The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has called for urgent solutions to address the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, including allowing the entry of batteries, solar panels, and other energy sources needed to establish communal heating centers as severe cold continues to claim the lives of children.
According to the UN News Centre, OCHA said on Thursday that plummeting temperatures have exacerbated already dire living conditions, particularly for displaced families sheltering in tents and makeshift housing, underscoring the urgent need for reliable energy supplies to provide warmth and basic services.
Despite the challenges, food security partners have reached more than 860,000 people so far this month through the distribution of food parcels at 50 locations across the Gaza Strip. The United Nations is also continuing to provide approximately 1.6 million hot meals daily to people in need.
OCHA also reported progress in child health efforts, noting that humanitarian partners vaccinated around 3,000 children during the first two days of a 10-day vaccination campaign. The initiative aims to double protection for children under the age of three against vaccine-preventable diseases.
Medical evacuations, however, remain limited. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently facilitated the evacuation of 21 patients and their companions to Jordan. Still, more than 18,000 patients — including 4,000 children — remain on waiting lists for medical evacuation to receive treatment unavailable in Gaza. The WHO urged more member states to accept patients and called for the reopening of medical evacuation routes to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
OCHA warned that most of Gaza’s population remains displaced, with an estimated 1.3 million people spread across 970 sites throughout the enclave, primarily in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis.
The office also highlighted critical concerns in the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector, reporting that about 70 percent of Gaza City’s total water production is currently out of service due to difficulties repairing a key water supply line operated by Mekorot.
Reiterating its appeal, the United Nations stressed the urgent need to expand humanitarian access, including for essential items classified as “dual-use.” Without such materials, OCHA warned, meaningful improvements in basic services — including access to safe drinking water — will remain impossible.
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