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.
Latest development: 11:00. Six people, including an Italian journalist, were killed and six others injured by unexploded ordnance in Beit Lahia.
Situation Overview
The 72-hour ceasefire, which entered into effect at midnight on Sunday, has held with no major incidents recorded during the reporting period. The ceasefire is scheduled to expire at midnight tonight, amidst ongoing negotiations in Cairo between the parties to reach a permanent ceasefire. There has been a further slight decline in IDPs seeking refuge in emergency shelters but numbers are expected to rise as the ceasefire deadline nears, and no agreement is reached. Despite ongoing repairs to utilities, the majority of the population continues to cope with severe shortages in water and power services. Today's casualties from unexploded ordnance (UXO) underline the threat which explosive remnants of war pose to the population as well as to humanitarian workers.
Hostilities and casualties
Since the last update, the Protection Cluster has recorded a further three fatalities; two males whose bodies were recovered from Khuza'a and another male who died of injuries sustained earlier. This brings the cumulative death toll among Palestinians since 7 July to at least 1,965, according to preliminary data collected by the Protection Cluster from various sources, including 322 persons who could not be yet identified or their status established. Of the initially verified cases, 1,417 are believed to be civilians, including 458 children and 238 women, and 226 members of armed groups. The number of child fatalities exceeds the combined number of children killed in the two previous conflicts in Gaza, 350 in 2008-9 and 35 in 2012.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, as of 17:00 on 10 August, 9,986 Palestinians, including 3,009 children and 359 elderly, have been injured.
There were no reports of firing by Palestinian factions into Israel during the reporting period. Since 8 July, three civilians in Israel have been killed, including one foreign national, and dozens directly injured by rockets or shrapnel. The total number of Israeli military fatalities stands at 64.
Displacement
The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in emergency shelters has declined with the continuation of the ceasefire. As of yesterday afternoon, there were 223,092 hosted in 87 designated UNRWA schools and 29,505 in 27 government shelters, including seven supported by UNRWA. Nearly 115,000 IDPs residing with host families have been registered and reached by various shelter partners.
UNRWA's hygiene and water campaign for shelters was launched on 10 August, involving the dissemination of information on water conservation, appropriate hygiene practices and treatment of scabies and lice. UNRWA has also continued to provide food, water and non food items to IDPs sheltered in its schools and, with other agencies, to the IDPs taking shelter in government schools.
|
"We are facing an insufficient supply of potable and non potable water and a very real risk of consumption of contaminated water; our new campaign addresses both of these issues and builds on the health and cleanliness efforts that UNRWA has prioritized from the first day our shelters were opened. " Mr. Scott Anderson, Deputy Director of UNRWA Operations in Gaza, 13 August 2014. |
UNRWA has started to distribute maternity packages to mothers who have given birth during the current hostilities, and who are registered as IDPs in its shelters across the Gaza Strip. A total of 344 babies, 152 girls and 192 boys, have been born in UNRWA schools designated as shelters. The maternity packages contain essential items to help mothers care for their newborns during displacement. An estimated 10,000 of the 46,000 pregnant women in Gaza are displaced.
Damage to houses and schools
Following a series of assessments by the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) and the Ministry of Housing and Public Works (MHPW), it is estimated that 8,832 housing units have been totally destroyed, requiring reconstruction, and 7,960 have been severely damaged and are uninhabitable until major repairs can take place. This is over 160 per cent higher than the equivalent figure, approximately 6,400, recorded during the "Cast Lead" military operation in Gaza in 2008/9. Another 5,635 housing units have suffered major damage but are still inhabitable in part, while 33,625 have suffered minor damage.
According to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEffE), a total of 230 schools (90 UNRWA and 140 government) have sustained some degree of damage, including 25 schools entirely destroyed or severely damaged. These facilities will not be usable in time for the new school year, which will not start on 24 August as scheduled. Two universities and four collages have also been damaged by shelling.
Facilities and services
Service providers continue to repair water and sanitation networks and WASH facilities. The Gaza Power Plant (GPP) remains inoperable following an Israeli airstrike and damage to electricity feeder and grid lines has resulted in a lack of electricity to operate pumps and wells, sewage pumping stations, waste water treatment plants and desalination plants. These are being replaced by generators, which need fuel. The estimated additional amount required equalling the loss of electricity is around 500,000 litres of fuel per month which the WASH Cluster is requesting to be dispatched at weekly intervals of 125,000 litres.
