Hostilities in Gaza and Israel - OCHA situation report (4 August 2014)

This report is produced by OCHA oPt in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 2 August (1500 hrs) to 3 August (1500 hrs). The next report will be issued on 4 August.

Highlights

Although the Israeli military presence has been scaled back in parts of Gaza, hostilities have continued. In the last 24 hours, at least 192 persons have reportedly been killed or their bodies recovered.A Israeli missile landed outside the gate of an UNRWA school in Rafah, killing at least nine people, including women and children, and injuring approximately 45.
Children continue to bear the brunt of the crisis, with 373 killed and at least 2,744 injured.
The public health system is on the verge of collapse: while the number of casualties continues to grow, additional hospitals and clinics have reported damage due to hostilities.
Up to 25 per cent of Gaza's population may now be forcibly displaced, of whom 270,000 are hosted in UNRWA shelters alone.
A humanitarian pause is urgently needed to complete search and rescue operations, repair critical water and electricity infrastructure, access remote areas, and carry out needs assessments.

Situation Overview

Although the Israeli military presence has been scaled back in Gaza, hostilities continued for the 27th successive day, resulting in mounting casualties, the continuing destruction of infrastructure and a rise in internally displaced persons (IDPs). This is adding to the unfolding humanitarian disaster about which senior UN officials warned yesterday, particularly in the health

sector. Gaza's medical services and facilities are nearing collapse, with hospitals and clinics overwhelmed. Critical supplies of medicines and disposables are almost depleted and the destruction of power supplies has left hospitals dependent on unreliable back-up generators. The status of hospitals and medical facilities as protected objects under international law continues to be violated with more attacks reported since the last situation update (see Infrastructure below).

Gaza's sole power plant remains shut down after being shelled on 29 July. Repairs may take months to complete, exacerbating the electricity crisis. This affects private households, companies and public services provision, including water, sanitation and health facilities. Access to food is also increasingly affected: bakeries cannot meet the additional demand for bread, triggered by the lack of electricity in households, while the inaccessibility of agricultural lands has resulted in fewer fresh crops and a significant increase in prices for some vegetables. There are also reports of fishermen jeopardizing their lives by going 50 meters out to the sea to feed their families.

Children continue to bear the brunt of the crisis. The number of children killed stands at 373 with at least 2,744 injured. A minimum of 373,000 children require direct and specialised psychosocial support based on the number of families who have experienced death, injury or loss of home since the beginning of the emergency. Children are showing symptoms of distress and cling to parents, who might also suffer from sleeping and eating disorders, nightmares, nervousness, and feelings of depression, guilt, anger and helplessness. These conditions worsen with the realization that there is no guaranteed safe space in Gaza, including UNRWA schools, as underlined again by the attack this morning in Rafah. On six occasions since the start of the conflict, UNRWA schools sheltering the displaced have been subject to shelling.

I watched the missile falling on my home. My home burned. It burned all my toys, clothes and my room. I think I will not survive.

A nine-year- old girl from Rafah to an UNRWA counselor.

Hostilities and casualties

The Rafah area in southern Gaza continues to be the main focus of hostilities, with the Israeli military still present in the area. Rescue workers report recovering over 70 bodies from the area today but parts of Rafah are still inaccessible because of ongoing hostilities. A strike on an UNRWA school in Rafah today, which killed at least nine people, is the seventh incident in which an UNRWA shelter has been hit. The UN Secretary-General, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the UNRWA Commissioner General have issued separate statements condemning this incident and calling for an independent investigation.

Since the last situation update, at least 192 persons, many of whose status still needs to be verified, have reportedly been killed. This brings the cumulative death toll among Palestinians to at least 1,717, according to preliminary data collected by the Protection Cluster from various sources, which includes 343 persons (20 per cent), who could not be identified or their status established. Of the fatalities whose identity and status could be verified (1,374), nearly 85 per cent (1,176 people) are believed to be civilians, including 377 children (27 per cent) and 196 women (14 per cent), and 14 per cent (198) members of armed groups. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, as of 20:00 on 2 August, 9,078 Palestinians, including 2,744 children, had been injured.

