Palestine Logistics Cluster - Concept of Operations (ConOps) July, 2026

Content

Background

Since October 2023, Gaza has faced a severe humanitarian crisis driven by conflict, displacement, and the collapse of essential services. Throughout the different phases of the war, including the most recent ceasefire period since October 2025, humanitarian operations have been heavily constrained by limited humanitarian access, administrative impediments, insecurity, movement restrictions and extensive infrastructure damage, significantly affecting the ability of humanitarian actors to deliver assistance at the scale required.

The October 2025 ceasefire agreement was met as an opportunity for improvements in the operational environment in Gaza, which would enable the UN and its partners to effectively deliver humanitarian assistance at the level required to address the acute needs reported across all sectors. While the ceasefire contributed to some operational improvements, the humanitarian supply chain into Gaza continue to face significant constraints. There are limited entry points into Gaza for humanitarian cargo, limited and insecure internal supply routes, a volatile security environment, recurrent operational disruptions, increasing administrative and regulatory hurdles affecting humanitarian organisations, including the de-registration of several international NGOs, as well as growing funding limitations impacting humanitarian response capacities. These factors continue to affect the predictability, continuity and efficiency of humanitarian delivery into and within Gaza. 

In parallel, escalating violence and movement restrictions in the West Bank continue to create an increasingly restrictive operating environment for the humanitarian supply chain across affected areas. Worsening socioeconomic conditions and high unemployment levels continue to increase dependency on humanitarian assistance and place additional pressure on humanitarian response capacities. 

In 2026, 2.97 million people are targeted for humanitarian assistance across Palestine.

The Logistics Cluster was activated in October 2023 to support the humanitarian community through coordination, information management and facilitating access to common logistics services, including transport and storage. The Cluster continues to play a critical role in mitigating operational bottlenecks, supporting humanitarian access and enhancing operational coordination across the response.

Logistics Gaps and Bottlenecks

Gaza

Although the ceasefire which started in October 2025 contributed to some operational improvements, humanitarian logistics in Gaza remain defined by systemic access constraints. Humanitarian organisations have the capacity and expertise to deliver assistance at scale, but the following constraints prevent the humanitarian system from operating as intended:

Bureaucratic, Regulatory and Administrative Impediments: Although more aid cargo has been entering Gaza following the October 2025 ceasefire, operations continue to be delayed or disrupted by bureaucratic access impediments, including complex cargo clearance processes, the de-registration of several International NGOs, constantly changing administrative rules and restrictions on the entry of enabling equipment. 

As of July 2026, only one entry point, Kerem Shalom-Karem Abu Salem, is available for aid cargo entry into Gaza. Sudden closures or partial openings of crossings and corridors at short notice continue to curtail the flow of aid. Evolving restrictions, coupled with inadequate transshipment and scanning capacity, have rendered supply chain operations exceedingly complex and expensive. This unpredictability undermines planning and the scaling of pipelines, creating chronic backlogs and operational uncertainty.

Humanitarian logistics in Gaza face shifting, opaque, and restrictive regulatory procedures. Frequent rejection of aid items, rigid vehicle specifications, repetitive security screenings, imposed escorts in Israel and enforced multiple transshipments erode the speed, efficiency, and predictability of the humanitarian supply chain. 

A critical bottleneck is the application of customs procedures to humanitarian cargo. Customs clearance remains a lengthy and cumbersome process that has not been waived or, at a minimum, expedited for all humanitarian organisations to facilitate the timely delivery of aid supplies. Currently, only UN actors are exempt, and only for cargo arriving from Egypt, while cargo entering through all other aid corridors remains subject to customs duties. These requirements add further delays, costs and administrative burdens to humanitarian operations.

Instead of predictable humanitarian flows, aid delivery is subject to limited and inconsistent access, burdensome customs and regulatory requirements, rigid processing and routing mechanisms, and bureaucratic congestion, all of which disrupts the timely delivery of life-saving supplies. 

Movement Restrictions: Movement inside Gaza is also heavily restricted. Humanitarian convoys are required to follow one designated and pre-approved route between the crossing and the inner Gaza Strip, which is very often congested, and unfit for large shipment of cargo. This system removes operational flexibility, slows humanitarian response times, and increases exposure to looting, breakdowns, or other incidents. In many cases, convoys are delayed pending approval or denied movement altogether.

Absence of Law and Order: The near-total collapse of civil governance and law enforcement in Gaza has created an environment of insecurity and unpredictability. In the absence of functioning policing or regulatory systems, humanitarian convoys and warehouses are, at times, exposed to looting and crowd-related incidents, undermining the safety of humanitarian personnel and disrupting the safe, orderly, and targeted distribution of assistance. Without minimum guarantees of law and order, humanitarian logistics chains remain highly vulnerable.

