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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21 January 2026

UN strongly condemns demolition of UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem

The reported demolition underway early Tuesday of the headquarters of UN agency UNRWA by Israeli forces in occupied East Jerusalem - reportedly “under the watch of lawmakers and a member of the Government” - has prompted swift condemnation from the global body. Responding to the dramatic development, head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees Philippe Lazzarini described it as an “unprecedented attack” against the UN, whose premises are protected under international law.The move represents “a new level of open and deliberate defiance of international law, including of the privileges and immunities of the United Nations, by the State of Israel”, the UNRWA Commissioner-General said on X.Condemnation from GuterresSecretary-General António Guterres condemned the demolition “in the strongest terms”.The UN chief has repeatedly and unequivocally stated that the compound remains UN premises and is “inviolable and immune from any form of interference.”“The Secretary-General views as wholly unacceptable the continued escalatory actions against UNRWA,” the statement from his office continued.Mr. Guterres called on Israel to halt the demolition and restore the compound to the UN “without delay”.Human rights chief’s ‘outrage’Echoing those concerns, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed his “outrage” at the incident, which marks a sharp escalation of tensions between the Israeli authorities and UNRWA.“It compounds what we’ve been seeing for a while; attacking aid groups and UN actors who are trying to help,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the High Commissioner.On 14 January, Israeli forces entered an UNRWA health centre in East Jerusalem and ordered it to close. At the time of the incident, the agency said its workers were “terrified”. In the coming weeks, water and power supplies to UNRWA facilities are scheduled to be cut, including to buildings used for health care and education.“This is a direct result of legislation passed by the Israeli parliament in December, which stepped up existing anti-UNRWA laws adopted in 2024,” Mr. Lazzarini said.Previously, UNRWA premises have been targeted by arsonists amid a “large-scale disinformation campaign” against it by Israel, the agency’s Commissioner-General maintained.This was despite a ruling last October by the UN’s top court, the International Court of Justice, which restated that Israel was obliged “to facilitate UNRWA’s operations, not hinder or prevent them. The court also stressed that Israel has no jurisdiction over East Jerusalem,” Mr. Lazzarini noted.“What happens today to UNRWA will happen tomorrow to any other international organisation or diplomatic mission, whether in the Occupied Palestinian Territory or anywhere around the world,” he continued. “International law has come under increasing attack for too long and is risking irrelevancy in the absence of response by Member States.”

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19 January 2026

Gaza humanitarian crisis ‘far from being over,’ UN aid coordination office warns

Three months into the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the UN and partners have delivered tonnes of assistance items and carried out critical repairs, but this is only a temporary “Band-Aid” solution, a veteran aid worker has warned.“The humanitarian situation and crisis in Gaza is far from being over,” Olga Cherevko from the UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Friday in an update to journalists in Jerusalem.“For the Palestinians in Gaza, their lives continue to be defined by displacement, trauma, uncertainty, and deprivation.”This has been further compounded by “severe recurrent storms that not only destroy people's meagre belongings, but they’re also deadly – whether through crumbling buildings or by taking the lives of children who are highly susceptible to the cold”.Repairing roads, clearing rubbleSince the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, humanitarians have brought in over 165,000 metric tonnes of assistance into Gaza. They also repaired roads, rehabilitated hospitals, cleared rubble, and re-opened aid distribution points. “We celebrated our gains and showed once again that when we’re enabled to do so, we deliver,” Ms. Cherevko said, adding that “the results speak for themselves.”During the first two months of the truce alone, over 1.3 million people received food packages, and over 1.5 million hot meals were prepared and delivered to people in need across Gaza, thus improving food security.Progress remains fragileWhen torrential floods hit Gaza, putting thousands of families at risk, humanitarians worked with municipalities to find safer options. They also distributed tents, tarpaulins, mattresses and warm clothes.“But while this progress is clear, it remains fragile and could be reversed overnight,” she said. “Because airstrikes, shelling, and armed clashes continue with civilian casualties being reported daily. Most of Gaza lies in ruins and the needs far outpace our efforts to meet them.”Ms. Cherevko said that “due to various impediments and restrictions placed on organizations operating in Gaza and specific types of supplies that could enter, we could basically only apply Band-Aids to a wound that can only be closed with proper care.”The harsh winter storms have also reversed gains made on the humanitarian front “because no amount of tents or tarpaulins can replace repairing people's homes”.Additionally, despite humanitarians re-opening or establishing dozens of health service points, less than 40 per cent of healthcare facilities in Gaza are operational, while educational supplies critical for children who have not gone to school for two consecutive years continue to be barred from entry.She also pointed to delays at border crossings, limited humanitarian corridors, delays, and other impediments, as well as restrictions on the operations of UN entities and international NGOs which “are putting lives at risk.”A ceasefire ‘is not a recovery plan’Ms. Cherevko stressed that “emergency response and its transition to early recovery cannot wait for political solutions. And a ceasefire in itself is not a recovery plan.”What humanitarians working in Gaza need “remains very simple,” she said, calling for parties to the conflict to respect the ceasefire, ensure civilians are protected and that humanitarian access remains predictable, sustained and unimpeded.Furthermore, restrictions on both aid agencies and critical supplies must be lifted, early recovery must be funded and enabled, and donor support must continue.“The choices that are made today, both by the parties to the conflict and the donors will shape whether the pause to this fighting will translate to a path to stability or becomes just another quiet before the next storm,” she said.

