This report is produced by OCHA oPt in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 13 July (1500 hrs) to 14 July (1500 hrs). The next report will be issued on 15 July.
Highlights
- While Israeli bombardments have continued, they have resulted in fewer fatalities than in past days. According to preliminary information, over 77 per cent of the fatalities since 7 July have been civilians, raising concerns about respect for international humanitarian law.
- Reports about the launching of rockets by Palestinian armed groups from densely populated areas have raised increasing concern, as it endangers the lives of Palestinian civilians residing in these areas.
- Tens of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza have fled their homes following Israeli warnings, and 17,000 have taken shelter at UNRWA schools.
- Gaza's water utility has suspended emergency operations and repairs due to the insecurity of its staff, and warned that water supply to 600,000 is at risk as a result.
Situation Overview
The seventh day of the Gaza emergency started amidst the first wave of mass displacement. Over the past 24 hours, tens of thousands of Palestinians from northern Gaza have fled their homes following warnings from the Israeli military, ahead of anticipated attacks on rocket launchers in the area. Some 17,000 have taken shelter in 20 UNRWA schools in Gaza City and the North Area. It is estimated that an additional 7,500 people have been displaced since the beginning of the emergency, following the destruction or severe damage sustained to their homes, and are hosted by relatives and neighbors.
The vast majority of men, women and children displaced have fled their homes with few belongings, including families who lost everything under the rubble of their destroyed homes. This is increasing the caseload of humanitarian organizations to meet these people's basic needs of shelter, mattresses, food, water and sanitation facilities. While current stocks are generally sufficient to cover these needs, the prevailing insecurity impedes distributions, particularly for families who are not in UNRWA shelters.
Meeting basic needs is becoming increasingly challenging for the rest of the civilian population as well, including related to water supply for domestic needs. As the scope of damage to water and sewage infrastructure increases, the main water utility in Gaza (CMWU) announced the suspension of regular operations and repairs, following the killing of three of its staff while on duty. The utility warned that unless its operations resume in the coming days, up to a third of Gaza's population (approx. 600,000) will be gradually left without water.
Insecurity is also undermining access to health services, with people venturing onto the streets only as a matter of last recourse. Health facilities and medical personnel have been affected by the hostilities: two hospitals, four clinics, one treatment centre, and four ambulances have sustained damage, while one doctor has been killed and 19 medical staff injured since 7 July.
Heavy Israeli bombardments, from air, sea and land, have continued almost uninterruptedly across the Gaza Strip during the period. However, the past 24 hours witnessed a significant decrease in the death toll, with a total of eight fatalities recorded compared with a daily average of over 27 in the previous six days.
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One of yesterday's deaths occurred in Al Maghazi refugee camp, in the context of the targeting and total destruction of two residential properties during an airstrike. Although one of the families managed to leave the house following the shooting of two "warning missiles", some members of the other family were still inside when a thrid missile struck, killing a woman and injuring another two women and a boy. |
Human rights organizations estimate that since the start of the emergency the Israeli army has targeted and destroyed over 180 homes, many of which were the residences of alleged members of armed groups. According to one Israeli organization (B'Tselem), at least 52 civilians were killed in these attacks. The targeting of civilian homes is a violation of international humanitarian law unless the homes are being used for military purposes. In case of doubt, buildings ordinarily used for civilian purposes, such as homes, are presumed not to be legitimate military targets.
Indiscriminate rocket firing by armed groups in Gaza at Israeli localities also continued during the past 24 hours, resulting in few Israeli injuries and some damage to property, as most projectiles fell in open areas or were intercepted by the Iron Dome system. While Palestinian rocket fire has so far not resulted in Israeli deaths, multiple reports about the launching of these rockets from densely populated areas have raised increasing concern. Such practice severely endangers the lives of Palestinian civilians residing in these areas, in addition to the Israeli civilians targeted.