Collapse of the Energy System: Humanitarian supply chains are dependent on reliable and consistent access to energy, fuel, alternative power sources and other enabling equipment for humanitarian operations, including spare parts. The destruction of over 500 km of electricity distribution lines, equivalent to over 60 percent of the total network, and the impact on Gaza’s sole power plant have left operations dependent on degraded and unreliable generators, undermining the feasibility of aid delivery. Without reliable energy sources, warehouses cannot operate consistently, temperature-sensitive logistics for medicines and perishable food items are at risk, and water pumping and communications systems suffer. 

Fuel supplies in Gaza are constrained by limited numbers of actors approved to enter and supply fuel, and limited storage capacity, directly impacting logistics and transport operations.

Lack of Oversight and Cargo Visibility: Restricted access for humanitarian logistics personnel to border crossings and entry points undermines real-time monitoring and oversight of cargo flows. This reduces the ability to troubleshoot disruptions, ensure integrity of supply chains, and adapt operations, resulting in fragmented delivery and increased risk of losses. Additionally, congestion at crossings and limited secure storage at transshipment points expose cargo to delays, theft, tampering and spoilage in transit.

Infrastructure Damage and Storage Constraints: Widespread infrastructure damage in Gaza, combined with a shortage of secure storage facilities, constrains the humanitarian response. Humanitarian actors need safe, accessible, and adequately equipped logistics facilities to sustain operations.

As of June 2026, the Logistics Cluster Gaza Humanitarian Storage Capacity Survey indicates that 40 percent of partners' storage capacity is non-operational due to access restrictions and infrastructure damage. The continued kinetic activity along shifting “yellow” and “orange” military demarcation lines have rendered many storage sites inaccessible. 

Transport Capacity Constraints: Humanitarian transport in Gaza faces multiple constraints caused by a combination of spare parts and lubricant shortages, damaged infrastructure, and limited access to vehicle maintenance equipment, all of which critically undermine operational continuity and availability of both humanitarian and commercial fleets. The transport of aid commodities and humanitarian personnel represents nearly half of the total fuel consumption in humanitarian operations, highlighting the sector’s reliance on fuel for effective aid delivery.

The limitation on the entry of refrigerated trucks and other equivalent equipment is severely compromising cold-chain operations, which are essential for transporting medicines, vaccines, and perishable food. 

Damaged or unsafe roads increase the likelihood of vehicle breakdowns, delays, and exposure to looting or security incidents and impedes the movement of humanitarian convoys. According to the latest UNOSAT road network assessment, approximately 68 percent of Gaza’s road network has been damaged, with 1,190 kilometres destroyed, 415 kilometres severely affected, and 1,440 kilometres moderately affected. 

West Bank 

Humanitarian actors in the West Bank face increasingly restrictive operating conditions that disrupt or prevent the delivery of life-saving assistance. Checkpoints and permit restrictions result in prolonged delays, especially for reaching remote and vulnerable communities in Area C. Damage to public infrastructure - including roads, water, sanitation, and energy networks - increases dependency on assistance and further strains humanitarian logistics systems. Meanwhile, increasing economic contraction and liquidity limitations reduce the functionality of local markets. 

The Logistics Cluster continues to monitor developments concerning humanitarian logistics operations across the West Bank. At present, the primary constraints and risks reported by partners relate to access, rather than systemic supply chain failure, and therefore do not currently warrant the activation of common logistics services. At the same time, the Cluster is prioritising information management and targeted coordination to maintain situational awareness. 

Funding Constraints

Funding shortfalls are increasingly limiting partners’ ability to sustain logistics capacity, absorb rising operational costs, and maintain flexibility in their humanitarian supply chains.

Objectives and Planned Activities

Based on the current operational constraints and logistics gaps, and in line with the 2026 Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Palestine Logistics Cluster aims to maintain a logistics coordination and information sharing platform, facilitate access to reliable common logistics services, and supplement the logistics capacity of key relief actors to support efforts to restore a timely and uninterrupted supply of life-saving aid items to the affected population in Gaza. 

This Concept of Operations aims to deliver on the following objectives:

1. Coordination and Information Management: Leveraging logistics knowledge and expertise of responding humanitarian organisations to jointly evaluate the operational situation and ensure a coordinated humanitarian logistics response. Consolidating, analysing, and sharing relevant logistics information to promote continuity in operations, monitor changing needs for logistics support and continuously identify potential gaps and bottlenecks in operational capabilities of the humanitarian community and address them. Additionally, the Logistics Cluster will continually advocate for increased logistical access and facilitation of aid flow for partners’ emergency response implementation.
2. Common Services and Capacity Augmentation: The Logistics Cluster will continue to facilitate the provision of key common logistics services to address identified gaps – such as cargo consolidation and storage, transportation, and cargo tracking. Additionally, it will continue to support key relief actors by providing equipment, services, and technical expertise to augment the logistics capabilities for strengthened services and flow of assistance delivery in support to the humanitarian community. 

