This report is produced by OCHA oPt in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 20 July (1500 hrs) to 21 July (1500 hrs). The next report will be issued on 22 July.
Highlights
- As the Israeli ground incursion continues, 103 Palestinians, including 34 children and 21 women, are reported to have been killed or their bodies recovered since the last update.
- The reporting period witnessed a number of incidents in which multiple family members were killed by Israeli airstrikes while in their homes.
- Mass displacement continues across Gaza, with over 100,000 IDPs now seeking shelter in UNRWA schools and tens of thousands of IDPs have taken refuge elsewhere in Gaza
Latest developments:
15:30: The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital in Deir El Balah was hit by an Israeli airstrike resulting in the destruction of part of the top two floors. Initial information indicates that four people were killed and 16 injured.
Situation Overview
The Israeli ground incursion into Gaza continues, resulting in a high level of civilian casualties, the widespread destruction of buildings and infrastructure and a steep rise in internally displaced persons (IDPs). While Ash Shuja'iyeh neighborhood continues to be one of the focus areas of hostilities, the reporting period witnessed a number of incidents in which multiple members of the same family were killed by Israeli airstrikes in other areas of the Gaza Strip. In all these cases, according to the preliminary reports, those killed were in, or adjacent to, their homes at the time of the attack.
In the most serious reported incident, at approximately 20:00 on 20 July, an Israeli plane fired a missile at a three-storey house in Bani Suheila, eastern Khan Yunis, in which a number of families live, destroying the house. Among the victims were the owner, Tawfiq Abu Jame', his mother, wife, and seven of his children, aged from four to 14. In total, rescue crews have recovered 25 bodies, including 18 children and 5 women, two of whom were reportedly pregnant. According to information received, a member of an armed group was visiting the house when the airstrike took place
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According to preliminary assessments, at 19:20 on 20 July, 11 members of the al-Hallaq and 'Ammar families, including three women and seven children, were killed by an Israeli airstrike on their home in Rimal, Gaza city; at 14:00 20 July, an Israeli airstrike struck a three-storey house belonging to Jameel Sha'ban Ziada in Bureij refugee camp, killing six members of the family and a guest, including two women and a child; at 06:30 on 21 July , an Israeli airstrike near a house belonging to Mahrous Siam in Rafah, killed nine members of the family, including four women and three children, and wounded another nine, including seven children. |
Since 7 to 21 July, hundreds of homes have reportedly been directly targeted by Israeli airstrikes, with an estimated 472 houses totally destroyed or severely damaged, causing civilian casualties and displacing the survivors. Thousands of housing units have also sustained damage. There are serious concerns about reports from human rights organizations regarding several incidents where civilians or civilian objects have been directly hit by Israeli airstrikes, in circumstances where there was allegedly no rocket fire or armed group activity in the close vicinity. Such cases raise concerns whether the strikes have been in accordance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Full respect for the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack, during the conduct of hostilities, as required by international humanitarian law should be ensured.
From 7 July as of today 14.00, according to preliminary data collected by the Protection Cluster from various sources, at least 479 Palestinians, including at least 364 civilians (76 per cent of total fatalities), have been killed by Israeli air, naval and ground strikes in Gaza. These figures included 121 children and 59 women, 76 members of armed groups and 39 persons whose status is yet unknown. Since the last situation update, 103 persons have been reported killed, including 34 children and 21 women. This number also includes those killed during the bombardment of Ash Shuja'iyeh, whose bodies were retrieved only yesterday afternoon. As the evacuation of persons killed in Ash Shuja'iyeh was halted in the late afternoon of 20 July, and only continued in the late afternoon of 21 July, the number of fatalities and injured is believed to be higher.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 3,504 Palestinians, including 1,100 children and 608 women, had been injured as at 12.00 a.m. on 21 July.
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Dozens more civilians, including children, have been killed in Israeli military strikes in the Ash Shuja'iyeh neighborhood in Gaza. I condemn this atrocious action. Israel must exercise maximum restraint and do far more to protect civilians. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 20 July 2014. |
The ground incursion has led to an exponential increase in the number of IDPs. By this afternoon, UNRWA was hosting over 100,000 in 69 schools operating as emergency shelters, including all UNRWA schools in Gaza city. This is up from 47,000 persons hosted in 36 shelters on 18 July. Over 15,200 IDPs, whose homes have been destroyed or damaged, are hosted by relatives and neighbors. Additionally, tens of thousands of IDPs have taken refuge elsewhere in Gaza, including in government schools, open spaces and unfinished buildings. Apart from the protection of civilians and the evacuation and treatment of those injured, the main priority for humanitarian agencies continues to be the provision of food, water, mattresses and hygiene items to those displaced, as well as fuel to essential water, health and solid waste facilities. Some 25 per cent of all WASH facilities have no electricity due to damage to electricity lines and transformers and rely on generators only.
Indiscriminate firing by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza into Israel also continued, with most falling in open areas or intercepted by the Iron Dome system. In total two Israeli civilians have been killed from rocket and mortar fire since the start of hostilities and at least 20, who were injured by shrapnel, have been treated by the Magen David Adom. On Monday, the Israeli authorities reported seven more soldiers killed, bringing the death toll of soldiers to 25 since the beginning of the ground incursion.