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Updates on Gaza Crossings Erez: open for internationals and exceptional cases. On 13 July, 550 foreign nationals left to Jordan via Israel and four Jordanian ambulances entered. Beit Hanoun (Arba-Arba): the checkpoint, which leads into Erez crossing and is controlled by the former de facto authorities, was closed today (14 July) until further notice, due to Israeli attacks. This effectively prevents the movement of humanitarian personnel in and out of Gaza via Israel. Kerem Shalom: normal operation for imports. On 13 July, 69 trucks with humanitarian supplies (mostly food), 574,000 litres of fuel and 111 tonnes of cooking gas entered. Rafah: open for medical evacuations, and US and Egyptian passport holders; first degree family members of patients allowed to cross. |
Humanitarian needs and response
Protection
Needs
- 22,800 children whose families have experienced death, injury or loss of 'homes are in need of psychosocial (PSS) support.
- Unexploded ordnance and explosive remnants of war present a major hazard to the population. So far, approximately 100 unexploded bombs have been reported throughout the Gaza Strip, 30 in Rafah area alone.
Response
- Protection Cluster members have been monitoring incidents and are issuing press releases highlighting their fmdings and calling for the protection of civilians.
- The Protection Cluster continues to monitor and verify information on civilian fatalities.
- In the past 24 hours, five emergency PSS teams conducted 47 visits to children homes and hospitals injured as a result of the continuing hostilities. All children showed signs of extreme anxiety, fear and sense of insecurity. Since 7 July, PSS teams have reached 302 traumatized children.
- As of 13 July, PSS support teams from the Youth Empowerment Centre provided awareness training to caregivers in UNRWA schools currently serving as shelters for IDPs.
- Mobile radio stations will start broadcasting to alert children and their families of the dangers posed by Explosive Remnants of War and Unexploded Ordnance.
Gaps and constraints
- Difficulties in verifying information, particularly regarding casualties, due to the security situation and restricted access.
- Ongoing hostilities continue to impede the movement of child protection staff and emergency psychosocial teams.
- Inability of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) police to work on the ground to remove unexploded remnants of war due to ongoing military operations.
Shelter and Non-Food Items (NFI)
Needs
- 1,255 families (7,500 persons) whose homes were totally destroyed or sustained major structural damages are in need of emergency NFI kits.
- Over 10,000 people whose homes sustained damages but are still habitable, and another 57,000 who are living in slightly affected houses, need NFI shelter repair items, such as nylon and tarpaulin.
- Cash assistance for 1,255 families to cover rental fees and urgent expenses (US$ 6 m) is needed.
Response
- UNRWA is currently providing shelter and NFIs to 17,000 displaced persons from northern Gaza, seeking refuge in 20 of its schools in Gaza City and the Northern Area.
Gaps and constraints
- Emergency shelter kits and basic NFIs available in stock cannot be delivered due to security risks.
- 36 government schools have been identified as potential shelters, but the Ministry of Education does not currently have the capacity to run the shelters.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
Needs
- Protection to water technicians to carry out emergency repairs of pipelines and other WASH facilities.
- Spare parts such as water and wastewater pipes urgently needed.
- Water provision to families affected by damages to WASH facilities, including host families.
- Water provision to IDP shelters as the number of displaced will likely increase over the coming days.
Response
- UNRWA distributed family hygiene kits to IDPs taking shelter in its schools.
- On 14 July, Jabalia municipality repaired a sewer pressure pipeline in Sheikh Zayed and resumed pumping from Tal Al Zatar neighborhood to the Waste Water Treatment Plant.
- Damage to a water carrier supplying water from At Tawfeeq groundwater well in Ash Shuja'iyeh area, serving 8,000 people has been repaired, in addition to a water pipeline serving 2,000.
- Accessibility to water valves that serves Al Mansora, As Shuja'iyeh has been resolved.
- The Abdullah Azam well, serving 8,000 people, and a water pipeline serving 5,000 people on Nazaz Street has been repaired.
