Palestinians are seen among rubble inside the Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City, Nov. 24, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Despite violence triggering more casualties and destruction in Gaza, relief efforts targeting the most vulnerable communities are under way, UN humanitarians said Monday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the reported hostilities in various parts of the Gaza Strip are causing destruction, displacement and casualties among civilians, including children.

"On Saturday, multiple Israeli strikes were reported in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and An Nuseirat," OCHA said. "The strikes came after Israeli ground forces reportedly came under fire in Rafah."

Partners managing displacement sites reported that living conditions are extremely dire. The estimated 214,000 people living in coastal, flood-prone or structurally unsafe areas are among the most vulnerable.

OCHA said the humanitarian community across the strip is working together to get aid to people safely, quickly and with dignity.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the suspension of operations by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has no impact on the world body's operations because the United Nations never worked with them.

Hundreds of civilians were killed or wounded while attempting to reach the GHF's militarized distribution centers, adjacent to Israeli forces' sites and under armed guard.

The GHF said in a statement that it will not be dissolved and may come back if new humanitarian needs are identified.

OCHA said that as part of its winter preparations, between Thursday and Saturday, partners reached 7,100 families with shelter assistance, including 900 tents, 5,100 tarps and 2,300 blankets.

However, OCHA could only bring 32 trucks with shelter supplies into Gaza between Sunday and Wednesday last week, as Israeli registration requirements for nongovernmental organizations continue to hamper partners' ability to bring in assistance, it said.

The office said that its partners leading the malnutrition response in Gaza reported that they continue to focus on early detection and treatment of acute needs cases.

OCHA said that last week, the UN Children's Fund dispatched 4,000 cartons of ready-to-use therapeutic food, enough to treat the current caseload of 10,000 patients for one month. Total treatment stocks are sufficient to last through March 2026.

Partners leading the health response reported that they managed to access the non-functioning European Hospital in Rafah for the first time since October, to transfer vital equipment to functioning facilities in northern Gaza.

The office said that to help people cope and supplement basic assistance, partners providing cash support reported that since the ceasefire and as of Wednesday, 93,000 families have received cash distributions, with support from more than a dozen partners.

OCHA said UN partners working on emergency telecommunications reported that on Saturday, a team of technicians managed to access the area in northern Gaza near Erez crossing, after Israeli authorities denied previous access attempts, to repair a fiber optic cable that was damaged in early November.

OCHA also called for unimpeded, safe and sustained access throughout Gaza, to reach civilians in need wherever they are, stressing that civilians and civilian infrastructure must always be protected.