing the detention of Palestinians living under occupation comply with international legal norms and standards, including the prohibition of arbitrary detention and fair trial guarantees, and that its detention officials abide by those standards. All arbitrarily detained Palestinians must be released with immediate effect.The Israeli Government must immediately and urgently end all forms of torture and ill-treatment against Palestinian detainees. We urge Israel to grant independent medical experts, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and human rights monitors unhindered access to places of detention.

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Press Release

07 July 2026

OHCHR condemns the killing of a Palestinian man accused of collaborating with Israeli forces by a group affiliated with Hamas

This recent execution continues a pattern of unlawful killings by Gaza de facto authorities and units in pro-Hamas security forces of dozens of Palestinians since the announcement of a ceasefire in October 2025, mostly in the first month. The killings largely targeted Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israeli forces, or of working with armed elements that are apparently funded, armed, and backed by Israel. UN Human Rights – OPT is also concerned about reports of ill-treatment and torture by members of these armed units or individuals affiliated with Hamas. This included abuses against Palestinians allegedly collaborating with the Israeli forces, as well as others suspected of criminal activity. Several Palestinians in Gaza also publicly reported receiving threats by armed men affiliated with Hamas ahead of protests that were planned on 26 July 2026 against Hamas. The climate of fear and intimidation is compounding an already catastrophic situation in which Israeli forces have continued attacks that have so far killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since the ceasefire announcement in October 2025. Israeli forces also continue to apparently target members of the de facto police personnel, consistent with a pattern of dismantling law enforcement and administrative governance in Gaza. This appears to amount to a pattern of attacks on civilians, and has deepened the sense of chaos and lawlessness at a time when Israeli forces also continue to push westward, squeezing Palestinians into a fraction of the strip and displacing even more Palestinians from their homes and tents every day. Unlawful killings, torture, and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment constitute war crimes and grave violations of international human rights law. Gaza de facto authorities are bound by human rights obligations and restrictions on the conduct of law enforcement, as well as the applicable rules of international humanitarian law. They must put in place measures to prevent human rights violations by members of their security forces or individuals affiliated with them, investigate all reports of unlawful killings, torture, and ill-treatment, and hold perpetrators accountable.

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Press Release

12 June 2026

Israeli violence is subjecting Palestinian children to catastrophic levels of harm: killed, maimed, displaced, and living in perpetual insecurity

Sam is one of 241 children killed by Israeli security forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank since 7 October 2023, as verified by the UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OHCHR OPT). This is in addition to over 21,000 children who have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza in the same period, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, with killings continuing after the announcement of a ceasefire in October 2025.Since the ceasefire announcement, the Palestinian Ministry of Health has reported the killing of 981 Palestinians in Israeli attacks in Gaza. OHCHR OPT has so far verified the killing of 574 Palestinians during this period, including 183 children, five of whom were infants under the age of one.On 4 February 2026, Israeli forces opened fire on an encampment for displaced people in Al Tuffah, Gaza City, killing five Palestinians, including two women and two baby girls: 5-month-old Mira Al Khabbaz and Watein Al Khabbaz, born less than a week before.Forty-eight of the 183 verified child fatalities after the ceasefire announcement were victims of incidents in which only children were killed, raising concerns about Israeli forces directly targeting Palestinian children. Fifteen women have also been killed in incidents in which only women, or only women and children, were killed.On 29 October 2025, an Israeli airstrike hit a tent housing displaced people in Al Mawasi, Khan Younis, and killed three Palestinians: two brothers aged eight and 11, and their 15-year-old sister. On 31 January 2026, an Israeli strike hit a residential building in western Gaza City, killing two women aged 60 and 23, and three sisters aged five, seven and nine. On 2 February 2026, Israeli Naval Forces killed one Palestinian, a 2-year-old boy, in his tent on the coast of Al Mawasi, Khan Younis.In the West Bank, the 241 verified child fatalities represent nearly one in five of the 1,103 Palestinian victims killed by Israeli security forces and settlers since 7 October 2023.In March 2026, three months before the shooting that killed 7-month-old Sam in Hebron, a similar attack in Tammun, south of Tubas, killed four family members in their car. At the time, Israeli security forces opened fire on a Palestinian vehicle, killing a father, Ali Bani Odeh, a mother, Wa’ad Bani Odeh, and their 5- and 6-year-old sons, Mohammad and Othman. Two children survived the shooting, aged eight and 11, but later reported that they were assaulted by Israeli security forces when they left the car. Most of the children killed in the West Bank are teenage boys, 213 out of 241. In many cases, subsequent statements by Israeli authorities accuse the children of having engaged in stone-throwing as a justification. In all OHCHR OPT-verified killings of minors involved in confrontations with Israeli security forces, our assessment is that none posed an imminent threat to life —the only legal justification for the use of lethal force in the occupied West Bank under international law. Where less harmful means were available, such lethal force may constitute an arbitrary deprivation of life and, in the context of occupation, may amount to willful killing, a war crime.On 20 December 2025, a member of Israeli security forces hiding behind a wall shot and killed 16-year-old Rayan Abu Mulla in Qabatiya, south of Jenin, on his way home. An official Israeli statement claimed Rayan was throwing stones. However, according to witnesses and CCTV footage, he was walking empty-handed. Israeli security forces also prevented ambulances from assisting Rayan. They then took his body away and refused to hand it over for burial.OHCHR OPT’s analysis demonstrates a pattern of Israeli security forces preventing medical assistance to injured Palestinians and withholding bodies, including those of children. Children are civilians and have special protections under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. The routine assault on their right to life, safety, and liberty in the Occupied Palestinian Territory at this massive scale points to war crimes.“From newborns to teenagers, Palestinian children have not been spared extraordinary levels of Israeli violence. The pattern, at a minimum, shows a dangerous scale of dehumanisation and disregard for Palestinian lives,” said Ajith Sunghay, Head of UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. “Palestinian children must be able to grow up in safety, with the same rights and protections as children anywhere else in the world. Surviving childhood should never be this difficult.”