The Secretary-General is profoundly dismayed over the appalling escalation of violence and loss of hundreds of Palestinian civilian life since the breach of the humanitarian ceasefire on 1 August. The resurgence in fighting has only exacerbated the man-made humanitarian and health crisis wreaking havoc in Gaza. Restoring calm can be achieved through resumption of the ceasefire and negotiations by the parties in Cairo to address the underlying issues.

Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on attack outside UNRWA shelter, 3 August.

Among the most serious incidents recorded during the reporting period include:

2 August, 14:30; the Israeli air force fired at least one missile, destroying the three- storey house, home to five families, of Yousef Dawoud Abu Madi, 68, in Nuseirat refugee camp. Six family members were killed, including the owner, his son, and four children. Another 10 people were injured, including three children and four women.
2 August, 15:00; the Israeli air force bombed the house of Mohammed Ayyad Abu Taha, which is located in the Al Shabura refugee camp in Rafah. The house was destroyed and four of its residents were killed; including two children and one woman. Another three members of the family were injured.
3 August 01:45; the Israeli air force bombed the house of Ahmed Sweelim Al Roumi, 53, which is located in the Al Hashsh neighborhood in Rafah. The house was destroyed and three of the owner's sons and a daughter – all children – were killed. His wife and two other sons were injured.
3 August 06:40; an Israeli aerial attack on the house of Al Ghoul family in Rafah resulted in the killing of eight family members including two women, three children (1 month, three years and 13 years old) and injury to seven others.
Since the launch of the Israeli military operation, hundreds of homes have reportedly been directly targeted by Israeli airstrikes, and it is estimated that at least 945 houses have been totally destroyed or severely damaged in this manner, causing civilian casualties, including multiple members of the same families Up to 30 July, at least 76 families have lost three or more family members in the same incident, for a total of 407 fatalities. Such cases raise concerns about the targeting of civilians and civilian objects and the launching of indiscriminate attacks.

Indiscriminate firing by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza into southern and central Israel continued, with most falling in open areas or intercepted by the Iron Dome system, resulting in no additional fatalities. Since 8 July, three civilians in Israel have been killed, including one foreign national, and dozens directly injured by rockets or shrapnel. The number of Israeli military fatalities is now 64, as the soldier who Israeli authorities believed to have been captured on 1 August, has officially been declared dead.

Displacement

In the last 24 hours, approximately 10,000 more IDPS are taking shelters in UNRWA schools. As of this afternoon, UNRWA was providing shelter to 269,793 in 90 schools throughout the Gaza Strip. This represents an average of approximately 3,000 IDPs per shelter, which normally have the capacity to accommodate only 500 people. Another 15,741 IDPs are residing in 19 government schools and other institutions and some 7,000 are reportedly seeking refuge in public buildings/ informal shelters. The Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) estimates that the number of persons staying with host families throughout the Gaza Strip could be as many as 200,000. The total number of IDPs in Gaza is estimated at approximately 485,000, which represent one quarter of the Gaza population.

Overcrowding at shelters is challenging the already stretched capacity to provide IDPs with basic necessities, maintain hygiene conditions, and prevent the outbreak of epidemics. While showers in shelters have improved personal hygiene and decreased the risk of spread of disease, an accelerated level of diarrhea has been reported among children. WHO and UNRWA are monitoring health in shelters in order to prevent and control any outbreak of communicable disease.

Hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering in terrible conditions, pushing UNRWA's coping capacity to the edge.

Robert Turner, UNRWA's Director of Operations in the Gaza Strip, 2 August.

Infrastructure and services

In the past 24 hours, an UNRWA school and two government schools have been affected by shelling. In the most serious incident, a missile fired by Israeli forces landed outside the gate of an UNRWA school in Rafah, killing at least nine people, including women and children, and injuring approximately 45. The school was a designated emergency shelter which had been hosting more than 3,000 people displaced by fighting in the area. This is the third occasion in 10 days that a UN school had been hit. Earlier this week, Israeli tank shells struck an UNRWA school in Jabalia, killing at least 15 people, including four children.

