Palestine*

Introduction

Since 2000, the EU has been providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in need, supporting people affected by emergencies and shocks. In 2026, an estimated 3.62 million people remain in need of humanitarian assistance amid deepening crises in Gaza and the West Bank.

Gaza Strip

The dire humanitarian situation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip deteriorated dramatically due to the hostilities after the terrorist attack by Hamas of 7 October 2023, on Israeli soil, which left more than 1,200 Israelis dead. The EU strongly condemned this terrorist attack. 

After 2 years of relentless bombing, Gaza remains in ruins. Humanitarian conditions are catastrophic for the 2.1 million Palestinians, who face hunger, trauma, forced displacement and the collapse of essential services. Al least 73,000 Palestinians were killed and over 173,000 injured in the Gaza Strip.

West Bank (including East Jerusalem)

The humanitarian situation in the West Bank continues to deteriorate amid, the rapid expansion of settlements, Israeli military operations and settler attacks on Palestinian communities. While school closures and raids increasingly restrict access to education, access to essential services, including health care, remains severely restricted across the West Bank. 

Following the escalation of the regional conflict in the Middle East since 28 February 2026, the West Bank has seen increased violence, closures of checkpoints and movement restrictions. Settler attacks continue unabated, resulting in casualties, displacement and damage.

Facts and figures

As a long-standing humanitarian donor, the EU is responding to the population’s most pressing needs. This is done in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.

Since 2000, the EU has provided more than €1.25 billion in humanitarian assistance to help meet the basic needs of the Palestinian population.

What is the humanitarian situation?

According to data highlighted by the UN, since 7 October 2023, over 72,900 Palestinians have been killed (including over 21,200 children) and more than 173,000 have been injured in Gaza. One quarter of those injured in Gaza are estimated to have sustained life-changing damage, mostly to their limbs, and will require medium to long-term rehabilitation. In the West Bank, over 1,060 Palestinians have been killed, and more than 11,700, injured.

More than 2 million Palestinians lack basic shelter, sufficient water, food or medical care. The EU provides support and coordination of operations to provide:

People are repeatedly forcibly displaced

Within Gaza, over 1.9 million people (over 90% of the population) have been repeatedly forcibly displaced amid intensified Israeli bombardments, (including in tents, hospitals and schools), ongoing ground confrontations, and recurrent forced displacement orders.

2 years of intense military operations have severely damaged civilian infrastructures and restricted access to essential services. An estimated 21% of the population has disabilities, including thousands of children who have lost one or both legs, further exacerbating vulnerabilities. Persons with disabilities face additional barriers due to the lack of structured support and assistive devices. Widespread child and family separations have resulted in at least 17,000 unaccompanied and separated children and at least 35,000 children losing one or both parents. 

Israeli strikes on hospitals and fuel shortages have crippled an already decimated healthcare system, leaving thousands of critically ill patients, including women and newborns, without access to life-saving treatment as medical evacuations remain dangerously delayed. More than 18,500 patients remain in urgent need of medical care that is not available locally and require referral. 

Acute food insecurity in Gaza

Over 5 months into the ceasefire, the population of the Strip is still facing extremely severe food shortages with many people unable to meet their basic food needs, leaving 1.6 million people in acute food insecurity. 5% of these people are facing Catastrophe level (IPC Phase 5), 24% are facing Emergency level (IPC Phase 4) and 62% people are in Crisis level (IPC Phase 3). 

Most children are enduring extreme food deprivation, compounded by:

• poor access to healthcare
• clean water
• inadequate sanitation

Despite a slight improvement, the nutritional situation remains very concerning, with 101,000 children at risk of malnutrition across the Gaza Strip. While food aid has increased, assistance is largely meeting only basic survival needs. 

