According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), only 15 bakeries were operational across the Gaza Strip; six in Rafah and nine in Deir al Balah. No bakeries are currently functioning north of Wadi Gaza.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has been supporting eight of the functional bakeries (six in Rafah and two in Deir al Balah), providing them with wheat flour, salt, yeast and sugar. Through this initiative, about 250,000 people were able to purchase bread at a subsidized price, the UN body claimed.
Reporting that cases of Hepatitis A have been confirmed in Gaza through test kits supplied by his organization, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus warned that “inhumane living conditions – barely any clean water, clean toilets and possibility to keep the surroundings clean – will enable Hepatitis A to spread further … The capacity to diagnose diseases remains extremely limited.”
“There is no functioning laboratory. The capacity to respond remains limited too. We will continue to call for unimpeded and safe access of medical aid and for health to be protected.”
Between 7 October 2023 and 12:00 on 19 January 2024, at least 24,762 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 62,108 Palestinians were injured, according to the MoH.
The availability of water for drinking and domestic use in Gaza is shrinking each day. At present, only one of the three Israeli lines is functional, yielding less than half (22,000 cubic metres a day) of what would have been available if all lines were working.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC): 2.2 million people are at imminent risk of famine. 378,000 people at Phase 5 (catastrophic levels). Phase 5 refers to extreme lack of food, starvation, and exhaustion of coping capacities. 939,000 people at Phase 4 (emergency levels).
