State of Palestine Humanitarian Situation Report – UNICEF update

Highlights

Fighting resumed in Gaza after the Egyptian-brokered humanitarian ceasefire set to expire at midnight on 19 August was breached. As a result, the Cairo talks broke down.
In the past 48 hours (19-20 August), nine children were killed in the renewed hostilities. Of a Palestinian death toll that has exceeded 2,000 people, 75% are thought to be civilians and 32% of these are children.
An estimated 1,000 of the 3,000 children who have been injured will suffer from permanent disability, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) has risen to more than 450,000, and is expected to rise further as hostilities continue.
Approximately 103,000 people are now homeless. 17,200 homes have been completely destroyed or severely damaged; UNRWA is expecting 65,000 to 70,000 Palestinians to shelter in its schools as long-term displaced.
The majority of the population has severe shortages in water and power services.
Children in Gaza will be denied the right to education as they will not be able to return to school when Palestinian academic year opens on 24 August. At least 219 schools were damaged by airstrikes, and at least 22 schools are completely destroyed. An increasing number of schools are being used as shelters. The blockade has prevented new schools from being built, and will impair reconstruction efforts if urgent action is not taken.

Situation Overview

Following a series of temporary ceasefires, hostilities resumed on 19 August with rockets fired from Gaza into Israel and Israeli military strikes in Gaza. In the past 24 hours alone, 171 rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel and Israeli forces conducted 96 air raids firing 118 missiles into Gaza.
As of 21 August there are approximately 458,000 IDPs in Gaza. The majority are staying in 83 designated UNRWA emergency collective shelters that host 279,389 IDPs. Another 34,602 IDPs are staying in seven government shelters supported by UNRWA and another 10,241 IDPs are sheltering in 11 government schools managed by the Ministry of
Social Affairs (MoSA). MoSA have registered another 134,660 IDPs sheltering with host families and referred for assistance by various partners. With the resumption of hostilities, it is anticipated that the number of IDPs in both collective shelters and in host families will increase as they seek shelter.
The entire population of Gaza, around 1.8 million people, has been affected by the conflict and the majority require food, water and other assistance to cope. An exceptional one-off food distribution by UNRWA, WFP and MoSA is in progress. However, the resumption of hostilities puts food distribution activities at risk and it is not clear whether the distribution will be able to continue.
There are challenges to identify the most vulnerable groups, particularly those relying on agricultural-related livelihoods and heavily affected by the conflict. Some food items have become very expensive including fresh fruit, vegetables and eggs, due to the damage sustained to farms and agricultural lands. Delays at crossings complicate food delivery. Electricity shortages limit the storage capacity of fresh food for both shops and households.
Over 50% of Gaza's WASH infrastructure is thought to be damaged in areas that experienced most intense conflict. Prior to the resumption of hostilities, as repairs were made, further destruction was discovered. In some areas, the demand for water is so high that tensions have occurred at distribution sites during water deliveries and tanker drivers have been unable to deliver water in some locations, particularly in eastern Khan Yunis. The WASH Cluster and partners are working closely with local community representatives to address the problem, however, as fighting continues, water deliveries are again very limited due to the lack of humanitarian access. A permanent ceasefire is required to continue repairing water and wastewater networks and facilities.
Preliminary estimates by the Palestinian Ministry of Health indicate that 1,000 of the children injured will have a disability for life. A further 6,000 children will have a parent with a disability for life as a result of injury.
Based on the total number of adults killed there will be up to 1,500 children orphaned. These children and their families will require sustained support from the child protection and welfare sectors.
At least 373,000 children require direct and specialised psychosocial support on the basis of families who have experienced death, injury or loss of home since the beginning of the crisis. Children are showing increasing symptoms of distress including bed wetting, clinging to parents and nightmares. It is likely that every child in the Gaza strip is affected by the crisis and will require some level of psychosocial support.
Thousands of explosive remnant of war are left in civilian areas affected by the conflict, causing a threat for children, especially boys who are always the first victims of these dangerous items.