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14 January 2026

Gaza: A ceasefire that still kills children is not enough, says UNICEF

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said.“That’s roughly a girl or a boy killed here every day during a ceasefire,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva.“These children are killed from airstrikes, drone strikes, including suicide drones,” he said, speaking from Gaza City. “They’re killed from tank shelling, they’re killed from live ammunition, they’re killed from [remote-controlled] quadcopters.”Mr. Elder pointed out that more children have also died of hypothermia in the last few days, as harsh winter conditions expose the most vulnerable Gazans. Sheer cold kills six children“We’ve now gone to six children who died of hypothermia just this winter,” he said. “I wish I could take a camera and show you 30, 40-kilometre [per hour] winds ripping through tents on the beach. It’s bitterly cold, it’s bitterly wet.”The UNICEF spokesperson stressed that the ceasefire has allowed “genuine progress” in primary healthcare, with UNICEF and partners setting up the first health clinics in the north of the Strip and expanding immunization services. But desperately needed medical evacuations of children remain at a standstill.Mr. Elder noted “no noticeable improvement” both on approvals to get children with life-threatening injuries out of Gaza and in convincing more host countries take in the young patients.He said that in his latest mission to the enclave, he spoke to many children and families denied evacuation despite completing an arduous, formal process.These included a nine-year-old with shrapnel lodged in his eye who “will lose sight in an eye, maybe both”, a girl in Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City who “may well die” and another child whose leg needs amputating. “All three of those are absolute candidates for medical evacuation; all three of those have so far been denied,” Mr. Elder explained.Before war erupted in Gaza following Hamas-led attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023, between 50 and 100 patients were evacuated from the enclave every day, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).In an alert on Tuesday, the agency warned that extensive clearance procedures by the Israeli authorities continue to cause delays to deliveries of medicine and food. “Some essential medical items are classified as ‘dual-use’ and denied entry,” WHO said in a post on X, in reference to goods that are primarily intended for civilian use but which the Israeli authorities believe could be diverted by Hamas or other militant groups for military purposes.International NGO ban loomsThe UNICEF spokesperson also highlighted the dangers of a recent Israeli ban on international NGOs, which will come into effect in the coming month and mean “blocking life-saving assistance”, he alleged. Mr. Elder also stressed the importance of allowing international media into the enclave, which has not been granted despite the ceasefire.“There needs to be a lot more pressure on allowing international journalists to come in,” he said. “This is my seventh mission [to Gaza] and every time I see the 360-degree devastation, flattening of homes, my jaw drops.”“It is absolutely as staggering yesterday as it was the first time I saw it more than two years ago,” he insisted.Mr. Elder warned that two years of war have “left life for Gaza's children unimaginably hard,” explaining that “the psychological damage remains untreated, and it's becoming deeper and harder to heal, the longer this goes on”.“A ceasefire that slows the bombs is progress, but one that still buries children is not enough,” he concluded.

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15 January 2026

East Jerusalem: Forced shutdown of UN clinic signals escalating disregard for international law

The head of the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said. Israeli forces stormed the UNRWA-operated health centre on Monday and ordered it to close for 30 days. They also demanded the removal of UN signage. Furthermore, water and electricity supply to multiple UNRWA facilities are scheduled to be cut off in the coming weeks, affecting schools, health centres and other critical buildings.Legislative campaign The development marks “a new step in a pattern of deliberate disregard for international law and the United Nations,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini tweeted. “This is a direct result of legislation passed by the Israeli parliament in December, which stepped up existing anti-UNRWA laws adopted in 2024,” he added. The UNRWA Jerusalem Health Centre serves hundreds of Palestine refugee patients every day, agency spokesperson Jonathan Fowler told UN News. “For most of them, it’s their only possibility of having access to primary healthcare,” he said. “So, there's a right to health involved in this.” He stressed that UNRWA facilities are United Nations premises, which are protected under international law, and this applies across the globe. ‘An anti-humanitarian gesture’ Mr. Fowler described the impending water and power shutdown as “kind of an anti-humanitarian gesture in many ways,” saying “it's particularly shocking.” He recalled that in October, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) “restated in crystal clear fashion that the State of Israel is obliged under international law to facilitate UNRWA's operations, not hinder or prevent them. And yet this continues.” He also warned of the potential wider consequences. “These are disgraceful moves. And it’s very, very important that there be global awareness about what’s going on, because this is much more than directly in East Jerusalem,” he said. “It goes beyond even UNRWA. This is something which potentially has global implications because of this pattern of disregard for international law.”

