UNITED NATIONS, Feb 11 (IPS) – Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas last October, humanitarian conditions in Gaza have improved significantly – but aid agencies warn that progress is extremely fragile. Acute shortages of life-saving medical care and psychosocial support persist, hunger remains widespread, with conditional cash assistance the main barrier preventing large-scale food insecurity, while Israeli attacks continue to undermine stability and humanitarian efforts.
Addressing During the 2026 opening session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres warned of the urgency of the current situation in Gaza.
“We enter 2026 with the clock ticking louder than ever. Will the coming year bend toward peace, or slide into the abyss of despair?” Guterres said.
Guterres urged all sides to fully implement the ceasefire, exercise maximum restraint and comply with international law and UN resolutions, while calling for the rapid and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid, especially through the Rafah crossing, where aid workers face the most severe restrictions. He also condemned the suspension of international NGOs, explaining that it “defies humanitarian principles, undermines fragile progress and exacerbates the suffering of civilians,” adding that shelter, food, educational materials and other basic needs must reach those in need.
In recent months, food security conditions in Gaza have shown notable, if uneven, improvement. Since the ceasefire took effect, the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have delivered more than 10,000 truckloads of aid to Gaza, representing about 80 percent of all humanitarian cargo. This allowed the enclave to barely avoid the onset of famine.
WFP Deputy Director Carl Skau noted that most families he met “ate at least once a day,” with some even providing two meals. Commercial goods such as vegetables, fruit, chicken and eggs have gradually returned to local markets, while the distribution of recreational kits has helped children cope with the psychological toll of more than two years of conflict.
However, progress remains fragile. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) assessment estimates that approximately 77 percent of Gaza’s population continues to face crisis-level food insecurity (IPC Phase 3), while approximately 100,000 people face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5). Furthermore, most nutritious foods available on the market remain financially out of reach of citizens, leaving the vast majority of households heavily dependent on humanitarian food assistance.
For the most vulnerable families in Gaza, conditional cash assistance remains essential to access food. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), more than 3,200 farming households are currently supported through FAO cash programs, which also enable more than 1,200 farmers to continue crop production and help more than 2,000 herders protect their livestock.
As markets gradually stabilize, humanitarian actors are seeking to shift their approach in favor of one that prioritizes building self-sufficiency. WFP has stated its goal to transition to financial assistance as market conditions improve, shifting emergency response efforts to rebuilding local food production and economic systems so that vulnerable families can afford food. However, these efforts would require a significant increase in funding, coordinated efforts among the international community, and a free flow of aid.
Meanwhile, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reports that Palestinians continue to face widespread insecurity caused by routine attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure. On February 5, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a humanitarian situation report documenting a sharp increase in airstrikes, shelling, gunfire and fatalities between January 30 and February 5 compared to previous weeks. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 82 Palestinians were killed and 162 injured, including children and a health worker, in that period, in addition to extensive damage to civilian infrastructure.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies further underlined the risks faced by aid workers by reporting on February 4 that a paramedic was killed while providing aid in the Mawasi area. That same day, OCHA reiterated that civilians and humanitarian personnel “should never be targeted or used to shield military activities,” emphasizing that children and aid workers enjoy special protection under international humanitarian law.
The UN has also highlighted that living conditions remain particularly poor for displaced communities in Gaza. On February 3, heavy insecurity in the Al Mahatta and Sanafour areas of Gaza City forced about 40 families to flee their homes, with only 10 families able to return the next morning. UN figures indicate that “capacity and financing constraints” have limited humanitarian support to only roughly 40 percent of the remaining functional 970 IDP sites in Gaza.
Health care needs are also overwhelming, as a steady influx of injuries and illnesses is exacerbated by the near-total collapse of Gaza’s health care system. According to Jonathan Fowler, senior communications manager for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the organization operated 22 clinics in the Gaza Strip before the war, which have now fallen to just six.
“That makes it incredibly difficult to do our work and many of our sites are severely damaged or even completely destroyed,” Fowler said. “Furthermore, we remain prohibited by Israeli authorities from bringing in our own supplies.” Despite numerous access and security restrictions, UNRWA aims to serve approximately 15,000 patients every day, underscoring the scale of unmet medical needs in the most vulnerable areas.
In addition, the OHCHR has documented a sharp increase in cases of mistreatment and abuse of displaced Palestinians by Israeli forces, especially along the recently reopened Rafah crossing. Beginning on February 5, Palestinians returning through the border crossing for three consecutive days have reported consistent patterns of “mistreatment, abuse and humiliation.”
According to testimonies collected by the agency, returnees were escorted from the border crossing to military checkpoints, where some were handcuffed, blindfolded, threatened and intimidated. Others reported being subjected to invasive searches, having personal belongings and money confiscated, and facing physical violence and humiliating interrogations. Several individuals were also denied access to medical care and sanitation, with some forced to urinate in public.
OHCHR also documented allegations that returnees were offered money to return to Egypt permanently or pressured to act as informants for the Israeli military.
“The international community has a responsibility to ensure that all measures affecting Gaza are in strict accordance with international law and fully respect the human rights of Palestinians,” said Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. “After two years of total devastation, the bare minimum is needed to return to their families and what remains of their homes in safety and dignity.”
IPS UN office report
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