The following services will be made available to the humanitarian community and may be reviewed based on the operational context, access and security constraints, availability of resources. The Logistics Cluster team jointly with its partners, continuously monitors the evolving operational context to assess partners’ capacity and needs to adapt its set-up and services accordingly.

1. Coordination and Information Management

The following coordination and information management activities will be provided to mitigate duplication of efforts by humanitarian actors, maximise the use of available logistics assets/resources, and support operational decision-making:

• Engaging Partners and Key Stakeholders: Coordination with relevant authorities, Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Inter-Cluster Coordination Groups, National and International NGOs, and UN Agencies and participation in key coordination forums to address issues and suggest common solutions on behalf of logistics partners and facilitate operational continuity.  
• Coordination: Regular logistics meetings will continue to be held in Gaza, and at national level across Jerusalem, Cairo, and Amman, to strengthen overall coordination efforts amongst partners, discuss operational challenges and collaboration opportunities on common logistics to enhance the response. Liaise with relevant national authorities, humanitarian organisations in Palestine, Israel, Egypt, and Jordan, to gather up-to-date information on customs, border crossing points, and route accesses. Ad hoc coordination meetings will be held in the West Bank, as and when necessary.
• Operational Information Sharing: Consolidate, analyse and share relevant information, operational overviews, standard operating procedures, and other essential documents via a dedicated Palestine operation webpage, instant messaging groups, and mailing lists. 
• Daily Humanitarian Truck Manifest: Coordinate and intermediate information on planned cargo movements across the various aid routes of Egypt, Jordan, West Bank, and Israel (including Ashdod port) from humanitarian organisations, producing a consolidated daily manifest that aims at supporting clearance processes and preventing bottlenecks.
• Mapping and Capacity Assessments: Regularly disseminate information on logistics gaps and capacities through the development of maps, updating of information-sharing platforms such as LogIE (displaying Logistics Cluster service information and crossing statuses) and the Logistics Capacity Assessments (LCA).
• Supply Chain Monitoring and Analysis: Continuous monitoring and analysis of the status of entry points and corridors to Gaza, logistics provider and supplier’s markets to guide logistics planning and response efforts.
   

2. Logistics Augmentation and Common Services

The following activities and services are not intended to replace the logistics capacities of individual agencies or organisations, but to augment national and partner capacities to increase efficiency, mitigate bottlenecks, avoid duplication of efforts. The services are designed to fill identified gaps in the humanitarian supply chain that limit the ability of the humanitarian community to meet the needs of the affected population.

Access and security permitting, the following activities and services may be provided at no-cost to the user, depending on the availability of funds.

Gaza

• Support the management of transshipment activities at open crossing points into the Gaza Strip by providing dedicated staff and equipment and visibility on cargo handling, truck loading, and onward transport within Gaza. 
• Facilitate access to road transport services from open entry points into Gaza as follows: 
  • Transport services from open entry points to Logistics Cluster common temporary warehouses.
  • On a case-to-case basis, transport services from open entry points to a humanitarian partner’s warehouse facility.
• Facilitate access to common temporary storage facilities.
• Augment the storage capacity and enhance the warehousing capacity of transshipment hubs in Gaza through the provision of mobile storage units and handling equipment.

Jordan

• Consolidate relief cargo in Amman, pre-positioned for loading on inter-agency convoys from Jordan to Gaza.
• Facilitate access to cargo transportation services in “Back-to-Back” and “Government to Government” ([EU1] direct) convoy modalities, from Amman to Gaza, when authorised.
• Support the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO) with technical advisory in logistics management, as required.

Egypt:

• Support the capacity of the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) through the provision of:
  • Logistics equipment, including temporary warehousing, handling equipment, and temperature-controlled storage, and consolidate cargo at ERC-managed logistics hubs in Al Arish and other locations, as required.
  • Strengthening logistics capacity through technical advisory support and training in priority areas, including warehousing, temperature-sensitive logistics, and other topics identified through training needs assessments.

Annex I ConOps Map[i]

1. ^

   Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory 2026

2. ^

   World Bank, European Union, United Nations, “Gaza Strip Interim Damage Assessment” (April 2024)

3. ^

   The Humanitarian Storage Capacity Survey is a regular Logistics Cluster exercise to monitor humanitarian organisations’ storage capacities and needs.

4. ^

   UNOSAT, Gaza Strip Road Network Comprehensive Damage Assessment (September 2025)

5. ^

    Back-to-back modality convoys are cross-loaded twice at different locations between Amman and Gaza: at the crossing from Jordan, and at the crossing to Gaza. 

6. ^

    Government-to-Government convoy modality does not require cross-loading as trucks go directly from Amman to Gaza.

[i]For updates on the most recent common warehouses locations and Gaza crossings’ status, please refer to the online information-sharing platform Palestine LogIE.

 [EU1]does not exist anymore? are we adding for political visbility?