UN officials have described the situation in Gaza as still “dire,” with hundreds of thousands of families facing urgent humanitarian needs. UN health partners have recently expanded basic services, including a catch-up vaccination campaign that has reached more than 6,000 children under the age of three to protect them from preventable diseases.
Food assistance remains a critical focus, with the UN and its partners providing daily bread rations to at least 43 per cent of the population, either for free or at heavily subsidized rates. Monthly distributions of wheat flour have also reached around 1.2 million people this month, helping to address widespread food insecurity.
Shelter and winter support have increased in recent days, with humanitarian partners delivering tents, tarpaulins, sealing-off kits, mattresses and blankets to over 7,500 families, while 1,400 children received winter clothing. Cash vouchers, winterization assistance, mental health support and case management have also been provided to thousands of families, though more than one million people still require urgent shelter solutions, including home-repair kits, communal heating and debris removal.
Children continue to bear the heaviest impact of the crisis. UNICEF reports that almost two and a half years of attacks on Gaza’s schooling have left an entire generation at risk, with about 60 per cent of school-aged children lacking access to in-person learning and more than 90 per cent of schools damaged or destroyed. In response, UNICEF is expanding its Back to Learning programme to reach 336,000 children this year through temporary learning centres that also provide access to health, nutrition and sanitation services.
UN officials have also emphasized the urgent need to reopen the Rafah border crossing, which is critical for medical evacuations, family reunifications, and the delivery of essential services. Families across Gaza remain desperate for access, and prolonged closures are compounding the humanitarian suffering across the region.
