This report is produced by OCHA oPt in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 22 July (1500 hrs) to 23 July (1500 hrs). The next report will be issued on 24 July.

Highlights

  • According to preliminary information, at least 697 Palestinians, including at least 518 civilians, are reported to have been killed. This includes 170 children and 86 women.
  • Intense overcrowding in shelters raises increasing concerns, as mass displacement continues: approximately 140,000 IDPs now seeking shelter in 83 UNRWA schools and additional thousands sheltering in Ministry of Education-run schools and with relatives. Low water supply to shelters is a major concern.
  • Two Israeli missiles landed in the vicinity of the Gaza Power Plant causing it to suspend operations, further reducing power supply.
  • In the last 24 hours, six more UNRWA schools have been damaged by shelling.

Situation Overview

The casualty toll among Palestinian civilians continues to increase, with the Gaza emergency in its third week and the Israeli ground offensive continuing for the sixth consecutive day. A three kilometer-wide strip, encompassing 44 per cent of Gaza’s territory has been declared a ‘Islo-go zone’ by the Israeli military. There are reports that Khuza’a, east of Khan Yunis, was exposed to severe artillery fire over night and today, as Israeli forces reportedly entered several hundred metres into the village. According to preliminary information, at least 20 persons were killed. An evacuation of casualties has not yet taken place as ambulances await guarantees of safe access to the area.

Hostilities and casualties

Since the last situation update, 98 persons have been reported killed or their bodies recovered from under the rubble in Ash Shuja’iyeh neighborhood. Many residents of Ash Shuja’iyeh, including multiple family members, are reportedly still missing under the rubble of their homes, in areas that are still inaccessible. At approximately 17:00 yesterday, medical crews recovered the bodies of four members of the Hajjaj family, whose home was destroyed in an airstrike on the neighborhood on 21 July. The killing of multiple members of the same families as a result of the targeting of homes remains a matter of serious concern. Human rights organizations have estimated that since the start of the emergency, the Israeli military has targeted and destroyed or severely damaged 564 residential properties, including many multi-storey buildings, causing civilian casualties and displacing the survivors.

The targeting of civilian homes is a violation of international humanitarian law, unless the homes are being used for military purposes. Attacks against military objectives must offer a definite military advantage in the prevailing circumstances, and precautions must be taken to protect civilian lives. The fact that an attempt to warn civilians has been made, does not release the attacker from its obligation to spare civilian lives. A number of incidents, along with the high number of civilian deaths, belie the claim that all necessary precautions are being taken. People — particularly the elderly, sick and those with disabilities — are not given sufficient time to scramble out of their homes. When they do manage to run out into the street, there is nowhere to hide and no way of knowing where the next shell or missile will land.

Statement of UN High Commissioner Navi Pillay to the Human Rights Council 21st Special Session, 23 July 2014.

The cumulative fatality toll among Palestinians, as of this afternoon, stands at 697, according to preliminary data collected by the Protection Cluster from various sources. This includes at least 518 civilians (74 per cent), 108 members of armed groups and 71 persons whose status is yet unknown. A third of the civilian fatalities (170) are children. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 3,993 Palestinians, including 1,213 children and 698 women, had been injured as at 21.00 on 22 July. Thousands of explosive remnants of war are left in civilian areas affected by the conflict, causing a threat to children, especially boys who are usually the first victims of these dangerous items.

Despite a decrease since the start of the ground offensive, indiscriminate firing by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza into southern and central Israel continued, resulting in the death of one foreign migrant worker and bringing the toll of civilian casualties in Israel to three. During the reporting period, another seven Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, bringing the number of military fatalities to 35 since the beginning of the ground incursion, including one missing in action and presumed dead. Most international airlines have suspended international flights to Israel after a rocket launched from Gaza on Tuesday struck a house in Yehud near Ben-Gurion Airport international airport.

Israeli children, and their parents and other civilians, also have a right to live without the constant fear that a rocket fired from Gaza may land on their houses or their schools, killing or injuring them. Once again, the principles of distinction and precaution are clearly not being observed during such indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas by Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups.

Statement of UN High Commissioner Navi Pillay to the Human Rights Council 21st Special Session, 23 July 2014.

