Palestine Situation Report | March 2025

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Israel launched a massive air assault across Gaza in the early morning hours of March 18. The attacks broke the fragile ceasefire agreement signed in January 2025, resulting in the death and injury of over 900 Palestinians.

The return to war followed the Israeli imposition of a total blockade on goods for more than two weeks. Since March 2, Israeli authorities have blocked the entry of all humanitarian and commercial supplies into Gaza. This closure has severely disrupted humanitarian operations and worsened an already critical humanitarian situation.

By the end of January, all international UNRWA staff in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were forced to leave after their visas were not renewed. They are now working remotely.

Violence in Gaza and the West Bank

Since the ceasefire took effect on January 19, and as of March 11, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported that 845 bodies have been retrieved from previously inaccessible areas. Since October 7, 2023, and as of March 17, 2025, the Ministry of Health in Gaza has reported that at least 48,577 Palestinians have been killed, and 112,041 others have been injured.

Since the Gaza ceasefire agreement and the release of Palestinians from Israeli detention centers, Israeli forces have restricted access around the home villages of freed prisoners. Between January 15 and 20, Israeli settlers raided 11 Palestinian towns and villages across four governorates, injuring 17 Palestinians, including two children, and causing property damage.

Displacement and Shelter

On 18 March, the Israeli military issued an order for the immediate evacuation of residents from areas in North Gaza and eastern Khan Younis. The directive instructed people to move to shelters located in Gaza City and Khan Younis. In total, 19 neighborhoods were impacted. As of March 9, over 586,000 displaced people had returned to northern Gaza. At least 1.9 million people, or about 90% of the population, were displaced during the war, with many experiencing repeated displacements, some up to 10 times or more.

Since mid-January, Israeli forces have significantly intensified access restrictions across the West Bank, severely hindering Palestinians’ ability to access markets, workplaces, emergency services, and essential health and educational facilities.

On February 10, UNRWA reported that since the launch of Operation Iron Wall by Israeli forces on January 21, several refugee camps in the West Bank have been nearly emptied of their residents. This military operation displaced 40,000 Palestinian refugees.

Health

On March 4, WHO reported that 29 child patients had been evacuated from Gaza to Jordan for specialized medical treatment, accompanied by 43 caregivers. Most of the children required trauma, cancer, or ophthalmological care. This marked the first WHO-supported medical evacuation to Jordan since the ceasefire. An estimated 12,000 to 14,000 people in Gaza still require medical evacuation.

As of February 28, 20 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza are partially functioning, and 61 out of 144 primary healthcare facilities are operational. Four field hospitals are partially functioning, while five are fully operational. Between October 7, 2023 and February 28, 2025, the World Health Organization recorded 670 attacks on health facilities, resulting in 886 deaths and 1,355 injuries.

Over 90% of children under five are affected by at least one infectious disease. At least 31 deaths have been reported due to malnutrition and dehydration, including 28 children. The risks to public health in the region remain high due to overcrowding, inadequate sanitation, and the population’s overall vulnerability. However, the scale of the health crisis may be underreported due to ongoing damage to disease surveillance systems.

Between October 2023 and December 2024, WHO documented 694 attacks on healthcare in the West Bank, leading to 26 deaths and 121 injuries. These attacks impacted 62 health facilities, including 22 mobile clinics, and affected 475 ambulances.

Economy

The Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment estimates that recovery and reconstruction needs for the Gaza Strip in the short, medium, and long term are estimated at $53 billion. Of this, the short-term needs over the first three years are projected to be around $20 billion.

A February damage assessment by the World Bank shows that between October 2023 and September 2024, the unemployment rate in the West Bank averaged 35%, largely due to the sudden loss of jobs in Israel and settlements, as well as a downturn in the local economy.

Education

As of December 31, 2024, 12,035 students and 492 education staff had lost their lives, while 19,379 students and 2,603 education personnel had sustained injuries.

On February 23, the Ministry of Education launched a compressed academic year for 2024-2025, marking the first return to in-person learning since the war began in October 2023. By March 3, over 150,000 students had enrolled in 165 governmental schools across Gaza, with over half operating in three daily shifts.

Food Security and Livelihoods

The Food Security Sector has warned that food security in Gaza remains highly dependent on the continuous entry of aid supplies, making any improvements achieved during the ceasefire fragile.

Widespread damage to homes and infrastructure, including the destruction of water and sanitation systems in four refugee camps, has led to the contamination of clean water with sewage, posing a major health risk. Livestock are also at risk due to severe disruptions in the supply chain and limited access to essential resources, worsening food insecurity and livelihood losses.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

More than 1,500 water points are operational across the Gaza Strip, compared to the 750-850 points functioning before the ceasefire. These water points are supplying 17,000 cubic meters of drinking and domestic water daily, benefiting approximately 1.1 million people.

Gaza City is experiencing a major health and environmental disaster due to the accumulation of around 170,000 tons of waste in the streets and temporary landfills, as reported by the Municipality of Gaza on February 24. This situation has been exacerbated by the Israeli occupation’s obstruction of municipal crews’ access to the landfill east of the city and the destruction of nearly 80% of the municipality’s vehicles.

Anera’s Response

With war resumed, recovery plans are on hold. Anera’s health clinics are operational and providing critical care as pharmaceutical supplies across Gaza dwindle. Should the ceasefire be restored and the blockade lifted, Anera remains prepared to transition from relief to recovery through a three phase plan.

As of February 27 — the last day Anera was able to import trucks before the March 2 Israeli closure of all the crossings — Anera has coordinated the delivery of 1,631 truckloads of relief supplies, each carrying 14 to 15 pallets of essential items.