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13 January 2026

Gaza: Storms worsen already dire humanitarian situation, UN warns

Briefing correspondents in New York, Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reported that ongoing rainstorms are damaging and destroying fragile shelters, leaving large numbers of displaced people exposed to the cold.“To help address immense shelter needs, during the past week our partners delivered supplies to 28,000 families, including 1,600 tents, 16,000 tarpaulins and 27,000 blankets,” Mr. Dujarric said. Half the population in needDespite these efforts, at least 1.1 million people still urgently need assistance as weather conditions continue to deteriorate.A new storm on Friday once again battered makeshift tents, leaving thousands without protection. UN teams and partners are conducting assessments and supporting the most vulnerable, but aid workers stress that tents are only a temporary measure.More durable solutions are urgently required, including tool kits, cement and heavy machinery to clear debris, alongside sustained funding to allow a transition from emergency relief to early recovery, Mr. Dujarric added.Infant deathsChildren remain among the hardest hit. Health partners reported that another infant has reportedly died from hypothermia, bringing the total number of reported deaths to four, all of them very young children, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.Since the ceasefire and by the end of the year, humanitarian partners have distributed more than 310,000 winter clothing sets for children and over 112,000 pairs of shoes as part of winterisation efforts. They have also installed 150 specialised tents across Gaza to be used as child-friendly and safe spaces.Meanwhile, nutrition partners screened more than 76,000 children last month, identifying around 4,900 cases of acute malnutrition, including more than 820 cases of severe acute malnutrition. This brings the total number of acute malnutrition cases identified in 2025 to nearly 95,000.Right to learnEducation partners are continuing to expand their presence, with 18 additional temporary learning spaces opening last week for about 35,000 students. There are now 440 operational temporary learning spaces, accommodating around 268,000 children.However, education supplies continue to be denied entry by the Israel authorities, who argue that education is not a critical activity during the first phase of the ceasefire.“We do believe that it is a critical activity,” Mr. Dujarric said.

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09 January 2026

Aid continues despite winter hardship in Gaza and West Bank, UN says

Despite harsh winter conditions and continuing access constraints, the UN and partners are maintaining large-scale humanitarian operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, with a focus on shelter, water, health and education.That’s according to UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, briefing journalists in New York on Thursday.Citing the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, Mr. Dujarric said humanitarian teams are continuing to support the most vulnerable families in Gaza “despite impediments” and the cumulative impact of two years of conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas militants.“Over the past days, one of our partners distributed 7,000 dignity kits, more than 5,600 dignified family hygiene kits and 1.3 million bars of soap to some 200,000 people,” he said, stressing that assistance is reaching communities in both the north and south of the devastated Strip.Just trying to surviveEmergency shelter support remains a priority as temperatures drop.Humanitarian partners have reached more than 16,000 households across Gaza with tents, tarpaulins and other essential materials, including kits to weatherproof and reinforce makeshift shelters. “These are people trying to survive winter in extremely fragile conditions,” Mr. Dujarric noted.Winterisation assistance has also included the distribution of thousands of blankets, mattresses and bedding kits to improve sleeping conditions, alongside kitchen sets and clothing assistance for hundreds of households. At the same time, water trucking operations are continuing across the territory. “Thirty-six partners are distributing more than 21,500 cubic metres of fresh water every day to over 2,300 collection points,” he said.Education efforts, while constrained, are also progressing. More than 420 temporary learning spaces are now operating across Gaza, serving over 230,000 students with the support of some 5,500 teachers. Critical to scale upMr. Dujarric underscored that scaling up remains “a critical priority” but depends on the entry of essential supplies that are still being denied. Even so, renovation work in public schools continues, with new classrooms in Gaza City now allowing more than 1,800 children to return to learning.On health, Mr. Dujarric said the World Health Organization (WHO) recently facilitated the evacuation of 18 patients and 36 companions for medical treatment outside Gaza. “These medical evacuations remain absolutely essential,” he added.West Bank demolitions continueTurning to the West Bank, OCHA reports that severe winter weather has damaged or destroyed dozens of tents and makeshift shelters in Bedouin and herding communities. The UN is also warning of continued demolitions of Palestinian-owned structures by Israeli authorities for lack of permits, with 50 structures demolished over the past two weeks.“Our message is simple,” Mr. Dujarric said. “Across Gaza and the West Bank, the UN and its partners are doing everything possible to keep assistance going for people in need, despite extremely difficult conditions.”