Displacement

As a result of the hostilities, tens of thousands have continued to flee their homes in search of a safe haven. As of this afternoon, UNRWA was hosting approximately 140,000 IDPs in 83 schools operated as emergency shelters and safe spaces throughout the Gaza Strip, up from 117,000 yesterday. That is about six per cent of the Gazan population and more than double those sheltered by UNRWA during the three-week long Israeli Operation "Cast Lead" in 2008/2009.There are eight government schools (the majority in Gaza City), which have been officially opened as emergency shelters and are currently hosting several thousand IDPs; they are managed by the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs and their exact locations have been communicated to the Israeli military. Additionally, an unknown number of IDPs have taken refuge in other government schools, not opened as shelters, as well as in buildings under construction, both of which are considered unsafe. Last night 4,850 people were residing in five government schools, a mosque and Gaza city’s Greek Orthodox church. This is in addition to the approximately 19,400 individuals who have been displaced, as destruction or damage to their homes has rendered them uninhabitable.

Intense overcrowding, compounded by the limited access of humanitarian staff to certain areas, is increasingly undermining the living conditions at many shelters and raising protection concerns. Water supply has been particularly challenging, with IDPs in some shelters being supplied with as little as three liters per capita per day, to be used for all purposes including drinking and hygiene. The largest concern relates to the current conditions and shortages at eight UNRWA schools in the northern area, which could not be reached from outside for two consecutive days, due to the ongoing fighting.

Public infrastructure and services

Public infrastructure and services continued to be struck and sustain damages, including health facilities and ambulances. In the early morning of 23 July, two Israeli missiles landed in the vicinity of Gaza Power Plant (GPP) causing it to suspend operations. Initial reports suggest that two generators in one of the blocks were damaged by the attack and may need extensive repairs. Power supply is further reduced to a few hours per day in Gaza. GPP engineers are seeking guarantees from the Israeli authorities that they will not be targeted while conducting repairs. The ICRC will provide daily coordination for the GPP team to go to the power plant, escorts are not being provided at this point, as these escorts are needed for life-saving missions.

In the last 24 hours, six more UNRWA schools have been affected by shelling. In total, 116 schools (75 UNRWA and 41 government schools have been affected since last week due to their close proximity to targeted sites. At 06:00 on 23 July, an UNRWA school being used to shelter IDPs in Deir al Balah was shelled. No casualties were reported. Since the start of the emergency at least 18 medical facilities have been hit by airstrikes and shelling. Under IHL, medical personnel, hospitals and ambulances, exclusively assigned to medical duties, must be spared and allowed at all times to carry out their duties.

On 23 July, the Israeli military shelled Al Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital east of Gaza City, severely damaging the building. The Israeli army said they had targeted specific sites in the hospital compound after fire was opened from the location on several occasions. The hospital was struck twice by Israeli tank shells last week, forcing doctors and patients to evacuate the premises. At approximately 14:30 today, Israeli tanks fired a number of shells into the garden of Beit Hanoun Hospital, damaging the water network and reportedly injuring ambulance drivers.

For the second time, UNRWA has announced that, in the course of the regular inspection of its premises, rockets were discovered hidden in a vacant school. The school is situated between two other UNRWA schools that currently each accommodate 1,500 internally displaced persons. UNRWA ‘strongly and unequivocally condemns the group or groups responsible for this flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law.’

The Secretary-General is alarmed to hear that rockets were placed in an UNRWA school in Gaza and that subsequently these have gone missing. He expresses his outrage, and regret, at the placing of weapons in a UN-administered school. By doing so, those responsible are turning schools into potential military targets, and endangering the lives of innocent children, UN employees working in such facilities, and anyone using the UN schools as shelter.

Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on weapons at UNRWA school in Gaza, 23 July.

Key humanitarian priorities

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

New humanitarian pause: urgently needed, among other reasons, to complete search and rescue operations in Ash Shuja’iyeh; reach IDPs and families in northern Gaza; and repair critical water and electricity infrastructure.

Scale up response to IDPs: additional shelters are needed to reduce overcrowding and accommodate new IDPs, alongside the replenishment of food, water, and NFI stocks.

Update on Gaza Crossings:

Erez: Open during specific hours for pre-coordinated movement of UN, ICRC, INGOs, journalists and medical evacuations. Coordination challenges for movement through Erez are disrupting transit. Opening hours are now being reassessed daily and can therefore vary. As a result of security developments, UNDSS called off all UN movement planned for this afternoon.