The Secretary-General strongly condemns the killing today of at least 10 Palestinian civilians in shelling outside of an UNRWA school in Rafah providing shelter to thousands of civilians. The attack is yet another gross violation of international humanitarian law, which clearly requires protection by both parties of Palestinian civilians, UN staff and UN premises, among other civilian facilities… United Nations shelters must be safe zones not combat zones. The Israel Defence Forces have been repeatedly informed of the location of these sites. This attack, along with other breaches of international law, must be swiftly investigated and those responsible held accountable. It is a moral outrage and a criminal act.

Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on attack outside UNRWA shelter, 3 August

In total, 141 schools (90 UNRWA and 51 government schools) have been affected by shelling due to their close proximity to targeted sites. No information is available on schools in the eastern part of Gaza Strip and Beit Hanoun, due to the security situation. In the last 24 hours, another government-run kindergarten in West Gaza was affected by shelling, brining to four the number of kindergartens which have reported significant damage so far, although this number is likely to increase substantially once a full assessment can be conducted.

More hospitals reported damage by missiles, rockets and shrapnel from attacks in their vicinity, and are also facing shortages of services staff and of fuel, water and fuel. According to preliminary information, Al Amal hospital in Khan Yunis was hit by a missile on August 3 but no details of damage or possible injuries are available. The Cardiac Hospital in Gaza also suffered damage to the cardiac lab, administration building, windows and an ambulance and one person was injured. The Patients Friends Hospital also reported damage to one of their ambulances.

Al Asqa Hospital, which has been working at 50 per cent capacity following at attack on 21 July in which at least three people were killed, reported being hit on the roof by a drone missile on 30 July which caused major damage to the female medical department and injured a nurse. The Gaza European Hospital, located in an area where access has become dangerous, between Rafah and Khan Younis, reported stoppage of its water supplies, forcing the 250-bed hospital to a bring water truck which can supply only 50 per cent of its needs. On 2 August, its main generator shut down, the daily supply of bread did not reach the hospital, and the laundry services was not working due to the manager not being able to report to work.

Key humanitarian priorities

Protection of civilians: ensuring respect for the IHL principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution in attack.

Humanitarian space: increased access for humanitarian workers to carry out life-saving activities, for example, through regular and meaningful humanitarian pauses or corridors for the evacuation of the injured. This is needed among other reasons, to complete search and rescue operations in several areas, and repair critical water and electricity infrastructure.

Additional fuel supply: needed to operate backup generators at essential facilities, including water, sanitation and health, for longer hours.

Scale up response to IDPs: additional shelters are needed to reduce overcrowding and accommodate new IDPs, alongside the replenishment of food, water and hygiene materials, and NFI stocks. Assistance for IDPs living with host families also needs to be increased, particularly the provision of NFIs and water and hygiene kits.

Update on Gaza Crossings:

Erez: Open from 09:00 to 13:00 for pre-coordinated movement only.

Beit Hanoun (Arba-Arba): Closed until further notice but still accessible.

Kerem Shalom: The crossing was open today from 10:00-15:00. On 2 August, 37 truckloads of goods entered, mostly food

items, medicine and mattresses, in addition to fuel.

Rafah: The crossing was open today, but is inaccessible due to ongoing hostilities in the area.

Humanitarian needs and response

Protection

Needs

At least 373,000 children require direct and specialized psychosocial support (PSS). Children are showing symptoms of increasing distress, including bed wetting, clinging to parents and nightmares.
Child protection and psychosocial support is urgently required to address issues of child abuse, exploitation and violence inside shelters and refuges.
Thousands of explosive remnants of war are left in civilian areas affected by conflict, causing a major threat to children.