The dire conditions across all sectors – health, water, sanitation and hygiene, and shelter – are undermining people’s ability to feed themselves adequately. Although fruits and vegetables are beginning to reappear in local markets, many Palestinians lack the financial means to secure a balanced diet. The situation is further exacerbated by inadequate sanitation and hygiene conditions, which pose serious health risks, particularly for children.

Should the situation deteriorate further due to a resumption of hostilities or the planned expulsion of international NGOs, famine could return to Gaza by mid-April 2026.

Humanitarian aid and commercial goods must be allowed to move freely throughout the Gaza Strip. The population must be able to continue purchasing nutritious food, and adequate sanitation and hygiene infrastructure must be restored to prevent disease outbreaks. Achieving this will require a lasting resolution to the conflict, as well as the reconstruction of essential infrastructure and livelihoods.

Education disrupted

As of November2025, 97% of school buildings in the Gaza Strip had sustained some level of damage, the majority (92%) requiring clearance of explosive contamination and either full reconstruction or major rehabilitation to be functional again. This has disrupted education across government, UNRWA, and private schools, many of which also served as shelters, affecting over 547,000 students and 20,500 teachers. 

Over 637,000 school-aged children in Gaza have no access to formal education since October 2023. The prolonged lack of access to education heightens protection risks for children including: 

• child labour
• early marriage
• physical harm

Other challenges 

Protection risks remain extremely high, with widespread loss of life among frontline humanitarian workers and escalating threats to civilians. Children in particular continue to face heightened protection concerns, especially those: 

• with disabilities
• with psychosocial distress
• deprived of basic services
• who have experienced emotional abuse
• who have been separated from their families

Most households lack water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) items. This is leading to rising cases of acute diarrhoea and a higher risk of wider disease outbreaks. 

Agriculture, fishing and animal farming have collapsed entirely, while persistent challenges such as unexploded ordnance, widespread debris, and the breakdown of essential services continue to obstruct recovery and safe movement. 

The security situation for civilians and aid workers continues to be extremely fragile with humanitarian aid missions facing a complex operating environment. At least 589 aid workers have been killed since October 2023.

How are we helping?

Here is an overview of how the EU is helping vulnerable Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

EU funding supports humanitarian organisations working in both Gaza and the West Bank. Despite significant insecurity and logistical challenges, EU humanitarian partners continue to respond on the ground, doing their utmost to provide relief in Gaza and the West Bank, often at heightened personal risk. Access challenges and security concerns in Gaza have forced humanitarian partners operating on the ground to reduce their operations to a bare minimum. Their capacity to deliver is indisputable, but they require safe access. The ceasefire presents a precious opportunity to make sure aid can reach those in need if our partners can have access. 

The EU continues to deliver humanitarian aid for Palestinians by air, land and sea.

The UCPM was activated on 24 April 2024 upon the request of the World Health Organization (WHO) to medically evacuate Palestinian patients from Gaza to Europe. Since July 2024, patients and companions have been evacuated by 13 Member States (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia) and 3 Participating States (Albania, Norway, Türkiye), in collaboration with the WHO and MSF.

The role of humanitarian partners

In the West Bank, specifically in Area C, East Jerusalem, and Hebron H2, the EU and several Member States are supporting a protection consortium of humanitarian partners. They protect communities at risk of forcible displacement because of demolitions, evictions, and settler violence. 

EU humanitarian partners provide emergency assistance, legal aid, and access to essential services. The EU also helps improve the living conditions of communities that are barred from accessing or upgrading basic services. For example, by providing:

• shelter
• safe sources of water

In both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, EU humanitarian funding has helped Palestinian children access schools in safe and conducive environments, despite many obstacles.

The EU also helps strengthen health services to allow essential primary health care and emergency medical services to continue. In addition, it improves access to water, sanitation, and hygiene for vulnerable communities. 

The EU supports numerous humanitarian partners in the occupied Palestinian territories: United Nations agencies, the Red Cross and Red Crescent, and international NGOs. 

_{* The designation of Palestine shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.}