Gaza Strip: OCHA humanitarian situation report (20-27 June 2007)

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SUMMARY POINTS:

1. There have been seven IDF incursions into Gaza, resulting in at least 17 Palestinian deaths (including six civilians among them two children) and 39 injuries. Two IDF soldiers were injured. On 25 June, an Israeli helicopter-fired missile strike killed one Palestinian militant and injured two others including one bystander in Gaza.

2. Twenty-nine Qassams have been fired from the Gaza Strip by Palestinian militants towards Israel injuring 3 Israelis in Sderot on 24 June; damaging two buildings on 26 June.

3. The official closure of the three main crossing points in and out of the Gaza Strip remains in place- Rafah (17 days), Karni (16 days) and Erez for traders (14 days). The lack of Palestinian-Israeli security coordination is the principal reason for the closures.

4. Between 19- 27 June, progress was made in the entrance of humanitarian assistance and some commercial commodities into Gaza, via Kerem Shalom¹ and Sufa crossings.

5. The UN estimates that 175 single trailers truck of basic foods and essentials are required daily to enter Gaza on a 5 day/week basis to meet minimum needs. During the last week, only 21% of the total daily consumption needs were met by imports.

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¹ 23 June- Israeli weekend day/ 25-26 June- Kerem Shalom closed following Qassam rocket attacks in the vicinity of the crossing.

6. Basic food supplies remaining in Gaza as of 25 June: Flour 9 days, Sugar 3 days, Rice 15 days, Oil 14 days, Beans 51 days.

7. There must be a continuous flow of basic supplies and commercial stocks and all crossings reopened to avoid shortages. The absence of any open crossing for exports will also have a significant impact on the economy, markets and the purchasing power of the 1.5 million Gazan population that is already deeply impoverished.

8. The food items provided by WFP constitute a basic food basket and reach 275,000 persons. UNRWA, which distributes food assistance to 860,000 persons, provides a food package that is supplemental and meets 61% of the recommended calorie intake for two months. In both cases, the food parcel needs to be complimented by additional produce including fruit, vegetables, and meat and dairy items purchased on the market by the individual beneficiary.

9. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reports that 81 items on the Essential Drugs List are out of stock while low stock levels are reported for a further 43 items, largely a result of the PA financial crisis and not due to access difficulties. According to WHO, a total of 162 patients left Gaza for Israel between 19 and 27 June 10. UNDP and some UNRWA development/infrastructure projects worth over $150 million are halted. The import of key electrical and sanitation parts and supplies has been suspended.

ACCESS AND CROSSINGS

Progress was made in ensuring entrance of humanitarian assistance through at Kerem Shalom and Sufa crossings. Average flows through each crossing during the period 19-27 June were as follows:

• Kerem Shalom – An average of 17 single trailer trucks entered daily (ranging approximately from 253 to 483 Metric tons).

• Sufa: 56 trucks (1000Mt) of animal feed on 24 June, 85 trucks (1700 Mt) of essential food and agricultural supplies on 25 June, including 8 WFP trucks (200 Mt), 70 trucks on 26 June, 79 trucks on 27 June.

Karni crossing was also expected to reopen on 27 June for the first time in over two weeks for 5000 tons of grain stocks for the Gaza flour mills. Karni is the only crossing capable to handle this large capacity of flour. The crossing remains closed due to an ongoing IDF incursion in eastern Gaza city.

Rafah Crossing has now been closed since 10 June and there are reports of over 5,000 Palestinians waiting at Al Arish on the Egyptian border and the surrounding area to return to Gaza.

Erez crossing remains open for staff working for international agencies and health referral cases to Israel. Coordination is required with the Israeli DCL for those national and international staff departing Gaza.

There have been no interruptions in the Nahal Oz fuel line supplying diesel, petrol and cooking gas to the Gaza Strip.

INTERNAL FOOD AVAILABILITY AND ACESSIBILITY

Over the course of the last week the priority of international agencies has been to supply immediate food assistance to Gaza’s 1.5 million people. This assistance has come primarily from the WFP, a donation of over 400 tons from the Jordanian government and also from the commercial sector.

UNRWA currently has stocks locally of most products for its food basket, except for milk powder and flour. UNRWA will be able to complete its next round of food distribution due to prior stocking of supplies inside Gaza. The Agency remains concerned about replenishment of its supplies for the next food distribution. It has 104 containers of humanitarian assistance waiting at the Ashdod port to enter the Gaza Strip.

On the basis of market surveys conducted by WFP between 18-20 June and 25 June price rises have been recorded for wheat flour (34%), milk powder (30%) and rice (20.5%) sugar (2%) and vegetable oil (6%).

Humanitarian agencies remained concerned about the limited capacity at Kerem Shalom crossing. Since it has been opened, the maximum number of trucks crossing on any one day has been 25. Even assuming that the capacity could be doubled, the total number of trucks entering on any one day would fall short of the 200/daily average at Karni crossing before the closure. Additionally, all items entering Kerem Shalom have to be broken down and palletized which is time-consuming and logistically more difficult than Karni – where goods entered through large containers.

HEALTH

The ICRC is facilitating the passage of critical patients out of Gaza to Israel. Approximately 300-400 critical patients/month are referred to medical services abroad due to the lack of services locally. No patients have been able to able to leave Gaza for treatment in Egypt due to the continued closure at Rafah crossing.

Medical supplies provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO), ICRC and USAID have been entering the Gaza Strip over the last week via Kerem Shalom.

On 28 June UNICEF brought in 98,000 vials of MMR, BCG and TT vaccines through Erez crossing along with 50 first aid kits and urgently required blood analaysers.

Additional supplies of DTP, Rubella, Polio and Hepatitis B vaccine were sent by UNICEF on 25 June.

INFRASTRUCTURE

There has been a suspension of development projects that are reliant on the import of resources from outside the Gaza Strip and a halt in some key infrastructure projects:

PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS

In two separate incidents today during the incursion into Shejayeh, six civilians were killed including two children aged 14 and 16 when they were hit by shells reported to have been fired by the IDF.

Today’s IDF incursions interrupted the UNRWA Summer Learning and Games Programmes in both Khan Younis and Shejayeh. Approximately 195,000 children in Gaza are participating in the UNRWA summer programs.

United Nations – Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

occupied Palestinian territory

P.O. Box 38712 East Jerusalem

Phone: (972) 2 – 5829962 / 5825853, F ax: (972) 2 – 5825841

Ema il : ochaopt@un.org, www.ochaopt.org

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