Response

Protection Cluster members continue monitoring and investigating incidents to identify possible violations of international law, as well as consolidating information on civilian fatalities.
Since 8 July, emergency PSS teams and PRCS teams have been able to provide initial psychosocial support to 2,343 children across the Gaza Strip.
Since 20 July, 200,000 child protection and PSS text messages have been sent to Jawal subscribers in Gaza.
Since 13 July, the Sawa Child Protection Helpline has provided counselling to 1,277 callers, including 377 children.
Since 18 July, the Youth Empowerment Center, in cooperation with UNRWA, has provided PSS for 645 displaced children and 500 caregivers in UNRWA shelters.
World Vision is providing PSS to children in hospitals and UNRWA shelters.
UNRWA Community Mental Health Programme has reached a total of 48,616 children since the beginning of the emergency. Activities include playing, relaxation, meditation, drawing and storytelling. UNRWA counsellors also provide psychological first aid, orientation and counselling to parents. Partners of the Community Mental Health Programme have provided PSS services to an additional 27,306 children in coordination with UNRWA.
Since 18 July, Tamer Institute has been conducting daily activities for children in their libraries. It has also started to distribute children's books and games to children and their families hosted in the Holy Land school shelter.
UNICEF through its partnership with AMAAN organization is providing daily PSS and extracurricular activities to 2,000 children in six shelters in Gaza city, that are managed by Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) and other NGOs.
UNRWA continues to prove basic unexploded ordnance (UXO) awareness in shelters UNRWA's television channel shows clips about the danger of UXO.
Since 13 July, UNMAS has been distributing leaflets including safety messages on UXOs at UNRWA schools.

Gaps and Constraints

Ongoing hostilities continue to impede movement of child protection staff and emergency PSS teams, as well as access to basic services for children and their families
Local organizations continue to face fuel and electricity shortages.
Quicker coordination is required to allow for urgent evacuations of injured people to hospitals in East Jerusalem.
Sawa Child Protection Help Line needs additional trained counsellors.
The number of social workers and psychosocial support counsellors at hospitals is insufficient to meet current needs.
Displaced children and their families hosted with community members remain largely unreached by child protection interventions.
Due to ongoing military operations, verification of information, in particular in regards to casualties, is difficult.

Shelter and Non-Food Items (NFI) Needs

Opening of government schools identified as potential shelters is required to accommodate new and expected IDPs.
10,690families (approximately 64,150 individuals) whose homes were totally destroyed or heavily damaged are in need of emergency NFI kits. In the medium term, they will also need cash assistance.
Emergency shelter repair interventions are needed for about 5435 families (32,600 individuals), whose homes were slightly damaged but are still inhabitable. Another 30,550 families (an estimated 183,300 individuals), whose homes sustained minor damage need basic NFI assistance.

Response

269,793 people are being provided with shelter in 90 designated UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip and an estimated 15,731 individuals are sheltered in 19 government and private schools. Additional thousands are taking shelter in public buildings, informal shelters and other facilities. More than 200,000 are believed to be sheltering with host families
On 2 August, UNRWA delivered 29 truckloads of NFIs, including blankets, mattresses, hygiene kits and cleaning supplies to shelters.

Gaps and Constraints

Cash assistance of over US$ 42 million is needed for 10,690 families to cover rental fees and urgent expenses.
Emergency shelter kits are required needed for 8,217 families.
Additional shelters for IDPs are required to reduce overcrowding at existing shelters and accommodate for the needs of new IDPs.
Thousands of IDPs have reportedly moved into shelters in the southern Gaza Strip due to ongoing hostilities over the course of the past 24 hours. The security situation hinders assistance to those newly displaced.
UNRWA's NFI stock at minimum level. Workers face difficulties accessing some storage warehouses safely.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Needs

1 5 million people in Gaza who are not taking shelter in designated IDP shelters have no or extremely restricted access to water, as water service providers cannot access WASH facilities to conduct daily operations and carry out needed repairs and maintenance. A humanitarian pause is urgently needed to allow access for technicians to restore the operations of critical WASH facilities, in particular water chlorination.
There is an urgent need for drinking water and water for domestic use as well as access to sanitation and hygiene articles for IDPs.
Fuel is urgently needed to operate critical WASH facilities.
Damaged electricity feeder lines, water and waste water lines need urgent repairs.

