MoSD Warns of Worsening Humanitarian and Public Health Crisis in the Gaza Strip Amid Continued Displacement and Deteriorating Living Conditions
Ramallah – The Ministry of Social Development has warned of the escalating humanitarian and public health crisis in the Gaza Strip as the summer season intensifies and temperatures continue to rise, while hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced in tents and temporary shelters that lack even the minimum standards of safety and dignified living. The ongoing repeated displacement, widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure, and severe shortages of food, safe drinking water, and essential services continue to deepen the suffering of families and place the most vulnerable groups—particularly children, women, older persons, and persons with disabilities—at heightened risk.
The Ministry stated that approximately one million people are currently living in tents and temporary displacement sites, while more than 850,000 people continue to require basic shelter assistance. As temperatures rise during the summer months, these tents become uninhabitable due to the absence of ventilation, cooling, and adequate protection. Families are also facing extremely harsh living conditions resulting from overcrowding, shortages of clean water, declining food supplies, and repeated forced displacement from one location to another.
The Ministry explained that the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip continues to deteriorate due to the near-total collapse of municipal and environmental services. International estimates indicate that nearly one million metric tons of solid waste have accumulated across the Gaza Strip, reflecting the extensive destruction of waste management infrastructure and sanitation systems. Rising temperatures accelerate the decomposition of waste, resulting in the release of harmful gases and foul odors, while contaminated leachate infiltrates the soil and surrounding environment, posing serious threats to public health and further exacerbating the suffering of the population.
The Ministry further noted that the destruction of approximately 76.6% of residential housing units in the Gaza Strip, the continued presence of approximately 8,500 bodies beneath the rubble, the accumulation of millions of tons of debris, and the severe shortages of clean water, food, and essential services have created an extremely hazardous environment that threatens public health and significantly increases the risk of disease outbreaks.
The Ministry also reported that approximately 1.45 million people living across 1,326 displacement sites are exposed to increasing environmental and public health risks, including more than 680,000 children, amid the severe collapse of essential public services and healthcare.
In this context, the Ministry warned of the growing spread of rodents and other disease-carrying pests in displacement camps and temporary shelters due to the accumulation of waste and deteriorating environmental conditions. These hazards are causing extensive damage to shelters, food supplies, and humanitarian assistance while further aggravating food insecurity and poor living conditions among displaced families. Available data indicate that more than 70,000 cases linked to rodents, pests, and associated environmental conditions have been recorded since the beginning of the current year, including approximately 17,000 direct cases involving bites, infections, and skin diseases. Children account for nearly 80% of these reported cases.
The Ministry stressed that the convergence of the shelter crisis with food insecurity, shortages of safe drinking water, the deterioration of health and environmental services, and rising summer temperatures poses the risk of a large-scale humanitarian and public health catastrophe that threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, particularly children, women, older persons, and persons with disabilities. It emphasized the urgent need for immediate action to meet essential needs and protect the most vulnerable populations.
The Ministry renewed its call on the United Nations, international and humanitarian organizations, and donor partners to take immediate action to facilitate the entry of shelter materials and essential humanitarian supplies, support municipalities in removing waste and debris and restoring sanitation systems, and ensure the provision of safe drinking water and other essential services. Such measures are critical to preventing further deterioration of the humanitarian situation and protecting civilians in the Gaza Strip.
