Military and Diplomatic Highlights:
· The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on April 17th several launches from Lebanon. In response IDF targeted and destroyed the sources of these launches and a Hezbollah military compound in southern Lebanon.
· The IDF reported that they killed Ismail Yusuf Baz who was the commander of Hezbollah’s coastal sector.
Civil Protection and Humanitarian Assistance Highlights:
Israel
· The Magen David Adom (MDA) on April 17th treated and transported six people after a rocket struck targets in Western Galilee.
Gaza Strip
· There are 1.7 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), most have been displaced multiple times.
· There has been no significant change in the volume of humanitarian supplies entering Gaza or improved access to the north:
o Since the beginning of April, an average of 181 aid trucks have crossed into Gaza per day via the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) and Rafah land crossings.
o Between April 1-19, 15% of aid missions to northern Gaza and areas in southern Gaza that require coordination have been denied or impeded by Israeli authorities.
o The UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reports that most of trucks used to deliver aid through Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.
· U.S. Central Command conducted air drops of humanitarian assistance on April 16 and 18. These drops delivered 75,900 U.S. meal equivalents into Northern Gaza.
· Healthcare and Public Health Update:
o Six field hospitals have been established, including four in Rafah and two in Khan Younis.
o The World Health Organization (WHO) has deployed 23 Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) to 10 hospitals, but access constraints prevent the scale-up of their operations in the north:
ü The EMTs have so far performed nearly 16,000 surgeries, over 298,000 consultations and provided an additional, combined capacity of 464 hospital beds.
o The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has reopened the emergency department at the Al Amal Hospital. All other departments, however, remain out of service due to extensive damage sustained during repeated bombardments and over 40 days of siege by Israeli forces.
o WHO estimates that there are 6,000 critical trauma patients and 3,000 patients with serious chronic conditions that need to be urgently evacuated from Gaza.
o The Palestinian Medical Relief Society with support from WHO has deployed emergency medical teams to seven shelters in Khan Younis and Rafah. These teams are providing essential health services to 60,000 IDPs.
o On April 14th, WHO and their partners transferred three critical patients and their two companions from Al-Ahli Hospital in northern Gaza to two field hospitals in Rafah.
· Food Security Update:
o One in three children below the age of two is currently acutely malnourished.
o On April 19th, for the first time in over six months, three World Food Programme (WFP) convoys with food and wheat flour for 80,000 people reached the north via the Erez crossing.
· The Palestinian Water Authority reported that on April 15th, repairs have been completed of the Israeli Mekorot Bani Suhaila water connection point and some segments of the transmission lines in Khan Younis have been completed:
o Once fully functional, this line is expected to serve about 500,000 people in Khan Younis city, Abasan Al Kabira, Abasan Al Jadida and Bani Suhaila.
o Repair of the northern water line (Al Mantar), which provides Gaza city with 25% of its water needs is underway.
· The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported on April 15th that about 4,000 buildings (90%) along the eastern border have been damaged or destroyed.
Violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Highlights:
· As of April 14th, 178 UNRWA employees have been killed.
· On April 13th, the PRCS reported that the IDF attacked their ambulance in the town of Duma and smashed the vehicle’s windows.
· At least 10 bodies have been recovered in and around the Al Shifa Medical Complex.
· UN Women reports that more than 10,000 women have been killed in Gaza to date:
o An estimated 6,000 women who left 19,000 children behind.
o The women who have survived have been displaced, widowed, and are facing starvation.
· On April 15 and 16 Israel released 1,650 Palestinians.
· The PRCS reports that six employees remain in detention.
· On April 20th, the PRCS reported that Mohammed Awad Allan, a volunteer paramedic was killed while providing medical assistance to those wounded by settlers' gunfire in the town of Al-Sawiya in the West Bank.
· At least 37 Palestinian communities in the West Bank have been affected by Israeli settler violence incidents leading to casualties and/or property damage.
Sources:
· Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #155
· Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #154
· UNRWA Situation Report #102 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem - All information from 15–17 April 2024, is valid as of 17 April 2024 at 22:30
· UNRWA Situation Report #101 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem - All information from 8 - 14 April 2024, is valid as of 14 April 2024 at 22:30
· WFP Palestine Emergency Response External Situation Report #17 (11 April 2024)
· Israeli Defense Forces Twitter Page
· Magen David Adom Twitter Page
· Palestine Red Crescent Society Twitter Page
· UN Agency for Palestine Refugees Twitter Page
· OCHA Occupied Territories Twitter Page
· WHO Occupied Territories Twitter Page
· U.S. Central Command Twitter Page
Resources
DETENTION AND ALLEGED ILL-TREATMENT OF DETAINEES FROM GAZA DURING ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR (New)
FAO, On the ground in Gaza Website
ADL, We Stand with Israel Website
Monetary Donations:
Before you donate please review the organization’s track record by using CharityWatch and Charity Navigator.
· UN Crisis Relief, Occupied Palestinian Territories
· IsraAID
· WHO Foundation, Gaza Crisis: Help Save Lives
· UN Migration Agency, Gaza