Highlights
Humanitarian response efforts continue across the Occupied Palestinian Territory despite persistent restrictions and funding shortfalls.
In Gaza, most people remain internally displaced, in harsh living conditions, and exposed to ongoing military strikes; in early July, 90 per cent was experiencing moderate-to-high water insecurity, an increase from 84 per cent in June, a survey finds.
Every fourth Palestinian injured in Gaza since October 2023 is estimated to live with spinal cord or brain injuries among other potentially life-changing conditions, while the entry of rehabilitation supplies and assistive products remains restricted.
In the West Bank, a large-scale operation by Israeli forces in Qalandiya Camp injured 51 Palestinians and disrupted health services. Nine structures were also demolished in nearby Kafr Aqab and near Qalandiya checkpoint, affecting 71 people.
In just one week, 38 settler attacks reported resulting in casualties, property damage or both. In Tuba, Masafer Yatta, settlers injured five Palestinians and destroyed three homes, displacing 23 people, including 14 children.
Israeli authorities demolished 25 Palestinian-owned structures in eight incidents, displacing 29 people, including 17 children. The demolitions included part of a school in Masafer Yatta, affecting 54 students.
Overview
In a statement issued on 12 August for International Youth Day, Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov said that for Palestinian youth, hopes for dignity, opportunity and a peaceful future remain constrained “by occupation, conflict, displacement, violence and profound uncertainty.”
In Gaza, young people have borne “the devastating consequences of the ongoing conflict, including persistent violence, the loss of loved ones, repeated displacement and the widespread destruction of homes, schools and universities.” Dr. Alakbarov warned that the future of an entire generation in Gaza is threatened by “the collapse of essential services, disruption of education and loss of livelihoods.” In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, “youth continue to face escalating violence, expanding settler presence, severe restrictions on movement and access, and shrinking economic opportunities.”
Dr. Alakbarov, who is also the Acting United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, reaffirmed UN’s commitment to work alongside young people in Palestine, advocating for their rights and supporting access to education, health, decent work, meaningful participation and pathways to economic and social recovery.
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Palestinian children sit on a sandy rise overlooking a crowded displacement site in the Gaza Strip. Photo by OCHA
