Gaza
Elena Mancusi of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said that as a result of Israeli ground and air operations in the last week, 123 Palestinians had been killed, of which at least 55 had been unarmed civilians, including six women and 27 children. In addition, 279 Palestinians had been injured, including 49 children. On 1 March, the deadliest single day since 2000, 63 Palestinians had been killed and 172 injured. To date in 2008, 234 Palestinians had been killed in IDF operations, compared to 301 killed in the entire year of 2007. During the last week, five Israelis had also been killed, including one by a rocket landing in Israel and four from military operations inside of Gaza. In addition, 19 Israelis had been wounded, including four children.
Reviewing general access conditions, Ms. Mancusi said that fuel supply remained a concern and that 30 out of 87 ambulances run by the Ministry of Health and the Red Crescent in the Gaza Strip had been unable to function as a result of fuel shortage. The Gaza water utility reported that all 140 water wells in the Gaza Strip had now run out of fuel, leaving all Gazans with at best intermittent water supply. In terms of UNRWA’s operations, Ms. Mancusi said that four UNRWA schools in Gaza and Rafah had sustained damage as a result of IDF operations in the area. On 2 March, only 12 out of 214 UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip had been operational. Attendance at UNRWA schools in northern Gaza was zero at the moment.
Ms. Mancusi said that UNRWA fully endorsed the Secretary-General’s condemnation of Israel’s disproportionate, indiscriminate and excessive use of force, as well as the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel. UNRWA urged a return to peaceful dialogue as the only way out of this cycle of attack and counter attack. It was critical at this time that all sides exercised restraint, allowing a return to the peace process, and at the same time allowing UNRWA and other humanitarian actors to carry out their work. Further details were available in the background note at the back of the room.
Dorothea Krimitsas of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that over the last few days, the ICRC had been coordinating medical evacuations in Gaza under difficult conditions. In some cases, ambulances had had to wait several hours before being able to come to the help of the wounded. In the last few days, operating theatres and intensive care units had been working around the clock, putting medical staff under immense strain. ICRC’s priority now was to ensure that the hospitals in Gaza had the capacity to treat the wounded and that they had the necessary resources and supplies to do so. The warehouses of the ICRC had enough medical stocks to deal with the current emergency, but that could change very quickly. ICRC was also conducting evaluations of the water supply, as well as the damage caused by military operations, and was providing families with tents and hygiene kits. ICRC would continue to focus on the protection of the civilians in the area.
