The Humanitarian Situation Update is issued by OCHA Occupied Palestinian Territory twice a week. The Gaza Strip is covered on Tuesdays and the West Bank on Thursdays. The Gaza Humanitarian Response Update is issued every other Tuesday. The next Humanitarian Situation Update for the West Bank will be issued on 20 February.

In response to the critical threat posed by explosive ordnance (EO), humanitarian Mine Action (MA) actors are carrying out a range of key activities and functions, including explosive hazard assessments (EHA) of high-priority locations essential for humanitarian operations to assess the presence of EO threats. MA partners are also accompanying humanitarian convoys to ensure their safety from EO. Since the ceasefire took effect, support requests have surged by 375 per cent compared with 2024. Between 1 January and 17 February 2025, humanitarian organizations submitted to UNMAS 285 requests for EHA, 20 per cent of which were responded to by MA partners. UNMAS prioritizes MA support requests on behalf of the sector and is currently focusing on supporting immediate lifesaving activities. These include facilitation of humanitarian access to ensure safe delivery, distributions of food and other necessities, as well as assessments of humanitarian aid warehouses, distribution sites, hospitals, health centres and critical storage facilities. Humanitarian MA actors are unable to conduct life-saving disposal operations, due to the lack of necessary equipment. The needed equipment is classified as “dual-use”—goods that are considered useable for either civilian or military purposes— and are subject to entry restrictions by Israeli authorities. As a result, contaminated sites remain inaccessible and pose an imminent threat to the community. So far in 2025, UNMAS has recorded a sharp increase in reports of EO victims. Notwithstanding limited data, between 1 January and 17 February 2025, UNMAS documented the killing of two people and the injury of 38 others by EO, comprising one woman, 22 men, two girls and 13 boys. Khan Younis governorate accounted for about 37 per cent of verified injury reports. MA partners have scaled up lifesaving explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) messaging for humanitarian personnel and local communities, especially at distribution sites, key areas of return and critical access points. Since the ceasefire began, EORE training has been delivered to 271 humanitarian frontline staff. Coordination with the Health Cluster has also been strengthened to refer those injured to health services, including mental health and psycho-social support (MHPSS).

On 14 February, the Education Cluster warned that the education system in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) is in a state of profound crisis. In Gaza, all children remain deprived of formal education and the essential protective support it provides. According to the Education Cluster, the unprecedented learning loss and destruction of educational institutions have further deepened the critical mental health crisis among children and youth. According to UNICEF, nearly all of Gaza’s one million children require MHPSS. Amid these immense challenges, the 19 January ceasefire has allowed Education Cluster partners to scale up their response and reach more children with critical learning and MHPSS. As of 16 February, a total of 212,539 learners are enrolled in the Ministry of Education's e-school programme, with 187,400 actively attending classes. Furthermore, 251,691 learners are enrolled in UNRWA’s distance learning programme, which relies on self-learning materials, with 71 per cent (178,000) able to participate. Moreover, partners have continued to relocate and establish new temporary learning spaces (TLS) in areas of return. At present, there are 405 TLSs operational across Gaza, including 11 in northern Gaza, serving about 137,000 children — less than a quarter of school-aged population in the Gaza Strip. In Gaza and North Gaza governorates, partners continue to identify potential sites for TLS; however, the presence of unexploded ordnance remains a major challenge due to the lack of clearance capacity, but there are ongoing awareness raising activities to enhance children's safety in that regard. Efforts are also underway to improve sanitation and hygiene at schools previously used as IDP shelters in preparation for their re-opening for educational purposes. Over the past two weeks, and in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, 17 schools in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis received cleaning materials through WASH Cluster support.

• As of 18 February 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately US$146.6 million out of the $4.07 billion (3.6 per cent) requested to meet the most critical humanitarian needs of three million out of 3.3 million people identified as requiring assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 2025, under the 2025 Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Nearly 90 per cent of the requested funds are for humanitarian response in Gaza, with just over 10 per cent for the West Bank. Moreover, during January 2025, the oPt Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed 101 ongoing projects, totalling $72.4 million, to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (86 per cent) and the West Bank (14 per cent). Of these projects, 55 are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 33 by national NGOs and 13 by UN agencies. Notably, 41 out of the 68 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. For more information, please see OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service webpage and the oPt HF webpage.

* Asterisks indicate that a figure, sentence, or section has been rectified, added, or retracted after the initial publication of this update.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

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