There has been a steep increase in the price of certain food commodities, eggs have risen more than 40 per cent, while other items have returned close to pre-conflict prices. It is estimated that half of Gaza's poultry (broilers and layers) were killed as a result of direct damage to shelters or because of access restrictions.
An exceptional one-off food distribution by UNRWA, the World Food Program (WFP) and the MoSA, targeting families who do not regularly receive food assistance, continued yesterday, with some centres extending distributions times by one hour to accommodate demand. The campaign, which is scheduled to last for two weeks, will complement the regular food assistance provided by UNRWA and WFP to core beneficiaries.
|
Most of Gaza's households have little or no water supply. Hospitals meant to cope with disaster are themselves disaster zones. The new school year was scheduled to start in less than two weeks, but a great many of the buildings will not be ready or are totally unusable in their current state. The United Nations will work with regional and international actors to rebuild. But unless we address the underlying causes of the conflict, another round of violence and vengeance is almost guaranteed. UN Secretary-General's Remarks at Press Encounter, New York, 12 August 2014. |
Key humanitarian priorities
Humanitarian space: access for humanitarian workers to carry out life-saving activities should be maintained, among other reasons, to complete search and rescue operations in several areas, and repair critical water and electricity infrastructure. Removal of the threat of numerous UXO in built up areas is vital.
Joint needs assessments: First phase was launched today to inform responses by humanitarian organizations. Continuation is dependent on an extension of the ceasefire.
Additional fuel supply: needed to operate backup generators at essential facilities, including water, sanitation and health, for longer hours.
Strengthen response to IDPs: improving priority response to IDPs in non-UNRWA facilities and with host families; ensuring common standards of response to IDPs throughout the Gaza strip, including comprehensive and common registration.
|
Erez: Open for movement during normal working hours on 12 and 13 August (08:00-16:00). Belt Hanoun (Arba-Arba): Operational. Kerem Shalom: Open as per its regular operating hours, but extended its operation hours till 19:00 on 12 August. A total of 270 truckloads of mostly food and medicine entered yesterday. Rafah: Open from 09:00 to 15:00. On 12 August, 600 dual nationals and foreign residency card holders exited Gaza through Rafah. A total of 181 tons of medicine and medical supplies entered on 11 August. No goods entered on 12 August. |
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 PSS is urgently required to address issues of child abuse, exploitation and violence inside shelters.
- Thousands of explosive remnants of war (ERW) are left in civilian areas affected by conflict, causing a major threat, especially to children, farmers, humanitarian workers and IDPs returning home. UN premises have also been contaminated by ERW.
Response
- Protection Cluster members are monitoring and investigating incidents to identify possible violations of international law, as well as consolidating information on civilian fatalities.
- PRCS continues to provide PSS through UNWRA and governmental schools/shelters and has reached a total of 2,277 girls and 2,093 boys since 15 July; additionally they were able to reach 3,076 women and 2,076 men.
- Since 8 July, the PCDCR (Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution) has provided initial PSS to 2,664 children across the Gaza Strip, including through home and hospital visits.
- 340,000 child protection and PSS text messages have been sent to Jawal mobile phone subscribers in Gaza since 20 July.
- The Sawa Child Protection Helpline has provided counselling to a total of 1,934 callers since 13 July.
- Since 8 July, UNRWA Community Mental Health Programme (CMHP) has conducted 10,890 PSS sessions for 96,010 parents and recreational activities for 105,276 children. CMHP also coordinated and supervised the implementation of sessions by other partners covering 15,263 adult IDPs and 83,219 children.
- CTCCM (Community Training Centre and Crisis Management) has been providing PSS support to other IDP sites, including in two government schools, the Orthodox Church in Gaza and al Amal Institute, reaching 161 children and 20 women.
- UNICEF, in partnership with AMAAN, is providing daily PSS and extracurricular activities to 2,000 children in six shelters in Gaza city managed by the MoSA.
- ERW awareness campaign for families in UNRWA shelters continues. Radio and TV ERW awareness messages are broadcasted several times a day to spread awareness about the danger posed by unexploded ordnance.
