UNRWA Situation Report #221 on the Humanitarian Crisis in the Gaza Strip and the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem

UNRWA

20 May 2026

Highlights

The Gaza Strip

• Israeli forces continued to maintain a high level of activity, primarily in eastern Gaza City and Khan Younis, resulting in civilian casualties and damage to critical facilities. OHCHR reported that in April 2026 alone, at least 111 Palestinians, including at least 18 children and 7 women, were killed in attacks by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, amid continuing airstrikes, artillery and naval shelling, drone attacks, and gunfire.
• The so-called “Yellow Line” marking the Israeli-militarised zone in the Gaza Strip was significantly extended eastward in Gaza City and Khan Younis, with reports of tank advances by Israeli forces in both areas. As a result of the expansion, five UNRWA installations are now in proximity of the militarised zone, including two schools-turned-shelters hosting displaced families. The expansion of the militarised area is expected to affect humanitarian interventions and further squeeze the population, increasing the risks posed by violence in this area.
• As UNRWA’s Director of Health warned that “the current spread of rodents and infections is not merely a health issue, but a clear sign of Gaza’s vulnerability and near collapse of its health system.” The spread of disease-carrying rodents and insects is driving a growing public health crisis and undermining already precarious living conditions. Rodents are heavily infesting emergency shelters, displacement sites, and tents, biting people and contaminating living spaces.

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