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Update on Gaza Crossings: Erez: Functioning and processing passengers today as per permitted categories. New coordination is required for vehicular movement out of Gaza since a part of Salah Ad-Din road is closed on the approach to Erez crossing. UNDSS and the UN Access Coordination Unit (ACU) ACU are facilitating the process with the Joint Operations Room at CLA. Beit Hanoun (Arba-Arba): closed until further notice. Personnel were present at various alternative/ improvised checkpoints over the last couple of days, but no personnel were present at these locations today due to heavy IDF presence in the area. Kerem Shalom: Open today from 10:30, delayed due to the security situation in the area. It was open yesterday but no details on goods entering were available by the time of this update. Rafah: Open today for patients, foreign and dual nationals and Egyptian passport holders and their Palestinian spouses and children. Yesterday 11 tonnes of medical supplies, five tonnes of food and 0.5 tonnes of disposables entered through Rafah. |
Humanitarian needs and response
Protection
Needs
- At least 107,000 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.
- There is a major concern regarding the risk of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO), especially 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 have been able to provide initial psychosocial support to 868 children across the Gaza Strip.
- Radio spots continue to alert children and their families on the dangers posed by Explosive Remnants of War. 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 staff and partners on the ground.
- Most child protection services are closed.
- 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 tems (NFI)
Needs
- 15,200 individuals whose shelters were totally destroyed or sustained major structural damage need 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 3050 families (18,300 individuals) whose homes sustained damage but are still inhabitable. Another 102,000 individuals living in slightly affected houses (broken windows and/or damaged doors) need NFI assistance such as nylon and plastic sheets.
Response
- 101,684 people are being provided with shelter at 69 UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip. In addition, 11 government schools have been identified to open as temporary shelters for the additional IDP caseload from East and North Gaza. Until now, 1,600 people are residing in four government schools.
- 8,900 individuals whose homes were destroyed or sustained damage have been provided with NFIs by different cluster members.
Gaps and Constraints
- Emergency shelter kits for 2,530 families are available in stock and will be distributed by NFI agencies when the security situation allows.
- Cash assistance (worth $12.65 million) is needed to allow 2,530 families to cover rental fees and urgent expenses.
- The increasing number of IDPs has resulted in overcrowding at UNRWA schools, necessitating the opening of MoEHE schools as shelters.
- UNRWA's NFI stock is at zero.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
Needs
- More than 110,000 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.
- 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, while 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.
- Oxfam GB continues water tankering to IDPs in government schools and open spaces in Gaza City, and is supporting delivery of water trucks to 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.
Health and Nutrition
Needs
- The health needs, including mental health needs for displaced families sheltering in UNRWA schools 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.
Response
- $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.
- The Ministry of Health in Gaza has received 50 tons of medical aid for its hospitals from the Government of Tunisia and a number of other donors have signaled their commitment to send further medical supplies through Egypt.
- Medecins Sans Frontieres is operating an outpatient clinic for patients discharged from hospitals requiring medical follow up.
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 Sector
- More than 110,000 IDPs hosted at UNRWA shelters, public schools and other facilities, with host families or in open spaces are in need of emergency 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 is urgently needed.
Response
- WFP, in cooperation with UNRWA, continues to provide daily emergency food rations to IDPs in UNRWA shelters. More than 76,000 people in shelters and 2,500 people in public schools were provided with emergency food assistance.
- WFP continues to provide weekly food vouchers to 4,100 IDPs living with host families and daily emergency food rations to 2,039 hospital patients and staff across the Gaza Strip.
- Other food security partners have reached 38,725 people so far since the beginning of the current crisis.
Gaps and Constraints
- Half of Gaza's bakeries and four of Gaza's six wheat mills are not operating due to difficulties in staff accessing these premises. Operating bakeries have wheat stocks for at least one week.
- There is a lack of information about IDPs residing in private shelters.
- 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 (through FAO)
Education
Needs
- Since the start of the emergency, 85 schools have been damaged due to their proximity to targeted sites and need repairs.
Response
NTR
Gaps & Constraints
- Access restrictions impede the ability to assess impact of hostilities on school infrastructure.
- Still no information available about the condition of the 12 schools located in the Access Restricted Area (ARA).
General Coordination
The Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has set up an emergency operations room, led by the Minister for Social Affairs. The operations room will coordinate the response with Gaza, focusing on data collection and analysis; communication with the international community; facilitation of entry of aid; resource mobilization and communications with the Palestinian leadership. The operations room secretariat is made up of representatives of line ministries, UN agencies, AIDA and PNGO.
Coordination of assistance for the new influx of IDPs into Ministry of Education-run schools is overseen by the Ministry of Social Affairs through local municipal committees. Challenges include response and coordination capacity, access and registration. The UN is working with authorities to support coordination and response.
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 is 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. All estimates are based on initial information; however, needs are growing and revisions, as new assessments come in, will be communicated to donors.
UNRWA has issued an emergency flash appeal with an initial ask of $60 million to respond to the most pressing humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza, including the tens of thousands taking shelter in its facilities. New funding will enable UNRWA to respond to needs in shelter, food, health and psychosocial of internally displaced persons (IDPs), while replenishing emergency supplies and preparing for vital interventions necessary after a cessation of military activities.
The 2014 Strategic Response Plan (SRP) for the oPt has received US$ 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.
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. 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.
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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, maes@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
Endnote
1 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.
Download Document Files: https://unispal.un.org/pdfs/OchaGazaSitRpt_220714.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: 22/07/2014