Nearly three years after the violence of 7 October 2023 and the armed conflict that followed, families across Gaza, the West Bank and Israel are still living with its consequences. In the first six months of 2026, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continued adjusting its response to meet urgent and evolving needs, working closely with the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Magen David Adom in Israel, and local partners on the ground.

Despite the October 2025 ceasefire, violence in Gaza has continued, causing deaths, injuries and displacement. In the West Bank, settlement expansion and settler violence, restrictions on movement, and a fractured economy have disrupted access to health care, education and livelihoods.

Health care and physical rehabilitation

Only 19 of Gaza's 34 pre-conflict hospitals were partially functional in early 2026, and just three of eight surgical hospitals remained operational. Despite this, ICRC-supported health services delivered:

• Over 710,000 consultations across five ICRC-supported primary health care centres, serving a population of 794,500 people
• 82,400 emergency department visits at Al Shifa Hospital and 21,500 at Al Amal Hospital
• 140 donations of medical supplies and equipment made to 24 health facilities
• At the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah: 22,300 emergency consultations, 52,400 outpatient consultations, six mass casualty incidents managed, and a 98 per cent patient satisfaction rate following a major facility overhaul
• Over 11,100 physiotherapy sessions delivered
• Over 800 individuals received prosthetic and orthotic devices; over 1,100 received wheelchairs or mobility aids
• 95 per cent patient satisfaction rate reported for rehabilitation services

Missing persons and detention

With visits to places of detention remaining suspended by Israeli authorities , the ICRC focused on supporting families and released detainees wherever possible:

• Over 1,200 new cases of missing persons documented
• Over 1,200 existing missing-persons cases closed
• More than 16,900 contacts made by family members seeking information on loved ones
• 11 detention visits carried out (eight in the West Bank, three in Gaza)
• 386 released detainees supported with family links services and emergency assistance

Forensics and dignified management of the dead

Forensic teams worked with local actors to recover and document the deceased amid the ongoing challenge of the missing:

• The ICRC enabled recovery of the deceased from beneath rubble and destroyed buildings in Gaza by local actors through the rental of heavy machinery
• Remains of over 130 deceased individuals transferred with ICRC facilitation as a neutral intermediary
• Over 100 forensic practitioners trained in search, recovery and documentation, including 32 in advanced forensic odontology
• 440 body bags, 400 body tags and 800 cable ties provided to support management of human remains
• Renovation completed at the Al Shifa Hospital morgue and rehabilitation of the Deir al-Balah Cemetery

Reaching families with essentials

As market collapse and aid dependency deepened, the ICRC's economic security programme helped families meet their most basic needs:

• Over 245,000 people supported through the ICRC's economic security programme in Gaza and the West Bank
• Nearly 398,600 hot meals provided to over 1,400 families through community kitchens
• Over 9.17 million loaves of bread baked by 179 communal ovens, benefitting over 44,000 people
• Over 28,200 households received essential household items in the first three months of 2026, with a further 1,000 receiving full kits in the second three months.
• Over 1,300 malnourished pregnant or lactating women and children under five received cash assistance for nutrition

Water, rehabilitation and safety

Restrictions on essential "dual-use" items constrained repairs even as demand for water, rehabilitation and safety services grew:

• Over 806,000 people reached through the ICRC's water and habitat programme in Gaza and the West Bank
• 30,000 internally displaced people served by the Manshiya Desalination Plant
• Infrastructure support provided to four hospitals in Gaza
• Over 200,000 people reached through more than 4,900 risk awareness and safer behaviour sessions on weapon contamination, delivered with the Palestine Red Crescent Society

These figures represent only part of a response shaped daily by access constraints, insecurity and enormous need. For the full picture, including detailed regional and programme-level breakdowns, download the complete Facts and Figures report below.