Response

UNRWA in cooperation with partners and donors improved the supply of potable water in the North and Gaza. In Rafah, UNRWA offered escorts to local water suppliers, and all shelters were supplied with potable water. During the reporting period, a total 433 cubic meters of potable water and 585 cubic meters of non-potable water were tankered to UNRWA shelters by the Agency, its suppliers and municipalities.
Oxfam GB, through local partners, continues to provide drinking water to UNRWA shelters, government schools, and informal shelters and to filling points in Khan Yunis, Ash Shuja'iyeh and Bani Suhaila.
Oxfam GB has provided 83 cubic meters of storage capacity to Khan Yunis and intends to start supplying the same amount of water daily to approximately 30,000 people.
PHG through Oxfam Quebec and Oxfam Italia, has distributed 70 water storage tanks and is planning to distribute further 130 water tanks. In addition, they purchased 22,000 litres of bottled water and distributed them for 51 informal shelter places and Shifa Hospital Staff.
UNRWA supplied fuel to vehicles, and offered logistical support to fuel distribution to municipalities and selected WASH facilities, including 29,100 litres of fuel delivered to the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) on 2 August.
The Palestinian Agricultural Development Association has distributed 290 plastic tanks since the beginning of the emergency.
Gaza municipality continues to carry out critical repairs to maintain necessary operations of the water and wastewater networks, as security permits.
On 2 August, UNRWA sanitation staff removed an estimated 277 tons of solid waste in Jabalia, Beach Camp, Nuseirat, Khan Younis and Rafah refugee camps.
UNRWA maintenance staff continued to install shower units and carry out critical repairs in shelters.

Gaps

UNRWA continues to struggle to provide potable water to IDPs in the Middle Area, Khan Younis and Rafah due to ongoing hostilities.
The damage sustained to the GPP (the Gaza Power Plant) on 29 July has had a devastating effect on all WASH facilities in Gaza.
Lack of energy to operate facilities and limitations on access hinder the critical operations of WASH facilities, including operations of water service providers as well as maintenance and repairs, with potential devastating consequences for the entire population of the Gaza Strip.
One of CMWU's dosing units for chlorination has sustained damage by attacks and is currently non-operational. The lack of chlorination may have serious public health implications.
The desalination plant in Deir El Balah continues to be non-operational after it sustained damage during airstrikes, further restricting the availability of much needed drinking water.
Solid waste collection in Gaza area continues to be affected by lack of access, posing health hazards to residents. The dumpsite in Juhor ad Dik remains inaccessible.

Health and Nutrition

Needs:

Emergency care for the increasing number of injuries remains a high priority.
The immediate health needs of IDPs remain a high priority as well, especially those with chronic diseases, those who are more vulnerable to communicable diseases, and pregnant women, new mothers and infants.
High numbers of patients are seeking care at hospitals for acute, non-trauma related reasons.
There is a need for a follow up at community level of all injured who were discharged from hospitals.
Fuel reserves for hospitals are decreasing more rapidly than anticipated due to the loss of the Gaza Power Plant. WHO is seeking solutions for fuel re-supply through donations from other sources, in addition to that provided by the Islamic Development Bank which had been intended to meet hospital needs for a six-month period.
Alongside an increase in the number of hospitals which have sustained damage by missiles, rockets and shrapnel from attacks in their vicinity, hospitals are also facing shortages of staff and water.

Response:

UNRWA health personnel are working together with shelter managers to raise awareness about food-related health risks as well as personal hygiene. UNRWA also cooperates with Palestinian Medical Relief Society, which served IDPs in three shelters with mobile health services.
WHO's first shipment of medical supplies, worth US$ 1 4 million donated by Switzerland, Norway, and Italy, was delivered to the MoH Central Drug Store in Gaza this week; additional shipments are scheduled to arrive over the next week.
Medical supply donated to MoH hospitals by Bahrain and the Jordanian army are en route.
On 1 August, a team of MoH specialist physicians and surgical nurses (24 members), led by the MoH Director of Hospitals, traveled to Gaza to assist colleagues in Gaza hospitals in neurosurgery, anesthesiology, plastic surgery, general trauma surgery, advanced orthopedics and burn management.
UNRWA offered logistical support to enable the distribution of 36,000 litres of fuel to WHO on 2 August for the operation of critical health facilities.
A team consisting of representatives from WHO, UNRWA and UNICEF visited three 1DP shelters on 2 August and found them to be overcrowded, in need of water and basic hygiene kits.

