UN: Palestinian Civilians Continue to Face Military Activity in Gaza

United Nations humanitarian agencies reported on Thursday that civilians in Gaza continue to bear the brunt of ongoing military activity and repeated forced displacement. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that when people are forced to flee, they risk losing access to basic services and humanitarian assistance.

During the first twelve days of the month, the UN and its partners distributed general food assistance to more than 250,000 people through 36 distribution points. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced it has scaled up its cash assistance programme to help 1,500 Palestinian farmers cultivate land across the Gaza Strip during the 2026 planting season. The FAO stated this will help farmers produce enough fresh vegetables for over 100,000 people and improve access to nutritious food for vulnerable communities.

OCHA also reported that humanitarian partners continued distributing learning and teaching supplies to students and teachers during the first week of July. More than 5,440 learning kits, containing notebooks, markers, and pencils, will support approximately 217,600 girls and boys in summer learning activities that began on Saturday, 11 July.

In the West Bank, OCHA led a high-level delegation to visit Deir Nidham village in the Ramallah Governorate. Participants met with Palestinian families affected by Israeli settler violence and settlement outpost expansion, hearing directly from affected communities about the risks they face and the humanitarian impact on their daily lives and livelihoods. OCHA noted that attacks by Israeli settlers remain a leading cause of injury to Palestinians in the West Bank, accounting for 55 per cent of all injury cases in 2026. The office reiterated that Palestinians in the West Bank must be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law.