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08 January 2026

West Bank: UN report warns of ‘systematic asphyxiation’ of Palestinian rights

A sweeping UN human rights report released concludes that in the occupied West Bank, Israel is violating international law prohibiting racial segregation and apartheid, warning that the discriminatory practices have accelerated dramatically since late 2022 amid growing violence, repression and impunity.The report by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, documents what it describes as a decades-long system of discrimination that has sharply intensified since at least December 2022.‘Systematic asphyxiation’ of rightsVolker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the findings reveal “a systematic asphyxiation of the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank.”“Whether accessing water, school, rushing to hospital, visiting family or friends, or harvesting olives – every aspect of life for Palestinians in the West Bank is controlled and curtailed by Israel’s discriminatory laws, policies and practices,” he said.“This is a particularly severe form of racial discrimination and segregation, that resembles the kind of apartheid system we have seen before.”Widespread oppressionAccording to the report Israeli authorities treat Israeli settlers and Palestinians residing in the West Bank under two distinct bodies of law and policies, resulting in unequal treatment on a range of critical issues, including movement and access to resources such as land and water.It concludes that there are reasonable grounds to believe the separation, segregation and subordination are intended to be permanent, to maintain oppression.“Acts committed with the intention to maintain such a policy amount to a violation of Article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits racial segregation and apartheid,” it says.Further deterioration since 7 OctoberSince 7 October 2023 – when Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups from Gaza attacked communities in southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 and taking over 250 people hostage – the situation has deteriorated further, the report adds.It cites expanded use of unlawful force, arbitrary detention, torture, severe movement restrictions, repression of civil society and media, and settlement expansion. It says that this is compounded by the continuation and escalation of settler violence, in many cases with the acquiescence, support and participation of Israeli security forces.The report also documents trends of unlawful killings and other forms of State and setter violence and it contains numerous examples of lethal force that has been deliberately used when unwarranted, in a discriminatory manner against Palestinians, and with the apparent intention to kill.It highlights, among others, the killing of 10-year-old Saddam Hussein Rajab in January 2025 and the shooting of eight-month pregnant Sondos Shalabi in February 2025, noting that both victims were unarmed.Widespread impunityImpunity remains widespread, the report notes. Of more than 1,500 killings of Palestinians recorded between January 2017 and last September, Israeli authorities opened 112 investigations, resulting in just one conviction.Mr. Türk called on Israel to repeal laws and policies that “perpetuate systemic discrimination”, adding that illegal settlements must be dismantled, the occupation ended and Palestinians’ right to self-determination respected.

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19 December 2025

Gaza: Access to food improves but living conditions remain dire

Ten days ago, she gave birth and is now in recovery thanks to World Food Programme (WFP) facilities that are back up and running again, the agency’s representative for Palestine said.Speaking from Gaza to journalists in New York, Antoine Renard said that two months into the ceasefire, food access has significantly improved but Gazans continue to face severe hardship. The update comes a day after the UN and partners issued a statement calling on the international community to press Israel to lift impediments to humanitarian aid.Over one million fed WFP has managed to reach more than one million people with food boxes and wheat flour, Mr. Renard said. Together with UNICEF, the agency is providing over 300,000 people with preventive nutrition designed to prevent malnutrition and help those already malnourished to recover. Additionally, the agency is supporting temporary learning spaces with 190,000 kits which are being served with high energy biscuits and fortified protein bars.Mr. Renard confirmed that people are having two meals per day on average, compared to the one meal per day they were having in July. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) providing further information on the state of nutrition will be released on Friday.Access to food ‘not enough’ “Access to food itself is not enough,” he said. “The living conditions continue to be very dire in the Gaza Strip.”The rain and humidity of the winter period are creating terrible circumstances for the vulnerable. Mr. Renard brought up the example of a mother of five who was living in a tent, soaked. “That woman was actually saved by the fact that she was not in water because they managed to lift up the mattress,” he said.Meanwhile, most people are using trash and wood to cook their food.Overcoming impediments In order to provide food, WFP needs to go further into areas where the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are on the ground, like Jabalia and Beit Lahia in the north. The agency managed to open a distribution point in Beit Lahia last week. At the regular UN media briefing, Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said that Wednesday’s statement gave warning that Israel’s new policies – including a new registration system for international NGOs that relies on “vague and politicized criteria – are undermining relief efforts and risk the collapse of the humanitarian response.”

