The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) has released an update on the deteriorating situation in Gaza as communicable diseases rise and displaced people are desperately short of water as Israel intensifies its attacks from north to south, Al Jazeera reports.

No hospitals are currently accessible in northern Gaza, the World Health Organization reports, and as of Friday only the al-Awda Hospital was “considered partially functional” in the north, though it, too, was inaccessible amid Israeli military operations.

The International Rescue Committee and the organisation Medical Aid for Palestinians reported that in central Gaza displaced people are surviving on just 3 per cent of the internationally recognised minimum requirements of water.

At one shelter for displaced Palestinians, 10,000 people received just 4,000 litres of water per day, “translating to about 0.4 litres per person, for drinking, washing, cooking and cleaning”, UN OCHA reports.

Editorial

Updated 01 Aug, 2026

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