- UNMAS has carried out 31 risk assessments for UNRWA and UNSCO of which 27 UNRWA installations have been cleared, and provided risk education for 26,000 people. Furthermore, 123 humanitarian workers have received risk education training.
Gaps and Constraints
- Local organizations still face fuel and electricity shortages.
- Sawa Child Protection Help Line needs additional trained counsellors.
- The number of social workers and PSS 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.
Shelter and Non-Food Items (NFI)
Needs
- It is estimated that 16,792 families (consisting of approximately 100,750 individuals) whose homes were totally destroyed or heavily damaged are in need of emergency NFI kits. In the medium term, they will require cash assistance to cover rental fees and basic household items.
- Emergency shelter repair items are needed for about 5,635 families (33,800 individuals), whose homes were damaged but are still inhabitable. Another 33,625 families (an estimated 201,750 individuals), whose homes sustained minor damage need basic NFI assistance such as nylon and plastic sheets.
Response
- 223,092 people are being provided with shelter in 87 designated UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip and 29,505 individuals are sheltered in 27 government shelters (including seven supported by UNRWA). Nearly 115,000 IDPs residing with host families have been registered and reached by various shelter partners.
- Shelter partners have provided household NFIs to 51,936 families and hygiene NFIs to 64,613 families since the beginning of the emergency.
- On 12 August, UNRWA delivered 18 truckloads of NFIs to shelters.
Gaps and Constraints
- Cash assistance of more than US$ 68 million is needed for 16,792 families to cover rental fees and urgent expenses.
- Emergency shelter kits are needed for 7,457 displaced families.
- 23,039 family hygiene kits are needed for IDPs with host families and in UNRWA and government shelters.
- Shelter NFIs such as plastic sheets and tarpaulin are needed for 33,625 families (approximately 200,900 individuals) whose homes sustained minor damage.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
Needs
- IDPs in shelters and with host families require drinking water and water for domestic use.
- Provision of fuel (500,000 litres per month) is needed to operate critical WASH facilities until repairs to the electricity grid leads to the resumption of the former power supply level. Emergency standby generators and municipal vehicles utilized for water distribution also need fuel.
- Damaged electricity distribution systems, water and waste water lines need urgent repairs.
Response
- Delivery of fuel through UNRWA is ongoing.
- Water trucking of potable water in north Gaza, Gaza city, Khan Younis and Rafah continues. Since 9 August, Oxfam's Public Health Programme and partners have reached approximately 200,000 people.
- Three out of five mobile water pumps have been delivered to Gaza by Save the Children through ERF funding.
- Four water generators have been installed to run groundwater wells in Gaza city.
- Gaza municipalities continued the removal of solid waste in Gaza city, in addition to carrying out critical operations and maintenance work to seven water lines, seven groundwater wells and several sewage lines.
- CMWU continues to carry out repairs to damaged water and wastewater networks, water wells and desalination units.
- Repairs to a main water carrier pipeline in Khuza'a are ongoing. In the meantime, a number of generators and connection lines from five private wells to the community have been installed to ensure water supply. The community is also supplied with potable water through Qatar Charity, ICRC and ACF.
- UNRWA continued to distribute potable and non-potable water to emergency shelters during the reporting period. On 12 August, 617 cubic metres of potable water, as well as 834 cubic metres of non-potable water, were delivered to UNRWA shelters. On 11-12 August, UNRWA water wells supplied a total of 11,860 cubic metres, including to UNRWA shelters.
- UNRWA sanitation staff removed 366 tons of solid waste from all refugee camps on 12 August and continued to carry out critical repairs of UNRWA installations.
Gaps
- Movement and access restrictions remain the inhibiting factors for WASH partners' ability to carry out assessments and repairs, and hinder solid waste removal and management.
- The constant movement of IDPs between their homes and designated shelters during ceasefires poses challenges in prioritizing responses undertaken by water and sanitation service providers.
- Decreasing capacity of the local market to meet the need for polythene tanks.
- 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.
Health and Nutrition
Needs
- The time-consuming process related to the evacuation of priority patients out of Gaza, including issuing travel and medical documents and passports for foreign referrals, especially for patients whose homes and possessions were destroyed, needs to be addressed.
- Preventive health measures are needed for IDPs in shelters to prevent the outbreak of communicable diseases.