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18 December 2025

Aid agencies warn Gaza response at breaking point as Israel urged to lift new restrictions

Humanitarian agencies working in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) have warned that life-saving aid operations risk collapse unless Israel immediately lifts new barriers that are blocking access and forcing international charities to shut down. In a sharply worded statement issued on Tuesday, the Humanitarian Country Team – which brings together senior UN officials and more than 200 local and international aid groups – called on the international community to press Israeli authorities to reverse measures that are choking humanitarian work, particularly in the Gaza Strip.At the centre of concern is a new registration system for international non-governmental organisations, introduced earlier this year. Flawed Israeli systemAid groups say the process is vague, politicised and impossible to meet without breaching humanitarian principles. Under the current rules, dozens of organisations face deregistration by the end of December, followed by the forced closure of their operations within weeks.“These organisations are not optional extras,” the statement said. “If they are pushed out, the humanitarian response will not survive.”International NGOs, working alongside UN agencies and Palestinian partners, deliver around one billion dollars’ worth of assistance each year across the territory. Yet millions of dollars’ worth of food, medicines, hygiene supplies and shelter materials are now stuck outside Gaza, unable to reach families in need.The warning comes as winter deepens and amid fears that further restrictions could destabilise a fragile ceasefire. Impossible lossAid agencies stressed that the impact of losing international NGOs could not be absorbed by the UN or local groups, especially after Israeli limits on Palestine refugee relief agency, UNRWA, have already stretched the response to breaking point.According to the Humanitarian Country Team, international NGOs support or run much of Gaza’s basic infrastructure for survival. They underpin field hospitals and primary health clinics, provide clean water and sanitation, distribute emergency shelter, and treat children suffering from severe malnutrition. Health facilities will closeIf they are forced to leave, one in three health facilities in Gaza would close almost immediately, cutting off care for tens of thousands of patients.Aid leaders said they had repeatedly raised these concerns with Israeli authorities and sought workable solutions to keep operations running. “There has been no adjustment,” the statement said, warning that the dismantling of NGO operations now appears imminent.Humanitarian access, the agencies insisted, is a legal obligation, not a political choice. “Lifesaving assistance must be allowed to reach Palestinians without further delay,” the statement concluded, urging Israel to allow rapid and unimpeded aid deliveries and to ensure that humanitarian organisations can operate independently and safely.Without swift action, the team warned, the consequences for civilians in Gaza would be catastrophic.

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17 December 2025

Gaza ceasefire still fragile as cold turns deadly, Security Council hears

A senior UN official working to promote greater peace in the region told the Security Council on Tuesday. Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, provided the update during his quarterly briefing on Council resolution 2334 (2016) which calls for Israel to cease settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.He said the UN is doing its part to support the ceasefire.Key to recoveryThe truce came into effect in October and is based on a plan put forward by United States President Donald Trump, with mediation by the country alongside Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye.Speaking from Jerusalem, Mr. Alakbarov urged Israel and Hamas to fully implement the ceasefire, exercise maximum restraint, and adhere to international law, including relevant UN resolutions. “The ceasefire must be consolidated to enable recovery and reconstruction in Gaza,” he said.Cold kills newbornMeanwhile, winterization efforts are underway, and the UN is distributing tents, blankets and other essential supplies to the population. Still conditions remain dire, and the risk of hypothermia is increasing.“Tragically, the first hypothermia-related death of a two-week-old newborn boy from Khan Younis was confirmed earlier today,” he said.He stressed that “preserving and expanding operational space for the UN and its humanitarian partners, including through the renewal of NGO registration, is critical.”Clean water shortageMr. Alakbarov expressed deep concern over the humanitarian situation in the enclave.“While hunger has improved due to increased aid and commercial foodstuffs, key protein sources remain out of reach for most of the population, alongside severe shortages of clean water, medical care, and shelter,” he said.As humanitarian access remains restricted, with aid convoys facing logistical and security obstacles, he called on all parties to allow the full, unimpeded entry of humanitarian assistance.Heavy rains and flooding continueHeavy rains are compounding the already dire conditions families in Gaza are facing, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said, briefing journalists on Tuesday.“Our partners report that the storm continued overnight and into today, causing severe flooding of more than 40 designated emergency shelters – mostly in Khan Younis and Gaza City,” he said.Latest estimates indicated that some 700 tents were damaged or otherwise impacted by the flooding and thousands of people are affected.Teams helping to manage displacement sites are clearing blocked drains and pumping floodwater away from shelter yards. Commitment to deliverDespite the ongoing challenges, the UN and partners have been working to address needs across the Gaza Strip.  On Monday, they coordinated nine humanitarian shipments with the Israeli authorities. Four were facilitated and three were impeded but eventually completed their journeys.“These missions allowed us to collect critical supplies from the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings – including food, fuel, blankets, tents, and winter clothing,” said Mr. Haq. The final two missions were impeded and only one was able to be partially accomplished. Rapid response systemMr. Haq explained that humanitarians continue to provide support to affected families through a system that was set up for a rapid, joint response to flooding alerts.It brings together UN agencies and NGOs to distribute tents, tarps, warm clothes, blankets and dignity kits.  Last Saturday, partners provided some 7.5 kilos of high-energy biscuits per household to more than 1,000 families in various areas who were affected by the latest rainstorm.  Additionally, distribution of veterinary kits resumed on Sunday after the bad weather forced a temporary halt.Distributions initially began on 9 December, and 400 herders have received kits and animal fodder since then.