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On the International Day for the Elimination of Child Marriage, MoSD Affirms: Protecting Girls Begins with Education, Protection, & Family Empowerment
Ramallah – On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage, the Ministry of Social Development emphasized that child marriage cannot be addressed in isolation from the broader social protection system, as it is linked to multiple factors, including poverty, school dropout, domestic violence, loss of parental care, displacement, and weakened protection networks. The Ministry explained that its role includes protecting children and girls at risk, providing case management, family interventions, psychosocial support, and referral services, and connecting families with assistance, essential services, and economic empowerment programmes. It also coordinates with relevant authorities when the safety of a child or girl is at risk. The Ministry places the best interests of the child and protection from exploitation and abuse at the heart of its child protection services. The Ministry stressed that preventing early marriage also requires protecting families from poverty and economic shocks, supporting girls' continued access to education, raising awareness of their rights, and strengthening families' ability to cope with pressures without resorting to practices that may expose girls to long-term physical, psychological, and social risks. The issue is particularly concerning in the Gaza Strip, where the Ministry warned that the loss of parental care, displacement, extreme poverty, and the declining capacity of extended families to provide care and protection increase children's vulnerability to various forms of exploitation, including early marriage. In this context, the Ministry continues to work with local and international organizations involved in child and women's protection to strengthen early intervention, referral pathways, alternative care, and psychosocial support, alongside assistance to the most vulnerable families to reduce the risk factors that may contribute to early marriage. The Ministry called for child marriage to be addressed as a child protection and human rights issue requiring coordinated action among families and social, educational, health, and legal institutions. It also called for increased investment in girls' education, protection, and empowerment to safeguard their right to grow, learn, and make decisions about their future freely and safely.
On World Children's Day, MoSD: Palestinian Children Face Harsh Realities of Loss, Displacement, Violence, & Deprivation
Ramallah – On the occasion of World Children's Day, observed annually on 20 November, the Ministry of Social Development emphasized that Palestinian children are facing extremely harsh conditions amid the continuing consequences of the Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip and escalating attacks, displacement, home demolitions, and movement restrictions in the West Bank, including Jerusalem. These conditions have deprived children of their lives, families, shelter, education, care, and safety. According to available United Nations data, at least 21,700 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip, while approximately 45,000 have been injured, including more than 11,000 children who have sustained life-altering injuries. Meanwhile, thousands of families continue to experience repeated displacement and deprivation of essential services. In the West Bank, including Jerusalem, children continue to face attacks, forced displacement of families, and damage to schools, homes, and infrastructure. More than 1,700 children have been displaced since the beginning of 2026 as a result of settler violence, movement restrictions, and demolitions. The Ministry stressed that the consequences of war and occupation extend beyond immediate casualties to include bereavement, family separation, hunger, school dropout, child labour, violence, exploitation, acquired disabilities, and psychological and social distress. These risks require a comprehensive and long-term child protection response. The Ministry explained that child protection is a central pillar of its work, implemented through Child Protection Departments in its directorates. These departments receive reports, assess levels of risk, provide case management and family follow-up, facilitate referrals to specialized services, and intervene in cases of violence, abuse, exploitation, and neglect. Their responsibilities also include protecting children engaged in labour or begging, children who have dropped out of school, and children in conflict with the law, in coordination with relevant government authorities and partner organizations. In the Gaza Strip, children's protection and care needs have intensified significantly, particularly among orphans, children deprived of parental care, separated and unaccompanied children, and those requiring psychosocial support. In cooperation with its partners, the Ministry is working to provide alternative care, social follow-up, sponsorship programmes, psychological support, and food, health, and in-kind assistance, while strengthening and restoring child protection services across the Gaza Strip. The Ministry emphasized that protecting children is inseparable from protecting their families. Accordingly, child protection services form part of a broader social protection system encompassing food, cash, and non-food assistance, health insurance, education, school bags and stationery, psychosocial support, services for persons with disabilities, and family economic empowerment. These interventions aim to reduce the risks associated with poverty, displacement, loss of income, and family instability. The Ministry of Social Development called on the international community, United Nations agencies, humanitarian organizations, and donors to provide sustainable support for the Palestinian child protection system. It urged continued funding for alternative care programmes, orphan sponsorship, psychosocial support, education, nutrition, and rehabilitation, alongside support for Palestinian national institutions capable of reaching children and families and ensuring sustained follow-up. The Ministry concluded by emphasizing that World Children's Day cannot be merely an occasion for celebration while Palestinian children are deprived of their most fundamental rights. It stressed that protecting children begins with safeguarding their right to life and extends to ensuring their rights to family care, shelter, food, education, healthcare, protection, and social support.