- Hospitals continue to require regular access to adequate amounts of fuel, medicines and medical supplies, as well as spare parts for medical equipment to maintain functionality.
- Continuity of care and rehabilitation of patients, especially of amputees, at the community level needs active follow-up. Response
- UNRWA and MoH are sharing data with WHO and working to expand and improve monitoring for main communicable diseases among IDPs in shelters.
- Oxfam, the Palestinian Water, UNRWA and WHO are in the process of drafting guidelines for water vendors in order to maintain the quality of water delivered to shelters and communities.
- The MoH in Gaza has received more than US$ 3 million in donations of drugs and disposables for distribution which is currently being processed. The WHO is assisting the MoH in speeding up the process.
- On 11 August, WHO delivered a shipment of intravenous fluids to Gaza via Rafah crossing to the MoH in Gaza.
- During the ceasefire, with support from WHO and other humanitarian partners, the MoH has been able to increase referrals of patients to outside hospitals, which has reduced hospital occupancy in Gaza from more than 100 per cent to 80 per cent.
- UNRWA began distributing maternity packages to new mothers who have given birth during the hostilities and who are registered as IDPs. A total of 344 babies have started their lives as IDPs in UNRWA schools.
- The Government of Israel reports that 15 ambulance transfers were facilitated through Erez on 11 August.
Food Security
Needs
- IDPs are in need of food and other immediate assistance.
- The entire population of Gaza has been affected by the conflict and almost all need food and other assistance to recover.
- An estimated 100,000 people whose homes were destroyed or damaged beyond repair will need food and other assistance for a longer term.
- Additional bread production capacity is required due to lack of electricity in households.
- Immediate emergency funds to cover massively increasing food needs of IDPs are required.
- Approximately 55,000 livestock heads are in need of animal feed and water tanks in order to avoid further loss of livestock and additional erosion of productive assets.
- 1,000 broiler farmers and 220 layer farmers lost their production capacity and are in need of immediate assistance.
- Humanitarian access to allow for provision of food and other emergency assistance to the civilian population should be maintained.
Response
- UNRWA, WFP and Ministry of Social Affairs have started a one-time exceptional food distribution to affected families who are not receiving regular food assistance (approximately 730,000 individuals). On 12 August, 7,902 rations were distributed through 12 UNRWA distribution centres.
- Food assistance to more than one million UNRWA and WFP core beneficiaries is ongoing. The ceasefire is allowing for safer and more efficient delivery of food parcels.
- WFP, in cooperation with UNRWA, is providing ready-to-eat emergency food rations to IDPs in UNRWA and government shelters on a daily basis. On 12 August, UNRWA delivered 57 truckloads of food to shelters in cooperation with WFP.
- WFP continues to provide food assistance to IDPs hosted with relatives and to patients and hospital staff.
- Food Security Sector (FSS) partners are delivering complementary food distributions to IDPs at UNRWA and government shelters.
- FSS partners, members and local institutions are delivering food vouchers and food packages to approximately 100,000 IDPs with host families and in informal shelters. The vouchers can also be used to purchase water and NFIs.
Gaps and Constraints
- Delays at crossings complicate food delivery.
- Electricity shortages limit the storage capacity of fresh food for both shops and households.
- Supply chains in Gaza are already stretched and therefore aid agencies are highly encouraged to bring in food aid items from West Bank/outside Gaza Strip.
- The price of some food items has gone up, including fresh fruit, vegetables and eggs, due to the large damage sustained to farms and agricultural lands, among other reasons.
- Funds are required to cover the needs of herders and breeders to avoid further aid dependency and erosion of livelihood.
- Immediate emergency funds to cover massively increasing food needs of IDPs and returnees are required.
Education
Needs
- 230 schools (140 governmental and 90 UNRWA schools) affected by shelling are in need of repair, including 25 severely damaged requiring reconstruction. The Ministry of Education also reported that another two higher education facilities were affected by shelling, bringing the total number of facilities in need of repair to two universities and four colleges.
- UNRWA and government schools will not be ready for the new school year which was scheduled to start on 24 August.
- A lasting ceasefire to undertake unexploded ordnance clearance, damage assessments and repair work to damaged educational facilities, as well as preparation for the new school year, is urgently needed.