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Press Release

20 January 2026

Statement by the United Nations Country Team in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on Unauthorized Demolitions inside UNRWA Compound

The forcible entry into the UNRWA compound by Israeli forces, followed by the demolition of structures using bulldozers and other heavy machinery, constitute a grave violation of the privileges and immunities of the United Nations, as protected under the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. The UNRWA offices and warehouses have been built and maintained through decades of donor support and have served Palestinian communities across the Occupied Palestinian Territory for more than 70 years. Such actions are unacceptable, severely undermine United Nations operations, and set a dangerous precedent.

The United Nations Country Team reiterates its call on Israel, as a State Party and signatory to the Convention, to uphold its legal obligations and to immediately cease any further actions that contravene international law and undermine the work of the United Nations.

The status of the United Nations must be respected at all times. UN agencies must be able to operate without obstruction in the fulfillment of their mandates.

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Press Release

20 January 2026

East Jerusalem: forced displacement and territorial fragmentation

The pace of forced displacement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem is accelerating, with demolitions and evictions in Silwan neighbourhood south of the Old City. Simultaneously, Israel is proceeding with the unlawful expansion of settlements in the so-called E1 area, which sits in the heart of three of the most significant Palestinian urban centres: East Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Bethlehem.As confirmed by the International Court of Justice in July 2024, Israel’s policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including forced evictions and extensive house demolitions, are contrary to the prohibition of forcible transfer under the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Court called on Israel to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including ceasing all new settlement activities immediately and evacuating all settlers from the territory.Driven out of the Old City basin:Last year, the Israeli High Court ruled against several claims by Palestinian residents of Batn Al Hawa neighbourhood in Silwan in favour of the settler organisation “Ateret Cohanim” and denied Palestinians further avenues of legal appeal. This has since accelerated the eviction of Palestinians from their homes.Last week, Israeli authorities handed final eviction notices to 32 more households, mostly from the Rajabi extended family, making the displacement of 250 Palestinians imminent. Many additional eviction proceedings are ongoing at the lower court level. Collectively, some 700 Palestinian residents continue to face the threat of eviction in Silwan.“I am convinced that there is no hope anymore. In the past, sometimes the courts ruled in our favour. Now there is no chance,” said Zuhair Rajabi, a longtime community leader and organiser, and the designated spokesperson of more than 80 households in Silwan — all under threat of eviction. The imminent displacement of his family would be one of several generational displacements his ancestors have suffered since 1948.Nasser Rajabi, another resident of Batn Al Hawa in Silwan, was evicted with his family in December 2025. He is now forced to pay expensive rent in another part of East Jerusalem to avoid “going behind the Wall” in other parts of the West Bank.“I have family outside the Wall who never succeeded in visiting Jerusalem. If I relocate to the outer West Bank, I will lose my Jerusalem ID, my health insurance, and my access to Jerusalem,” he said to the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.Evictions typically result in the transfer of Palestinian homes to Israeli settlers, further eroding Palestinian presence immediately adjacent to the Old City. Some homes are taken over by Israeli authorities to make way for settlement projects, which currently include a tourist park, with a cable car line that would connect West Jerusalem to the Old City. “After 7 October 2023, things got worse, and there is a lot of fear. Even complaining is no longer possible. Now, we keep quiet,” Nasser Rajabi said. Expanding settlementsWhile East Jerusalem’s historic neighbourhoods are being systematically emptied of Palestinians, settlement expansion around the city is deepening its isolation and disrupting the territorial continuity of Palestinian existence in the occupied West Bank.On 10 December, Israeli authorities published tenders for the construction of 3,401 settlement units in the E1 area.On 8 January, Israeli authorities announced the imminent construction of a road intended to reroute Palestinian traffic away from the E1 area, while exclusively reserving the main arterial Route 1 for Israeli traffic. Israeli authorities notified the Palestinian communities of Al Ezariyeh, Abu Dis, Sawahreh, Jabal Al-Baba, and Wadi Jemil that would be affected by the construction, and provided a 45-day window to submit objections. The project has been referred to by the Israeli government as the “sovereignty road” and the “fabric of life” road, while human rights and anti-occupation activists describe it as an “annexation” or apartheid” road.The cumulative effect of settlement expansion and road rerouting would disastrously bar Palestinian access to the E1 area, sever East Jerusalem from the West Bank, fragment north-south continuity, deepen racial segregation, and force the displacement of 18 longstanding communities.Cementing annexationSenior Israeli officials have repeatedly made statements indicating that displacement and settlement expansion, particularly in the E1 area, reflect a stated policy to apply sovereignty over the West Bank, consolidate annexation and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.On 11 September 2025, in the signing ceremony for a framework agreement to expand the Ma’ale Adumim settlement into the E1 area, the Israeli Prime Minister said: “There will be no Palestinian state. This place is ours.”“Across the occupied West Bank, we are seeing unprecedented rates of forced displacement, land seizures, settler violence, and settlement expansion, further entrenching annexation, and thwarting Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” said Ajith Sunghay, the Head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. “The international community must act now to push for an end to these flagrant violations of international law, and to advance the realisation of Palestinians’ human rights.”