Beit Hanoun (Arba-Arba): Closed until further notice. As was the case yesterday, movement in and out of Gaza today does not include processing by 4/4.

Kerem Shalom: Open today from 10:00. Yesterday 86 trucks of mostly food items, including 28 of food and mattresses for UNRWA, four for WFP and one of medicine for ICRC entered in addition to approximately 600,000 litres of fuel and 85 tons of cooking.

Rafah: Open today from 9:00-15:00. No goods entered yesterday.

Humanitarian needs and response

Protection

Needs

  • At least 125,000 children require direct and specialized psychosocial support (PSS) on the basis of families who have experienced death, injury or loss of home over the past thirteen days.
  • 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

  • UNRWA is providing basic UXO awareness in shelters.
  • Protection Cluster members continue monitoring and investigating incidents to identify possible violations of international law, as well as consolidating information on civilian fatalities.
  • Since 7 July, emergency psychosocial teams and PRCS teams have been able to provide initial psychosocial support to 1,289 children across the Gaza Strip.
  • On 20 July and 22 July, Sawa Child Protection Helpline sent texts messages with instruction tol 0,000 caregivers. Since 13 July the Helpline has been operating 24/7 with capacity to take 30 calls simultaneously.
  • The NGO Right to Play has reached 2,000 children in UNRWA emergency shelters since 8 July.
  • World Vision is providing PSS to children in hospitals and UNRWA shelters.
  • On 21 July, Save the Children began distributing child protection kits to twelve community based organizations, aiming to reach 1,440 children in host communities.
  • Radio spots continue to alert children and their families to the dangers posed by Explosive Remnants of War, reaching up to one million people in Gaza. In addition, partners are preparing for the provision of UXO risk education, as soon as the situation allows.

Gaps and Constraints

  • Ongoing hostilities continue to impede movement of child protection staff and emergency PSS teams.
  • Increased hostilities and major electricity outages since July 18 hamper communication with PSS staff.
  • Sawa Child Protection Help Line needs additional trained counsellors that can answer phone calls.
  • Displaced children hosted with relatives remain largely unreached by child protection interventions.
  • Due to the precarious security environment and ongoing military operations, verification of information, in particular in regards to casualties, is difficult.

Shelter and Non-Food Items (NFI)

Needs

  • 3,230 families (approximately 19,400 individuals) whose shelters were totally destroyed or sustained major damage require emergency NFI kits including mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits, and kitchen sets. In the medium term, they will need cash assistance to cover rental fees and basic household items.
  • NFI emergency shelter repair interventions such as nylon and tarpaulin are needed for about 3,750 families (22,500 individuals) whose homes sustained damage but are still inhabitable. Another 126,000 individuals living in homes which sustained minor damage (broken windows and/or damaged doors) need NFI assistance such as nylon and plastic sheets.

Response

  • Around 140,000 people are being provided with shelter in 83 UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip and several thousands are sheltered in eight government schools, by host families and in informal centres.
  • Eleven government schools in Gaza city and northern Gaza have been identified to serve as temporary shelters for IDPs from eastern and northern Gaza and currently host approximately 5,000 IDPs. 9,630 individuals whose homes were destroyed or sustained damage have been provided with NFIs by different cluster members.

Gaps and Constraints

  • Cash assistance of over US$ 16 million is needed to allow 3,230 families to cover rental fees and urgent expenses.
  • Emergency shelter kits, including blankets, mattresses, kitchen sets and hygiene sets, are required for 1560 families.
  • Additional shelters for IDPs are required to reduce overcrowding at UNRWA schools.
  • UNRWA’s NFI stock is at zero.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Needs

  • IDPs hosted at UNRWA shelters, public schools, with host families or in open spaces, as well as communities disconnected from the municipal water supply need water for drinking and domestic use.
  • An estimated 1 2 million people have no or very limited access to water or sanitation services due to damage to the electricity system or lack of fuel to run generators to power WASH
  • facilities.
  • 15 wells and six sewage pumping stations are not operating. Less than half of the required amount of water is being pumped, according to the Municipality of Gaza.
  • WASH facilities east of Salah ad Din road and in north Gaza (both areas in the new three Km no-go zone) have not been accessible for repairs, and are also likely to be inaccessible to water trucking due to the unsafe security situation.
  • Several areas are experiencing sewage flooding, in particular in Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, posing public health hazards.
  • Humanitarian access to allow for repairs of wells, sewage pumping station and water and sewage lines is urgently needed to avert the outbreak of public health diseases.