Priorities & Messages

Humanitarian space must be guaranteed to carry out life-saving activities, repair critical water networks, remove UXOs and protect children.

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

Strengthen response to IDPs including in non-UNRWA facilities and with host families.

All parties have obligations under international law to protect children from violence and harm. This includes ensuring humanitarian access and space for essential services to reach the population in need.

Summary Analysis of Programme response

The major escalation in the conflict has resulted in severe restrictions on humanitarian access and emergency response. UNICEF and partners, like most UN agencies and NG0s, are unable to reach many conflict-affected populations due to the risk of harm to humanitarians.

UNICEF's emergency response in Gaza is focusing on supporting conflict-affected populations inside collective shelters and in host communities. In East Jerusalem and the West Bank, UNICEF's support will expand with a focus on families affected by recent violence and hostilities.

Water Sanitation and Hygiene

WFP and UNICEF distributed eVouchers for water, hygiene products and food to vulnerable families, many of which have lost their homes. 10,657 families (approximately 64,000 people) have been reached through the distribution and discussions are underway to increase coverage to 50,000 families. In the past 48 hours, analysis has shown that almost 43% of the vouchers' value has been spent on sanitation products. This has steadily increased from 33% over the past three weeks perhaps showing that sanitation needs are being an increasingly urgent priority.
UNICEF has been supporting the Coastal Municipal Water Utility (CMWU) with urgent water network repairs, to increase access to both water and sanitation services.
Ten water bladders were installed. In partnership with MA'AN, UNICEF is supporting water tankering for domestic use in Gaza City. So far, 2,024 cubic meters of water reached 14,168 beneficiaries. UNICEF, in cooperation with PHG, is also supporting water tankering to provide drinking water for 50,000 individuals for one month. As of 21 August they have delivered 1001 cubic meters of water into 355 communal tanks in the Middle area of Gaza. However, the resumption of hostilities has hampered this humanitarian assistance over the past three days.
3,000 Posters with messages on lice and scabies control, hand washing and proper water treatment have been printed and are being distributed in collective shelters.

Child Protection

UNICEF is supporting partners to monitor and document all child fatalities. Daily reports are produced on killings, injuries and other grave violations against children including age and location analysis.
Five emergency psychosocial teams (PCDCR) supported by UNICEF provided initial psychosocial support to 3,860 children across the Gaza Strip in both hospitals and shelters.
Preparations are ongoing for the provision of psychosocial response in schools to take place at the resumption of the school year.
As part of the planning for the next phase of the humanitarian response, the UNICEF-led Child Protection Working Group (CPWG) held a workshop on 18 August on the Child Protection Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Action
for members of the CPWG, which will precede and inform the development of the Child Protection Response Plan. The second workshop scheduled for 20 August had to be cancelled due to the resuming of the conflict and will be rescheduled as soon as the situation allows.
Since 20 July, child protection and psychosocial text messages were sent to 650,000 subscribers of Jawwal in Gaza. The messages include actions that caregiver should take to reduce the vulnerability of children to death and injury, to reduce psychosocial distress and to prevent and respond to child abuse. UNICEF and Jawwal provided a free phone number to call for advice and support (Sawa Helpline 121).
Since 13 July, Sawa Child Protection Helpline has been operating 24/7 with increased capacity to take thirty calls at one time. Since 8 July 2014, Sawa has been able to provide counselling to 2,338 callers from Gaza (North Gaza 157; Gaza City 1375; Middle Area 56; Khan Younis 239; Rafah 477; and 34 non documented). 532 calls were about concerns about the impact of the conflict on children, and 627 calls were about persistent fear of violence.

Child Deaths

Between 8 July and 20 August 2014, at least 469 Palestinian children were reported killed.

State of Palestine Humanitarian Situation Report – UNICEF update

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