Gaps and constraints
- Movement for service providers to operate WASH facilities and conduct emergency repairs is extremely dangerous.
Health and Nutrition
There is an urgent need for psycho-tropic drugs, especially emergency drug kits to use for patients with mental illness who have relapses and families in especially severe circumstances of forced displacement, trauma and anxiety.
Response
- The Palestinian Red Crescent conducted 797 evacuations of injured persons and of 100 fatalities since 7 July.
- An emergency mental health plan is in effect, with teams of health workers in community mental health centres, as well as general hospital teams and primary health care clinics.
- One truck load of medical aid, donated by the Emirati Red Crescent to the Palestinian Red Crescent, was received on July 14 in Gaza. There are reportedly nine trucks of aid from the Egyptian army waiting in Rafah crossing to be processed.
Gaps and constraints
- Lack of adequate protection of health facilities and personnel: two hospitals, four clinics, one treatment centre for the disabled, and four ambulances have sustained damage, while one doctor has been killed and 19 medical staff have been injured since the start of the emergency.
- Restricted access to the injured due to ongoing military operations.
- Reduced access for referral cases out of Gaza, due to the difficulty in travel within Gaza, as well as the delay in processing referrals.
Food Assistance
Needs
- The rapid displacement of Gazan families from the northern Gaza Strip over the past days has resulted in an increased need for additional food assistance.
Response
- WFP and UNRWA provided emergency food rations to all IDPs in 20 schools.
- Up to 3,000 food vouchers are being prepared to reach families currently hosted with relatives.
- About 2,040 hospital patients and staff are provided with food assistance through WFP.
- Welfare Association is planning to reach 1,600 families (displaced and needy) in Beit Lahia and East Gaza through distribution of food parcels.
Gaps and constraints
- As movement is increasingly impeded due to the security situation, Food Security Sector members continue to face problems in accessing affected areas, especially agricultural lands and livestock in order to assess damages.
- Immediate emergency funds to cover food assistance to displaced people are required.
- Although immediately needed funds will be advanced by core agencies, these funds will need to be resourced subsequently.
- Information gap in regards to the displaced families sheltered by relatives is needed in order to provide emergency food assistance.
Education
Needs
- Nine schools, including seven government and two UNRWA schools sustained damage in the last 24 hours. Since the start of the emergency, 72 schools have been damaged and need repairs.
Response
Nothing to report
Gaps & Constraints
- Lack of movement to assess impact of hostilities on school infrastructure.
- Still no information available about the condition of the 13 schools located in Access Restricted Area (ARA).
- Insufficient pre-positioned supplies, such as school tents and teaching/learning materials, to respond to likely scale of need.
General Coordination
Today (14 July), the Palestinian Prime Minister held a briefmg and discussion with a range of representatives from international organizations, including UN bodies, and national and international NGOs. The PM highlighted that the Palestinian National Consensus Government is doing its utmost to respond to the situation, such as the evacuation of wounded people and delivery of medical supplies, and requested the support of the international community in addressing current gaps.
Funding
A number of donors have already started working with clusters and partners to look into providing funding for urgent needs in the most critical sectors. Saudi Arabia has pledged 200 million riyals (US$53 3 million) for medicine and medical equipment for the wounded. The aid will be channelled through the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Yesterday, the Government of Norway noted the particular needs in shelter and health and has announced an extra contribution of NOK 30 million to respond to humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip. Norway has urged other donors to respond.
The 2014 Strategic Response Plan (SRP) for the oPt has received US$ 165 million (42 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. The Emergency Response Fund (ERF), an additional mechanism available to fund interventions in Gaza, is in urgent need of replenishment to ensure the fund's ability to provide rapid and flexible support to affected civilian populations. Additionally, there is an urgent need for funding to cover the US $22 million of UNRWA's Emergency Appeal shortfall.
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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
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.
2 Data on injuries is provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Download Document Files: https://unispal.un.org/pdfs/OchaGazaSitRpt_150714.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: 15/07/2014