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Press Release

16 December 2025

The unprecedented assault on civic space in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Between 7 October 2023 and 14 December 2025, the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has verified the killing of 289 journalists in Gaza by Israeli military operations, including incidents where there were strong indications that Palestinian journalists were deliberately targeted on account of their work.Israeli security and military forces have also detained at least 202 Palestinian journalists from both Gaza and the West Bank between 7 October 2023 and 31 October 2025, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, 41 of whom remained detained as of 31 October 2025.Most were held under administrative detention, which in the context of Israel’s occupation of Palestine results in arbitrary deprivation of liberty and exposes detainees to torture and other ill-treatment, and enforced disappearance. Released journalists described interrogations focused on their reporting or social media posts, based on vague accusations of “incitement”, “support for terrorism”, or threats to Israel’s “national security”, none of which would justify their detention under international law.The UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory interviewed 15 journalists, including five women, who had been detained in the past two years. They described incommunicado detention, abusive interrogations, degrading treatment, inhumane detention conditions, and the routine use of physical and sexual violence, including two cases of rape.Since 7 October 2023, at least 85 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody.As Palestinian journalists face these grim prospects, Israel continues to impose a blanket ban on international journalists’ independent access to Gaza, and undue restrictions on the work of international media outlets in the West Bank. In April 2024, Israel passed a law allowing authorities to shut down foreign media outlets deemed a threat to national security— and later issued military orders to forcibly close Al Jazeera’s offices in Ramallah and block its broadcasts.Suppressing Civil Society and Human Rights WorkThe shrinking space for independent journalism forms part of a broader clampdown on human rights defenders, anti-occupation activists, and civil society organizations, which has intensified since 7 October 2023. Israel’s 2016 counter-terrorism law and the 1945 Defense (Emergency) Regulations continue to be used against Palestinian NGOs to justify raids of their offices, constrain funding and operations, and arrest staff. The law’s vague language, sweeping definitions, and expansive powers granted to the State have facilitated unjustified restrictions on Palestinians engaged in human rights work, including peaceful advocacy and mobilisation.Over the course of 2025, Israeli legislators have been advancing a bill that would impose up to 46 per cent tax on almost all foreign donations received by NGOs as a penalty for those that engage in ‘political activities’, which would have a major impact on the operations of almost all NGOs engaged in human rights work on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Also in February 2025, a bill was introduced to the Knesset that would criminalise the sharing of information with the International Criminal Court (ICC) that could be used in investigations or prosecutions of Israeli officials or citizens. If passed, the law would compound the chilling effect of the sanctions against Palestinian human rights organisations for cooperating with the ICC. In the meantime, Israel is imposing unjustified restrictions on the work of international NGOs. In March 2025, an Israeli interministerial decision effectively revoked the registration of all international NGOs operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, imposing a re-registration process for temporary permits under new, crippling conditions. This poses a new impediment to the operation of the UN-led humanitarian response in Gaza, and the work of many Palestinian civil society organisations across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which rely on cooperation with international NGOs.Violations by the Palestinian authority:In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority is contributing to the tightening chokehold on civic space, through its unnecessary or disproportionate use of force, arbitrary detentions, and torture and other ill-treatment of journalists, human rights defenders, and government critics.It has also enforced vague legal provisions relating to “incitement” or criticism of public officials, which have enabled prosecutions for acts of peaceful expression. Between January and May 2025, the Palestinian Authority banned Al Jazeera after Israeli security forces shut down its offices in Ramallah, accusing the outlet of “incitement, misinformation, sedition, and interference in Palestinian internal affairs”.Palestinian security forces (PSF) have also used excessive force against demonstrations including those that protest the Palestinian Authority and the conduct of the PSF.A contracting physical and civic space:Civic space is being increasingly suffocated while the physical space available to Palestinians also contracts. In Gaza, most Palestinians are confined to less than half of the space of the strip, hemmed in by an arbitrary redeployment line where Israeli ground forces remain positioned. In the West Bank, Israel is forcibly displacing Palestinians at an unprecedented rate, emptying entire Palestinian communities of their Palestinian residents and clearing the way for ever-expanding Israeli settlements.The geography is being redrawn— and so are the limits of what Palestinians are allowed to say or do about it.“All duty bearers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory have obligations under international law to ensure the respect of Palestinians human rights, including their rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly,” said Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.“These violations are creating fear and despair and leave Palestinians with no avenues to convey the reality of their lives to the world, to seek justice for decades of discrimination, violence and oppression, and to defend a future in which their human rights are finally protected and fulfilled.”