Response

  • UNRWA is providing water tankering to IDPs in UNRWA shelters.
  • In the past 24 hours, Oxfam GB distributed safe drinking water to a total of 25,800 IDPS in Gaza, Khan Younis and Rafah, including to UNRWA shelters, government schools, two churches, a mosque, Al Shifa hospital and a number of public water filling points. Oxfam also distributed two tons of garbage bags to IDPs at UNRWA shelters in Rafah.
  • Technicians continued to do limited repairs of damaged water and waste water facilities under ICRC protective escort and in coordination with Israeli Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA) for Gaza.

Gaps and constraints

  • The lack of protection during damage repair, operation and assessment remains the biggest constraint, impeding the immediate repair of water and waste water pipelines.
  • UNRWA’s sanitation staff could not reach Al Maghazi, Bureij and Deir al Baleh camps due to heavy fighting and access restrictions.
  • Needs
  • The health needs, including mental health needs for displaced families sheltering in UNRWA schools and other emergency shelters need to be immediately addressed.
  • Psycho-tropic drugs for patients with mental illness, trauma and anxiety are in critically short supply.
  • Shifa hospital urgently needs neurosurgeons, anesthesiologists, plastic and general surgeons, and orthopedic specialists, as well as 20 ICU beds, a digital C-ARM machine for orthopedic surgeries, three operation tables and a lighting system for the five operation rooms.
  • On 22 July, the water network of Beit Hanoun Hospital was destroyed, and ambulance drivers were reportedly injured. On 23 July, following warnings issued, the Israeli army badly damaged al Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital east of Gaza City, claiming that fire was opened towards Israeli troops from inside the hospital. The hospital had been evacuated prior to the attack, so no casualties were reported. Protection of health facilities and health personnel is urgently needed.

Response

  • On 23 July, six patients were referred to medical treatment in Jordan via Israel and thirteen to Egypt.
  • $1 million worth of drugs, primarily fluids and surgical kits funded by Switzerland is under procurement by WHO while the Islamic Development Bank is procuring $ 6 million worth of medical supplies from within Gaza to resupply health facilities.
  • Medecins Sans Frontieres is operating an outpatient clinic for patients discharged from hospitals requiring medical follow up.
  • MDM — France delivered medical supplies, including consumables, on 22 July to the MoH.
  • MAP-UK delivered drugs and supplies on 23 July.

Gaps and constraints

  • Only two of six Community Mental Health Centers are functioning (in Rafah and Zwaydeh).
  • Shortage of medical equipment, skilled medical teams and drugs and disposables means that complex surgeries for vascular, neurological and spine cord injuries are being referred outside of Gaza. However, access through Rafah and Erez crossings is constrained.
  • Lack of adequate protection of health facilities and personnel, impeding emergency assistance to sick and injured.
  • The military incursion restricts access to healthcare for wounded and for patients with acute and chronic illness.

Food Security

Needs

  • An estimated 140,000 IDPs hosted at UNRWA shelters, plus additional thousands in public schools and other facilities, with host families or in open spaces are in need of emergency food assistance. More than 2,863 people who are being sheltered in over 47 informal centres across the Gaza Strip over the last days are urgently in need of food assistance, NFIs and other assistance. IDPs in the southern part of Gaza taking refuge in private shelters are in particular need of food assistance.
  • Farmers, breeders and fishermen’s livelihoods are heavily compromised. Although a comprehensive picture of exact needs is not yet available, animal feed for 3,000 herders is needed to avoid further loss of livestock and erosion of livelihoods.
  • Continuation of regular food distribution programmes by UNRWA, WFP and their partners to over 1,150,000 people should be maintained.
  • 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, continues to provide daily emergency food rations to IDPs in UNRWA shelters.
  • In total, food security partners have reached approximately 140,000 IDPs with food assistance since the beginning of the current crisis.
  • WFP continues to provide weekly food vouchers to 6,200 IDPs living with host families and daily emergency food rations to 2,039 hospital patients and staff across the Gaza Strip.

