Palestine Situation Report | January 2025

Posted in: 

The year 2024 saw the highest levels of displacement and structure demolitions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since OCHA began tracking these violations in 2009. This increase is mainly due to the widespread destruction of Palestinian homes and infrastructure by Israeli forces, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarem, and their refugee camps.

On December 24, Israeli forces initiated a 40-hour operation targeting Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps in Tulkarem Governorate. The operation included two drone strikes, firefights, explosions, and widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure using military bulldozers.

Since December 5, following an operation by Palestinian forces in Jenin refugee camp, about 12,000 residents have faced limited access to water and electricity.

Last year also saw the highest number of settler attacks inflicting casualties or property damage since OCHA began tracking it in 2006.

On December 15, Israeli forces placed a barbed wire barrier in the As Salaymeh neighborhood within the restricted H2 area of Hebron, completely blocking the only pedestrian route for residents from four neighborhoods to reach essential services. This includes access to one of four educational facilities and the sole healthcare clinic, impacting around 2,500 residents in the restricted H2 area.

In Gaza, UNICEF reports that more than 160 children were killed in Gaza in just over a month, averaging four children killed every day since early November. In the last 14 months, more than 14,500 children have been killed.

Israeli forces have intensified their attacks on three hospitals in northern Gaza — Indonesian Hospital, Kamal Adwan Hospital, and Al-Awda Hospital — along with surrounding residential buildings.

An Israeli raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital on December 27 put the last major health facility in North Gaza out of service. The raid caused serious infrastructure damage. Patients, caregivers, and staff members were evacuated to the destroyed Indonesian Hospital, which was unable to provide any care. Some individuals were reportedly stripped and forced to walk south. The area around the hospital has remained volatile, with almost daily attacks on health workers and facilities.

Over the past seven months, fewer than 400 patients have been granted medical evacuations for life-saving treatment outside Gaza. Some 14,000 people in critical conditions are still awaiting approval to exit.

In December ongoing Israeli airstrikes on schools serving as shelters for internally displaced persons in Gaza. Four such attacks occurred on December 15-16, targeting schools in Beit Hanoun and Gaza City in the north, as well as in Mawasi, Khan Younis, the southern “humanitarian zone” designated by Israel.

The September United Nations Satellite Centre Comprehensive Damage Assessment reported that some 66% of all structures in Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed. In the last six months of 2024, the governorates of Khan Yunis and Rafah were the hardest hit. Of the 564 schools in Gaza, 496 (88%) require full reconstruction or major rehabilitation.

Water systems have also been seriously degraded, with over 80% of facilities, including wells, desalination plants, and sewerage systems, either destroyed or partially damaged.

In the last two days of 2024, 1,542 tents sheltering displaced people in Gaza were reportedly flooded by rainwater. Flood water rose to almost a foot in some areas.

Between December 24 and 29, at least five newborns aged three days to one month died of hypothermia in IDP tents in central and southern Gaza. Among them was a 20-day-old baby who died from the cold in a tent in Deir Al Balah on the night of December 28, while his twin brother remains in intensive care at Al Aqsa Hospital. Additionally, three babies died from the extreme cold between December 24 and 26 in their tents in Mawasi, Khan Younis, an area where the Israeli military had instructed Palestinians to go. On December 27, the Ministry of Health reported the death of an adult medical worker in the same area due to the cold.

More than 60,000 children in Gaza are expected to need treatment for acute malnutrition in 2025.

Anera’s Response

As of January 2, Anera has mobilized 1,331 truckloads of aid into Gaza, with each vehicle typically carrying between 14 to 15 pallets of vital supplies.

Amid widespread hunger, Anera has distributed a total of 58 million meals in Gaza, comprising food parcels, fresh produce, hot meals, and bread. We have also delivered 1.7 million gallons of water in displaced communities to support health and hygiene.

With the vast majority of people displaced from their homes, Anera has distributed thousands of blankets, tents and tarps to help families survive the elements.

In recent months, we have established 33 learning spaces to provide children with opportunities to learn despite the ongoing hostilities.

To provide some medical services in the midst of the widespread assault on the health system, we have hosted 859 health clinic days, offering free healthcare near shelters.

OUR BLOG

Related

In this log, Anera provides updates on unfolding war in Palestine and our response. Please stay tuned here for the latest information. To subscribe for weekly updates via SMS on our response in Gaza, text GAZA to 1-866-549-0055. Questions? See…

Read More

>>> Read the Situation Report On January 19, 2025, at 11:15 a.m. local time, a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian armed groups took effect. The first 42-day phase includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces from population centers, excluding designated buffer…

Read More

Today, two of Anera’s staff in Gaza, Sami Matar and Ahmad El-Najjar, described some impressions of conditions there now. It took Sami, our program manager, three hours today to travel from the Anera office in Gaza City to Mawasi, Khan…

Read More