Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel Flash Update #29. Nov 4, 2023

Between 3 November (noon) and 4 November (14:00), 231 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, bringing the reported fatality toll since the start of the hostilities to 9,488, including 3,900 children, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza. About 2,000 others are reported missing in Gaza, including 1,250 children. Most are presumed to be trapped under the rubble. 

At least 70 Palestinians were killed and another 60 injured, according to the MoH, during two separate airstrikes in the past 24 hours, hitting two schools sheltering IDPs in the Jabalia Refugee Camp, north of Gaza city. Most of the fatalities are said to be women and children. Since the start of hostilities, 258 school buildings have sustained damage, representing more than 51 per cent of all schools in Gaza.

Gaza remains under a full electricity blackout since 11 October, following Israel’s halt of its electricity and fuel supply, which triggered the shutdown of Gaza’s sole power plant.  

Hundreds of thousands of residents in Gaza city and the northern areas face a severe water shortage, raising concerns of dehydration and waterborne diseases due to consuming water from unsafe sources. However, a precise assessment is uncertain due to the hostilities and access restrictions. 

Over the past few days, most water facilities in the abovementioned areas, including some 60 municipal water wells, have shut down due to the lack of fuel and the inability of staff to reach them. This compounds the situation generated by the shutdown of the single seawater desalination plant in the north, and Israel’s halt in the water supply during the first week of hostilities. Consequently, nearly all water supplies through the network, as well as trucking activities, have reportedly ceased. Residents rely on the minimal volume from private wells and purification plants and consume unsafe water from agricultural wells.  

Read the full report: Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel Flash Update #29

A child carrying empty jerry cans on his way to refill them with drinking water. "I dream of becoming an astronaut," he says. Photo by © UNICEF/El Baba

Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #28

Nearly 1.5 million people in Gaza are internally displaced (IDPs). Of them, some 690,000 are sheltering in 149 UNRWA facilities, 122,000 in hospitals, churches, and public buildings, 99,000 in 82 non-UNRWA schools, and the remainder with host families.

Since the start of hostilities, 14 out of 35 hospitals with inpatient capacities have stopped functioning and 51 (71 per cent) of all primary care facilities across Gaza (72) have shut down due to damage or lack of fuel.

In the northern areas of the Gaza Strip, access to drinking water is uncertain. Water supply from Israel came to a halt on 8 October. Furthermore, following the intensification of Israeli ground operations, most water trucking operations and distribution of bottled water were suspended. Most municipal water wells have reportedly shut down after depleting their fuel reserves

Access to bread is increasingly challenging. The only operative mill in Gaza remains unable to grind wheat due to lack of electricity and fuel. Eleven bakeries have been struck and destroyed since 7 October. Only one of the bakeries contracted by WFP, and eight other bakeries in the southern and Middle areas have been intermittently providing bread to shelters, depending on the availability of flour and fuel. People wait long hours in bakeries' queues, where they are exposed to airstrikes.

Between 1 and 2 November, Israeli forces arrested at least 135 Palestinians, including two women, across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, bringing the total number of those arrested since 7 October to at least 1,900, according to Palestinian sources. UN’s Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has received consistent and credible reports of widespread cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of detainees. Two Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli custody since 7 October.

For the full report: Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #28

Ghazal, 14, became homeless when her family home was destroyed in early October 2023. When she was just five, she lost her previous home in hostilities and remained displaced for two years. Photo by © UNICEF/El Baba, 2 November 2023

Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel Flash Update #27. Nov 2

Israeli ground operations in northern Gaza and Gaza city, alongside intense bombardments, continued. Between 1 November (noon) and 2 November (14:00), 256 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, bringing the reported fatality toll since the start of the hostilities to 9,061, of whom about two-thirds are children and women, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza. On 2 November, two Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in Gaza, bringing the total number of soldiers killed since the start of ground operations to 17. 

and:

On 2 November, four UNRWA shelters hosting nearly 20,000 IDPs (internally displaced people) were hit; as a result, at least 23 people were killed, and dozens were injured. Since the start of hostilities, nearly 50 UNRWA facilities have been damaged and 72 staff have been killed. 

The operation of water wells and desalination plants in the southern half of Gaza stopped almost completely on 2 November, after their fuel reserves had been exhausted. Only one of three water pipelines supplying water from Israel is active. There is not enough clarity on access of people to water in northern Gaza. 

The full report: Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #27

Flames and smoke billow during Israeli strikes in Gaza, 19 October 2023. Photo by WHO