A recent assessment by the U.S. Agency for International Development incorporating data from the World Bank, the UN, and other organizations outlines the humanitarian crisis of hunger and disease looming in the West Bank. At the same time, Congress is considering proposals to limit assistance to the Palestinians and contributions to the U.N. Works and Relief Agency (UNWRA). Rather than limiting assistance, the assessment calls for urgently increasing aid in order to respond to the emerging humanitarian crisis among Palestinians. The following points should be used in briefing the press on the looming crisis.
The key findings are as follows:
- Chronic and acute malnutrition is widespread among children under five years of age and increasing rapidly. 30% of children screened suffered from chronic malnutrition and 21% from acute malnutrition. These numbers have increased significantly since 2000 when only 7.5% and 2.5% of children suffered from chronic and acute malnutrition respectively.
- Moderate to mild anemia is also evident. 45% of children under 5 years of age and 48% of women of childbearing age suffer from moderate to mild anemia.
- More than 30% of the 3.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are dependant upon food handouts from the World Food Program and the ICRC or other NGOs. The number of Palestinians requiring food assistance is increasing daily. According to USAID analysis, approximately 50% of all Palestinians (refugee and non-refugee) require external food assistance to help meet their minimum daily caloric intake.
- Of 320 households surveyed, 50% stated their need to borrow money to purchase basic foodstuffs, with 16% selling assets for the same purpose.
- The March – April 2002 incursions brought at least a 50% increase in the number of Palestinian home demolitions since the beginning of the intifada.
- The Palestinian Ministry of Housing reports that approximately 720 homes were destroyed by the IDF and another 11,553 damaged from September 2000 – February 2002. 73,600 people were affected.
- The March – April 2002 incursions destroyed another 881 homes and damaged some 2,883 houses in refugee camps. An estimated 22,500 people were residents of these homes.
- There is increasing risk of communicable disease outbreak. Due to diminished access to potable water, residence overcrowding, and inadequate shelter, possible disease outbreak, such as cholera, is a growing concern.
- The medical treatment of Palestinians living in rural communities, and those with chronic diseases such as renal failure, diabetes, cancer, and hypertension, has been interrupted due to access, affordability, and availability-related issues.
- According to Palestinian Ministry of Health estimates, births attended by skilled health workers have decreased from 97.4%, pre-intifada, to 67% currently. Home deliveries have increased from 3% pre-intifada, to 30%, at present.
- Availability of immunization has decreased. Interruptions in electricity supply make medical facilities unable to maintain cold storage and cause vaccines to spoil, further aggravating growing health concerns. The child immunization program is breaking down.
- According to the World Bank, 70% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza live below the poverty line of less than $2 per day. Only 90 days ago, in April 2002, the World Bank estimated 50% of Palestinians were below the poverty level. The UN defines 62% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza as “vulnerable,” or in need of food, shelter, and/or access to health services.
- A USAID environmental health assessment team found that of 300 households surveyed in Nablus, NONE were found to have drinking water acceptable to international standards. Fecal bacteria often contaminated water.
- The incidence of diarrhea is increasing. This is indicative of unsanitary living conditions and questionable water supply. USAID preliminary findings indicate that 30% of the 320 households interviewed throughout the West Bank and Gaza reported diarrheal characteristics among at least one of its members during the first two weeks of June.
- The Palestinian Ministry of Health reports that because of closures and curfews, its facilities operate at about 30% capacity. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that 25 of its 121 ambulance fleet were damaged beyond repair by the Israeli defense forces. Curfews and closures cause ambulances to require 6 – 8 hours on average to transport patients to hospitals, if they obtain access at all.
- In June 2002 USAID found that 28% of the 320 households interviewed had at least one family member who was not granted access to needed emergency medical services while 67% of households reported that access was not granted to at least one family member who required long-term treatment such as dialysis, chemotherapy, or diabetes management.
- A Bir Ziet University study surveyed 764 households and found widespread psychological illness. 87% of households reported psychological difficulties in one or more family members.
Israel’s Reproductive Genocide in the Gaza Strip
Date posted: April 29, 2025
By MIFTAH
Executive Summary
The ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip has compounded several humanitarian and legal violations, particularly inrelation to the reproductive rights of Palestinian women. Since the launch of its military offensive in October 2023, Israelhas systematically targeted Palestinian women in ways that undermine their ability to survive, give birth, and raisechildren. More than 12,300 women have been killed, 4,700 women and children are missing, and approximately 800,000women have been forcibly displaced. An estimated one million women and girls now suffer from acute food insecurity.Israel’s actions constitute a deliberate attempt to impair the reproductive capacities of Palestinian women, aimed atdismantling the future of Palestinian society. Through the bombing of shelters, destruction of hospitals, blockading ofmedical and hygiene supplies, and attacks on fertility clinics and maternity wards, Israel’s policy of erasure is notincidental, it is intentional.
To view the Full Policy Paper as PDF
Israel’s Attack on UNRWA and Its Implications for Palestinian Refugees
Date posted: March 05, 2025
By MIFTAH
Executive Summary
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is vital inproviding humanitarian aid, education, and health services to Palestinian refugees across Jordan, Lebanon,Syria, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Beyond its humanitarian role, UNRWA represents aninternational commitment to Palestinian refugees' right of return, as established in UN General AssemblyResolution 194 in 1948. However, Israel has long sought to undermine the agency through financial, political,and military means.Recent Israeli actions have escalated, with the Israeli Knesset passing legislation banning UNRWAoperations in areas under Israeli control, effectively revoking its legal status. Concurrently, Israel hasintensified military attacks on UNRWA facilities. In the Gaza Strip since October 2023, Israeli forces havetargeted 310 UNRWA sites, destroying schools and killing 273 UNRWA employees alongside hundreds ofcivilians sheltering in its facilities. Throughout the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military has been turningUNRWA facilities into military bases and detention centers, and has closed UNRWA’s headquarters in EastJerusalem. These actions violate multiple international legal agreements and aim to erase Palestinian refugeeidentity and their legal rights.
To view the Full Policy Paper as PDF
