Nearly 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, with widespread shortages of shelter, clean water and basic hygiene supplies worsening conditions for a population already devastated by Israel’s genocidal war.

According to the latest situation report by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), 94 percent of Gaza’s population, equivalent to 1.98 million people, require humanitarian assistance.

The report warned that 58 percent of the population face critical or catastrophic shelter needs, with displaced families exposed to increasingly dangerous conditions in makeshift accommodation.

A winter assessment of 113 displacement sites found that 18 emergency shelters were structurally unsafe, including four at very high risk of collapse, six at high risk and eight at medium risk.

The shortage of safe drinking water and hygiene supplies has further compounded the crisis. Some 84 percent of Gaza’s population face frequent and irregular interruptions in access to safe drinking water, while 89 percent of households lack sufficient basic hygiene supplies, UNRWA said.

The report also documented deadly incidents involving displaced Palestinians and humanitarian personnel. At least six people, including an UNRWA student and staff member, were injured in Israeli attacks inside schools converted into shelters, while at least one displaced person was killed in a school shelter’s yard. An employee of the agency’s Job Creation Program was also killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Banning UNRWA new episode in Israeli war on refugees

The Knesset has approved legislation to ban UNRWA from operating in certain areas.

Israeli forces issued shelter-in-place instructions affecting five UNRWA facilities in Nuseirat before a strike by the regime was reported in their vicinity.

Insecurity in eastern Maghazi and southern Rafah also forced the temporary suspension of operations at Maghazi Health Centre and temporary learning spaces.

The humanitarian crisis has been further aggravated by restrictions on essential supplies and the blockade imposed on the besieged territory.

UNRWA reported that its stocks of lubricant oil had been completely depleted, contributing to equipment deterioration and prolonged operational suspensions.

Generators at several facilities have remained out of service for more than two months, while restrictions on vehicles, warehouses and other facilities have disrupted aid distribution and staff transportation.

Meanwhile, Gaza's Government Media Office says the besieged territory needs more than 300,000 tents, alongside blankets, bedding and winter clothing, as displaced families struggle to find protection from the elements.

The Israeli occupation continues to prevent the entry of essential humanitarian supplies, including tents and tarpaulins, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians without adequate shelter.

The worsening conditions have left Gaza's population facing overlapping crises of displacement, unsafe accommodation, water shortages and severe restrictions on humanitarian assistance.