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Press Release

25 May 2026

OHCHR oPt: Israel must halt forcible displacement of Khan Al Ahmar and settlement expansion in E1

Situated east of Jerusalem, Khan Al Ahmar is a Bedouin community and home to hundreds of Palestinians. On Tuesday, 19 May, the Israeli Minister of Finance and Additional Minister within the Ministry of Defence, Bezalel Smotrich, directed the Israeli Civil Administration to evict the Khan Al Ahmar community “as soon as possible”. This order puts the community at imminent risk of forcible transfer — a war crime.Last year, Israeli authorities approved plans for 3,401 settlement units in the E1 area that would connect the Israeli settlement of Maaleh Adumim to occupied East Jerusalem. The planned construction would replace 18 Palestinian communities, including Khan Al Ahmar, with Israeli settlers. It would further disrupt the territorial continuity of the occupied West Bank, consolidate Israeli annexation, and severely impair a viable, contiguous Palestinian state. Statements by Israeli officials link the settlement project in the E1 area to the thwarting of Palestinian statehood. This includes, in September 2025, the Israeli Prime Minister telling the press during a ceremony related to the E1 settlement project: “There will be no Palestinian state. This place is ours.”The families of Khan Al Ahmar are mostly refugees, originally displaced from areas inside present-day Israel. For nearly two decades, Israeli authorities have consistently denied the community building permits and then issued orders to demolish their homes on the basis of the absence of such permits. Members of the community have spent years challenging the demolition orders in Israeli courts. Sustained international advocacy efforts have thus far prevented the community’s forcible transfer.“There is no legal ambiguity about this: Israel’s forcible transfer of Palestinians is unlawful; settlements are unlawful; and Israel must cease all settlement activities, evacuate all settlements, and end its unlawful presence in the Palestinian territory in line with the conclusions of the International Court of Justice,” said Ajith Sunghay, Head of UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.“Instead, Israel is engaged in what appears to be relentless ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, and an unprecedented expansion of its settlement enterprise. If Israel continues to be allowed to alter facts on the ground with impunity, there will soon be nothing left to salvage.”

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Press Release

24 April 2026

Child and man killed near school in Al Mughayyir as settler militarisation intensifies

In Deir Dibwan, settlers entered the village and clashed with residents with an armed settler shooting and killing 25-year-old Odeh Awawdeh. Israeli security forces raided the town and closed its entrances during the incident, detaining 30 Palestinian men who were later released. According to Israeli media reports, Israeli security forces also held several settlers for questioning following the incident.Settlers also attacked Al Mughayyir around noon on Tuesday and opened fire towards the boys’ school west of the village. Residents of Al Mughayyir circulated a video showing the shooting of the child while sheltering with others just outside his school as gunshots are heard from a distance. Eyewitnesses told OHCHR OPT that one of two armed settlers in partial uniform was shooting at the school, with four masked members of Israeli security forces in full uniform present at the scene.The Israeli military issued a statement claiming that the incident occurred when a car carrying “civilians including a reservist soldier” stopped when stones were allegedly hurled. The statement said the reservist exited the vehicle and shot at suspects. According to Israeli media, the reservist was later suspended and an investigation was initiated. At least nine Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of 2026 by settlers later identified by the Israeli military as reservist soldiers.This convergence of settler and soldier is the result of measures taken by the Israeli authorities to intensify the militarisation of the settler movement since 7 October 2023, including the enlistment and arming of thousands of settlers as reservists in regional battalions known as Hagmar. These measures also include arming and empowering settlements’ emergency response squads known as Kitat Konenut, and the relaxation of gun licensing requirements for Israelis, including settlers.Across the West Bank, Palestinians are reporting attacks by men who are clearly known to them as settlers, but who are dressed in full or partial military uniform and are often carrying state-issued assault rifles and military gear. Palestinian survivors of such attacks describe their attackers as “settlers in uniform.”Settler attacks on Palestinian communities are often carried out with the active support and participation of uniformed Israeli security forces, even when there is no ambiguity that the perpetrators are settlers.Since 7 October 2023, 1,088 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank, including 238 children. This includes 34 by settlers, 1,040 by Israeli security forces, and 14 Palestinians whose killings cannot be definitively attributed because Israeli security forces and settlers were attacking and shooting together.No Israeli soldier has served a single day in prison for killing a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank since at least 2017. The only recorded conviction was in 2020 for which the sentence was three months of military service and three months of suspended jail time.Settlers’ impunity is equally systematic. According to the Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din, 93.6% of all investigations of settler violence in the occupied West Bank between 2005 and 2025 were closed without indictments, and only 3% led to partial or full convictions with lenient sentences.“Israeli policies have erased whatever line that ever existed between settler and state violence. And the systematic impunity for killing Palestinians is the backbone of this non-stop horror,” said Ajith Sunghay, head of OHCHR OPT. “The international community must insist on meaningful accountability for the perpetrators of all unlawful killings in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to stop the bloodshed.”

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