Gaps:

The destruction of the Gaza Power Plant (GPP) impedes the ability of the health sector to provide care for patients.
Shortage of medical equipment, supplies and specialized personnel means that complex surgeries for vascular, neurological and spine cord injuries are being referred outside of Gaza.
Lack of adequate protection of health facilities and personnel is impeding emergency assistance to sick and injured.
Only seven out of 21 UNRWA health centres were operating on 2 August due to ongoing hostilities.

Food Security

Needs

An estimated 485,000 IDPs are in need of emergency food assistance.
Emergency food assistance to thousands of displaced people in informal shelters in Rafah, Khan
Younis and Gaza city is urgently needed.
Additional bread production capacity is required due to lack of electricity in households.
More consistent distribution of nutritious, vitamin-rich food commodities to IDPs is needed to meet daily intake requirements,
in particular for children below the age of five, pregnant and lactating women, as well as elderly people.
Immediate emergency funds to cover massively increasing food needs of IDPs are required.
Animal feed for 4,000 breeders/herders should be provided in order to avoid further loss of livestock and additional erosion of
livelihood of herder’s communities.
Humanitarian access to allow for provision of food and other emergency assistance to the civilian population is urgently needed and should be guaranteed throughout the conflict.

Response

WFP, in cooperation with UNRWA, is providing ready-to-eat emergency food rations to all IDPs sheltered in UNRWA or government schools on a daily basis. As of 28 July, WFP has diversified the food basket with nutritious fortified biscuits for children (6 months up to two years old). On 2 August, UNRWA delivered 96 truckloads of food items to shelters.
WFP provided ready-to-eat emergency food rations to approximately 16,000 IDPs hosted in government schools and continues to provide food assistance to patients and hospital staff.
Food Security Sector partners are delivering complementary food distributions to IDPs at UNRWA and government schools. Other partners are reaching approximately 25,000 displaced persons in private shelters and host families.

Gaps and Constraints

IDPs residing in public schools and private shelters require food and other assistance. Immediate emergency funding to address the food needs of the increasing IDP population and for fodder provision for 4,000 herders.
Some food stores are located in areas which require 'prior coordination' due to the Israeli-imposed 'buffer zone" impeding the ability to provide much needed food assistance.
The Israeli military ground operation is limiting access to food warehouses and putting at risk the provision of food commodities for those in need. It also affects the regular emergency food distributions to more than 1 million people.
Inaccessibility of agricultural lands affect the availability of fresh crops along with significant increases in prices for some vegetables, hampering food security partners' ability to provide fresh crops to IDPs in non-UNRWA shelters.
The ongoing reduction of electricity supply has heavily impacted commercial activities, the milling capacity and the performance of bakeries.

Education

In the past 24 hours, three additional schools were damaged by shelling, including two government schools and one UNRWA school. The total of damaged schools since the start of the emergency stands at 141, including 50 government schools and 90 UNRWA schools, in need of repair.
Several buildings of the Islamic University in Gaza city sustained severe damages due to Israeli attacks and are in need of repair.
One government-run kindergarten in western Gaza was affected by shelling during the reporting period. A total of 4 kindergartens have been significantly damaged or destroyed since the start of the emergency, and are in need of repair / reconstruction.

Response

NTR

Gaps & Constraints

Access restrictions impede the ability to assess impact of hostilities and carry out repairs to damaged school infrastructure.
No information available about possible damage sustained to schools in the eastern part of the Gaza Strip and Beit Hanoun due to ongoing hostilities.

General Coordination

The Emergency Operations Centre EOC) continues its daily meetings, focusing primarily on the coordination of the IDP response and challenges related to humanitarian space. OCHA, UNRWA, Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA), Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PCRS) and Internal Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continue the coordination of opening up additional government schools for IDP shelters.

On 3 August, the Humanitarian Coordinator travelled to Gaza to meet with the Gaza-based EOC and other partners to coordinate humanitarian responses.

Funding

On 1 August, the Minister of Social Affairs and Minister of Agriculture of the State of Palestine, H.E. Mr. Shawqi Issa and the Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. James W. Rawley, launched the Gaza Crisis Appeal which outlines the planned humanitarian response of the HCT, including UNRWA to the current emergency. The appeal projects are intended to address urgent needs in Gaza and requirements currently stand at US$ 369 million The appeal is based on the latest analysis of the required emergency assistance to meet the most critical needs of the affected population and will be revised as further information becomes available.