Response
- The Education Cluster is coordinating with MoEHE and UNRWA regarding the new school year, and is engaged in ongoing assessments.
- The Education Cluster is also working with service providers to coordinate a special package for returning school students, with a focus on psychosocial support and recreational activities.
Gaps & Constraints
- Inadequate funding for cluster activities.
- A large number of schools are used as IDP shelters or collective centres, with no clear plan in place for longer term shelters for those whose homes have been destroyed or severely damaged.
Logistics
Needs
- Safe and secure transportation inside the Gaza Strip is urgently required to ensure the delivery of much needed relief supplies and to guarantee transporters are able to continue working.
- There is an urgent need to ensure coordination with relevant authorities and organisations operating in the Gaza Strip and coordinate proper humanitarian space to ensure safe passage, delivery and distribution of aid cargo.
Response
- Storekeepers and logistics assistants have been hired locally to support the staging areas secured by the Logistics Cluster in the West Bank and the common warehouses in the Gaza Strip.
- The Logistics Cluster is supporting the Palestinian authorities in facilitating the transport of more than 750 pallets of water and food for distribution to various locations within the Gaza Strip.
- On the 11 August, the Logistics Cluster facilitated the transportation of four trucks of humanitarian relief supplies into the Gaza Strip for distribution on behalf of CHF International. Supplies included food, shelter and WASH items.
- On the 11 August, over 100 pallets of water and general NFIs were transported into the Gaza Strip on behalf of Oxfam and PRCS, facilitated by the Logistics Cluster.
- The Logistics Cluster has made two additional staging areas in Ramallah and Nablus available for the humanitarian community.
Gaps and Constraints
- Safe and secure transportation inside the Gaza Strip remains an ongoing constraint limiting the ability of the delivery of urgently required relief supplies.
- The increasing needs and deteriorating situation is forcing the humanitarian community to augment its pipelines, increasing pressure on Kerem Shalom, the only goods crossing into the Gaza Strip, and at same time raise issues of prioritization of cargo.
- Cargo bottlenecks are causing delays at Beituniya and Tarqumia crossings.
- The unpredictable nature of cargo prioritization procedures at the Beituniya and Tarqumia crossings in the West Bank impedes operations.
General Coordination
The joint rapid needs assessment, led by the EOC in Gaza, started today, 13 August, following preparations in the past days, including liaison with relevant government counterparts, the allocation of cluster representatives to various teams, and the conduct of relevant trainings. Various technical authorities have committed their support. The assessment will take place in two phases: an overview at the governorate level, on the first day, followed by an assessment at the municipality and refugee camp level for a period of three to four days, as soon as the situation allows. Data collected will be entered on tablets and linked directly to a database. The information will be subsequently validated and analysed, before it is disseminated. Protection and gender concerns have been integrated throughout the process as have questions on the information needs of affected communities.
Funding
Mr. Shawqi Issa, Minister of Social Affairs and Minister of Agriculture of the State of Palestine along with the Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. James W. Rawley launched the 2014 Gaza Crisis Appeal which outlines the planned humanitarian response of the HCT, including UNRWA to the current emergency. The appeal is intended to address urgent needs in Gaza and currently requests US$ 367 million to implement 86 projects in clusters/sectors including Education, Food Security, Health and Nutrition, Protection, Shelter and WASH as well as Coordination and Support Services. The clusters/sectors requesting the largest amount of funds are Food Security and Shelter which are requesting a total of US$ 293 million together. 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 from the ground becomes available and needs assessments become possible. The Crisis Appeal supersedes the estimates presented in the Gaza Crisis Preliminary Needs and Requirements paper of 24 July. The Crisis Appeal is available online at www.ochaopt.org.
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, ten project proposals were approved for a total of US$ 2.3 million Further funding for the ERF is still being sought.
UN humanitarian agencies, in cooperation with NGO partners are in the process of fmalizing 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
Ray Dolphin, Analysis, Communications and Protection Unit, OCHA oPt, dolphin@un.org, +972 54 331 1827
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.
Download Document Files: https://unispal.un.org/pdfs/OchaGazaSitRpt_030814.pdf
Document Type: Situation Report, Update
Document Sources: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Subject: Access and movement, Armed conflict, Casualties, Ceasefire, 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: 03/08/2014