The situation in oPt continues to be characterized as a protracted protection crisis, driven by the direct consequences of a 50-year Israeli Occupation, of the effects of the intra-Palestinian divide since 2007, incl. the closure of the Gaza Strip.

Due to the stalled political process, Israel as Occupying Power, the Palestinian Authority and de facto authorities in Gaza have continued to rely on external humanitarian aid to provide assistance to needy civilian population estimated to reach 2 million persons. In oPt, the main vehicle for operational humanitarian coordination has been the UN-led Humanitarian Response Plan which brings together UN agencies, non-governmental organisations organised in clusters. The Humanitarian Fund is a UN-coordinated country-based pooled fund (CBPF) that aims at strengthening humanitarian coordination and the effectiveness of the cluster system at country level.

• Direct beneficiaries of HF-financed projects
• Indirect beneficiaries are implementing partners (UN Agencies, INGOs and NNGOs)

HF oPt has 5 specific objectives:

Support life-saving and life-sustaining activities, while filling critical funding gaps;

Promote needs-based assistance in accordance with humanitarian principles;

Strengthen coordination and leadership primarily through the function of the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) and by leveraging the clusters system;

Improve the relevance and coherence of humanitarian response by strategically funding priorities as identified under the HRP;

Expand the delivery of humanitarian assistance in hard-to-reach areas by partnering with national and international NGOs.

Expected results:  

• Timely provision of prioritized humanitarian aid to targeted beneficialires in oPt in line with HRP objectives.
• Fair and transparent allocation processes.
• Regular increase in total funding for HF oPt.
• Sustained participation of UN Agencies, INGOs and NNGOs in HF governance and management.

Results from previous phases:  

In 2016

• HF oPt disbursements reached USD 8.2 million, which covered 3% of HRP needs, but it reprensented 12% of the top priority projects as rated by cluster coordinators.
• USD 1.1 million was provided through the reserve allocation modality, while USD 7.1 million where allocated through 2 rounds of standard allocation modality.
• HF responded rapidly to emerging needs, incl. support to highly vulnerable Bedouin and herder communities in Area C and to more than 181'000 persons at risk of displacement due to winter weather conditions in the Gaza Strip.
• The HF Operational Manual was revised in line with OCHA's global guidelines on CBPFs.
• For the first time since 2007, total donor contributions to HF oPt exceeded USD 10 million.

• 7F-09275.01 Support to PNGO (network)
• 7F-08637.03 Support to AIDA (network)
• 7F-08764.02 OCHA oPt (coordination)
• 7F-03297.38 WFP Multi-bi contribution

Phase 5 01.11.2017 - 31.12.2020   (Completed)