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Press Release

12 December 2025

Amid violence and displacement: a reproductive health crisis in Gaza

Israel’s attacks on Gaza have killed over 70,000 Palestinians since 7 October 2023. It has also damaged or destroyed 94 per cent of Gaza’s hospitals, largely denying women access to essential health care, including reproductive healthcare. The Israeli blockade has also prevented the entry of objects indispensable to the survival of civilians, including medical supplies and nutrients required to sustain pregnancies and ensure safe childbirth.As a result, women were three times more likely to die from child birth and three times more likely to miscarry in Gaza by October 2024 compared to before 7 October 2023. Newborn deaths have increased, including at least 21 babies who died on their first day of life as of 30 June 2025. And births have dropped by a staggering 41 per cent in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2022, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.In January of 2024, the International Court of Justice issued binding provisional measures for Israel, the first of which was to “take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Genocide Convention, in particular : (a) killing members of the group; (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.”A decimated healthcare system:Israeli attacks on hospitals have hit maternity wards and destroyed or damaged Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). In December 2023, Israeli shelling also struck the Al Basma IVF Centre — Gaza’s largest fertility clinic — leading to the loss of over 4,000 embryos and 1,000 specimens of sperm and unfertilized eggs.The decision of when and how to deliver a baby has often become dictated by security concerns, bed space, Israeli displacement orders, or shortages of anesthesia, according to accounts by patients and doctors. Israeli Forces have engaged in what appears to be the deliberate targeting and killing of medical personnel, with 1,722 healthcare workers killed as of 24 September 2025, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health— which further undermined access to essential, life-saving healthcare for the women of Gaza.“As we did our rounds, bombs were going off in the background. One time, a nurse was shot in the head through the window in Nasser [Medical Complex in Khan Younis – the largest hospital in southern Gaza]. Sometimes quadcopters would come in and try to shoot nurses or literally chase them through the hospital corridors,” Dr. Ambereen Sleemi, a gynecologist who volunteered in Gaza in July of 2025, told the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.Gendered impacts of violence:Israeli military attacks also killed or gravely injured women, including pregnant women. At least 10,417 women were killed, and 23,769 were injured between 7 October 2023 and 7 October 2025, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.“I cared for pregnant women who had been shot in various locations, including the abdomen,” Dr Sleemi said. “Many women were simply too injured to survive. If their injuries did not claim their lives, then sepsis often did, as there were not enough medical supplies or antibiotics to treat the preventable infections that followed.”Thousands of Palestinians, including women, have also been arbitrarily detained by Israeli forces from Gaza and the West Bank, amid documented patterns of torture and ill-treatment, including physical and sexual violence. These include cases of rape of men and boys, sexual assault and harassment of women detainees, and the denial of sexual healthcare services to survivors.Violations were also reported during the 7 and 8 October 2023 attacks by Palestinian armed groups in Israel. At least 1,124 people were killed, reportedly including over 300 women. And 251 were taken hostage, including women. Serious accounts describe sexual violence committed by members of Palestinian armed groups against women during the attacks, as well as ill-treatment, including incidents of sexual violence experienced or witnessed by hostages while in captivity.All such violations, by all parties, must be thoroughly, impartially and independently investigated, with perpetrators held to account, and reparation afforded to victims and survivors.Under siege:In addition to the scarcity of medical supplies and food, the Israeli blockade on Gaza caused severe shortages of baby formula, exacerbating the impact of starvation on newborns. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 463 Palestinians died due to malnutrition in Gaza as of 11 October 2025, including 157 children.As the occupying power, Israel has the obligation to ensure Palestinians have access to the necessities of life and can exercise the rights protected under international law, including human rights law. This includes access to adequate healthcare and the ability to exercise reproductive rights in safety and dignity.Unimaginable loss:Hungry, displaced, and living under the constant threat of bombing without adequate medical support, Palestinian women’s reproductive journeys — from conception to childbirth and caring for newborns — have become perilous at every stage and, for many, impossible to survive. The demographic and emotional toll of the crisis is compounded by the unprecedented number of children killed over the past two years, which reached 20,179 by 7 October 2025. This figure continues to increase even after the ceasefire.“Almost every pregnant woman I treated who had other children said she had already lost a child in the war,” Dr Sleemi said. “The collective pain and sorrow were overwhelming and ever-present.”

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