A number of bilateral contributions have already been received from donors who have provided funding for urgent needs in the most critical sectors.

The 2014 Strategic Response Plan (SRP) for the oPt has received US$ 170 million (43 per cent) out of a total request of US$ 390 million Nearly 90 per cent of 1.9 million vulnerable people targeted in the SRP are in Gaza. Gaza-specific projects have received 32 per cent of their requested funding.

The Emergency Response Fund (ERF) is an additional mechanism available to fund interventions in Gaza through rapid and flexible support to affected civilian populations. The ERF has begun processing project applications in regards to the Gaza emergency.

To date, seven project proposals were approved for a total of US$ 1.6 million• ACF's two projects to provide emergency shelter and NFIs and water, sanitation and hygiene to affected families; Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) project to support for the emergency needs of neonatal units in Gaza hospitals by procurement of essential drugs and disposables; Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC) emergency intervention to support the continuation of health services in the northern area of Gaza Strip by providing dedication fuel and consumables to Al Awda hospital, Dan Church Aid and PARC projects to provide food packages and hygiene kits to IDPs hosted in Shelters in Deir Al Balah ,Rafah and Khan Yunis; by and UNMAS' project for the management of ERW to reduce the risk posed to civilians. In addition, a proposal by Palestinian Medical Relief Society — PMRC for Emergency Intervention,(totalling US$ 249,845) to build community support teams in Gaza Strip, is under process.

A number of donors have come forward with expressions of interest or pledges for the ERF; thus far, Denmark, Sweden, Italy and Ireland have pledged a combined sum of US$ 3.3 million Further funding for the ERF is still being sought. UN humanitarian agencies, in cooperation with NGO partners are finalizing an application to the CERF Rapid Response window covering urgent needs in food assistance, psychosocial support, WASH, rubble removal and critical drugs.

Background to the crisis

On 7 July 2014, the Israeli army launched a large military operation in the Gaza Strip, codenamed "Protective Edge", with the stated objective of stopping Palestinian rocket firing at southern Israel and destroying the military infrastructure of Hamas and other armed groups.

This development marked the collapse of the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire understanding reached between Israel and Hamas in November 2012, which has been gradually undermined since December 2013. The latest escalation round started in early June, characterized by an intensification of Israeli airstrikes and rockets launched from Gaza at southern Israel. Tensions further increased following the abduction and killing of three Israeli youths in the southern West Bank, on 12 June, which the Israeli government attributed to Hamas. Overall, in the period leading up to the start of the current operation a total of 15 Palestinians, including one civilian, were killed, and another 58 others, mostly civilians, injured, as a result of Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip; seven Israelis, five of whom were civilians, were injured due to rocket fire.

The current crisis comes against a backdrop of heightened vulnerability and instability. Unemployment increased dramatically since mid-2013, following a halt of the illegal tunnel trade, exacerbating the impact of the Israeli blockade in place since June 2007. Additionally, former de facto government employees, including the security forces, have not been paid salaries regularly since August 2013 and no salaries at all since April 2014. Delivery of basic services has been also undermined due to an ongoing energy crisis, involving power outages of 12 hours per day.

For further information, please contact:

Katleen Maes, Head of the humanitarian Emergency Operations Center in Gaza, maes@un.org, +972 592 911 047

Yehezkel Lein, Head of Analysis, Communications and Protection Unit, OCHA oPt, lein@un.org, +972 54 331 1809

For media enquiries, please contact:

Hayat Abu-Saleh, Communications and Information Analyst, OCHA oPt, abusaleh@un.org, +972 (0) 54 3311816 For more information, please visit www.ochaopt.org

Endnote

¹Data on fatalities and destruction of property is consolidated by the Protection and Shelter clusters based on preliminary information, and is subject to change based on further verifications.

Hostilities in Gaza and Israel – OCHA situation report (4 August 2014)

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Hostilities in Gaza and Israel – OCHA situation report (4 August 2014)

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