Gaps and Constraints

  • Bakeries, mills and dairy production plants have reduced their operational capacity due to lack of security and damage to facilities caused by military attacks.
  • IDPs residing in public schools and private shelters require food and other assistance.
  • The military ground incursion is both limiting access to food warehouses and making the regular emergency food distribution to over 1 million people extremely difficult.
  • Immediate emergency funding to address the food needs of the increasing IDP population and for fodder provision for 3,000 herders.

Education 

Needs

  • In the last 24 hours, six additional UNRWA schools have been affected by shelling, bringing up the total number of damaged schools to 116 since the start of the emergency. 41 government schools and 75 UNRWA schools are in need of repairs.

Gaps & Constraints

  • Access restrictions impede the ability to assess impact of hostilities and carry out repairs on damaged school infrastructure. On 21 July, an UNRWA school in Maghazi that served as a shelter for 300 people was hit. On 22 July, when a team visited the site to assess the damage, the school was shelled again, seriously endangering the lives of UN humanitarian workers and displaced civilians.

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. Some EOC members also carried out monitoring visits to government school shelters in the reporting period. In light of the damage sustained to the Gaza Power Plant during last night’s escalations, contingency plans were made for the delivery of fuel. Additionally, the EOC facilitated a meeting between two Gaza based ministers and their Ramallah-based colleagues. Response coordination continues to take place with the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) on IDP issues.

Today, the WASH cluster held an emergency meeting in response to the current water situation, in order to come up with a proposal for a way forward.

Funding

A number of bilateral contributions have already been received from donors who have provided funding for urgent needs in the most critical sectors. Based on initial cluster/sector analysis, it was estimated that US $40 million is needed for immediate assistance in Gaza, excluding UNRWA’s requirements. A number of clusters have also made a preliminary estimate of a further US $87 million that is needed for medium term interventions once the security situation permits. These figures are currently under revision (due to the increase in needs on the ground) and an update will be shared tomorrow.

UNRWA has issued an emergency flash appeal – the initial ask of US $40 million is needed for immediate assistance in Gaza, excluding UNRWA’s requirements. A number of clusters have US $40 million is needed for immediate assistance in Gaza, excluding UNRWA’s requirements. A number of clusters have US $60 million has been revised up to $115 million The amount requested is intended to respond to the most pressing humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza, including the tens of

thousands taking shelter in its facilities. New funding will enable UNRWA to respond to needs in shelter, food, health and psychosocial of internally displaced persons (IDPs), while replenishing emergency supplies and preparing for vital interventions necessary after a cessation of military activities.

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% of their requested funding. The HCT has undertaken an exercise to identify the most urgent SRP projects that if funded would help support the response in Gaza, as well as any new needs and a list was shared with donors today.

The Humanitarian Country Team has begun development of a Gaza Crisis Preliminary Response Plan while will be fmalized by 1 August to address urgent humanitarian needs resulting from the conflict. The plan will look at programming needs for the next six months.

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. Thus far, two ACF project proposals, (totaling US$ 368,624.2) to distribute NFI and water storage tanks to 1,475 households in Gaza, are being processed. A number of donors have come forward with expressions of interest or pledges for the ERF including Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, and Switzerland, as well as Italy, which is a new donor set to come on board. Further funding for the ERF is still being sought. The CERF is another existing pooled funding mechanism that can be mobilized.

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, nnaes@un.org, +972 59 291 1047

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

Endnotes

‘These figures do not include many reported cases that could not yet be verified. Data 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.

2Data on injuries is provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.


Document symbol: OchaGazaSitRpt_240714
Download Document Files: https://unispal.un.org/pdfs/OchaGazaSitRpt_240714.pdf
Document Type: Situation Report, Update
Document Sources: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Subject: Access and movement, Armed conflict, Casualties, Children, Closures/Curfews/Blockades, Extrajudicial killings, Food, Gaza Strip, Health, Human rights and international humanitarian law, Humanitarian relief, Internally displaced persons, Living conditions, Poverty, Protection, Refugees and displaced persons, Security issues, Shelter, Water, Women
Publication Date: 24/07/2014