Humanitarian update (June/July 2006) – OCHA report

Humanitarian Update Jun / Jul 2006

Access and Protection

The months of June and July were particularly dif. cult for the protection of civilians (222 Palestinians killed) and humanitarian access in the oPt. Israel launched a military operation into the Gaza Strip and continued search and arrest campaigns throughout the West Bank. In addition, on 12 July, Israel retaliated strongly to the taking captive of two Israeli soldiers by Hizbollah and this developed into a full scale war in Lebanon between Israel and Hizbollah. The war diverted renewed international efforts to reduce hostilities in the Gaza Strip and address the urgent humanitarian needs there.

Context: 

Gaza Strip 

In June and July, 198 Palestinians were killed, including 44 children, and 666 injured in the Gaza Strip. The majority of these injuries occurred following 28 June when the IDF launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip (code named 'Operation Summer Rains') which continued throughout July. The operation was launched following an attack by Palestinian militants on an IDF observation post at Kerem Shalom on the border with Gaza Strip that resulted in one IDF soldier being taken captive and two others killed.

However, prior to 25 June, Israeli-Palestinian hostilities had already escalated leaving 34 Palestinians dead and 76 injured in June (compared to 20 deaths and 30 injuries in May). (1) The number of Palestinian rockets fired into Israel (2) as well as IDF artillery shelling, IAF air strikes and targeted killings had also increased signi. cantly in June compared to May. (3) On the morning of 24 June, the IDF entered the Gaza Strip in a special operation and took two Palestinian prisoners, for the first time since the disengagement last year.(4)

Key Humanitarian Issues: 

Protection: 

Since 28 June and the beginning of the IDF operation in the Gaza Strip, the IDF fired on average between 200 – 250 artillery shells each day and the IAF conducted more than 220 air strikes including the bombing of the Gaza power plant on 28 June. The destruction of the plant's transformers left Gazans with electricity for an average of between six to eight hours per day. This also led to a water shortage across the Gaza Strip with Palestinians in urban areas receiving as little as two to three hours of water supply per day as the water distribution has not been synchronised with electrical supply.

The IDF operation has caused 5,100 Palestinians to flee from their homes at different times and seek shelter in UNRWA schools. Thousands of other Palestinians are estimated to have been displaced and sought shelter elsewhere. The operation led to the destruction of 34 Palestinian structures and 3,666 dunums (367 hectares) of agricultural land.

West Bank 

Violence also continued in the West Bank with 22 Palestinians killed and 326 injured in June and July (compared to 21 killed and 20 injured in May). The IDF conducted over 1,000 search and arrest campaigns in these two months and detained/arrested almost 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank (compared to 360 search and arrest campaigns in May leading to 400 arrests/ detentions).

In June and July 2006, . ve medical clinics and hospitals in the West Bank were searched by the IDF. Twenty (20) charitable institutions in the West Bank were searched by the IDF, and had their computers and . les con. scated. Three charitable organisations were closed down. checkpoints. The IDF denied access through checkpoints for 22 tankers delivering water to Palestinian communities.

Access: 

Gaza Strip 

Throughout June and July, access to the Gaza Strip continued to be restricted by the Israeli authorities. Following the 25 June attack, Karni crossing was closed for 19 days and only open for imports on other days. Rafah crossing was open for two days and Kerem Shalom and Sufa crossing remained closed.

In June, the total fishing catch dropped to 291 tonnes from 880 tonnes in May. Since 25 June, the Israeli authorities prevented all fishing activities and the fishing catch dropped to zero. By the end of July, there was no fish available in the local market. Approximately 35,000 persons rely on fishing for livelihoods.

West Bank 

No Palestinian workers from the West Bank were allowed to enter East Jerusalem and Israel to work during two separate occasions in July (between 20 -25 July and on 31 July) and the number of physical obstacles on Palestinian roads increased to 540 compared to 519 obstacles in May.

In June and July, the number of access incidents involving humanitarian organisations, including the UN, dropped to 115 access incidents compared to 150 in the month of May. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported 31 denials and 34 delays of ambulances at IDF checkpoints, again a decrease from May figures (44 denials and nine delays of access). The IDF denied access through checkpoints for 22 tankers delivering water to Palestinian communities.

Footnotes: 

(1) A further seven Palestinians were killed (including . ve children) and 33 injured on a beach in northern Gaza in circumstances that have been contested by the Government of Israel (GoI) and Palestinian Authority (PA).

(2) The number of homemade rockets . red by Palestinians increased from 134 in May to 275 in June.

(3) In June the IAF launched 122 air strikes compared to 14 in May. IDF artillery shelling into mostly northern areas of the Gaza Strip increased from 792 shells in May to 1,367 in June.

(4) Maariv, 25 June 2006, "Arrest Operation Deep Inside Gaza Strip" p.6.

Full report (pdf* format – 1.15 MB)