Hostilities in Gaza and Israel - OCHA situation report (25 July 2014)

This report is produced by OCHA oPt in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 24 July (1500 hrs) to 25 July (1500 hrs). The next report will be issued on 26 July.

Highlights

68 Palestinians, including ten children and nine women, are reported to have been killed or their bodies recovered in the last 24 hours.
Overcrowding in shelters intensifies, with some hosting over 80 people per classroom, adding stress to already traumatized families.
Several shelters in the north and middle areas became inaccessible due to the ongoing hostilities, impeding the distribution of basic supplies, water in particular.
The coping capacity of health professionals and facilities is increasingly overstretched. A rise in the relative number of miscarriages, premature births, and child mortality amongst pregnant women has been reported.

Latest developments: both Israel and Hamas have reportedly agreed to a 12 hour ceasefire, to begin at 7 am tomorrow

Situation Overview

Amidst reports about high-level negotiations for a ceasefire, the Israeli ground offensive continued in most areas, up to three kilometers from the Gaza’s perimeter fence, resulting in additional civilian casualties and widespread destruction. The insecurity affecting the civilian population intensified yesterday afternoon, when an UNRWA school serving as an emergency shelter was hit by projectiles, killing and injuring dozens of IDPs. In a separate incident several hours later, two ambulances were hit while on duty. These incidents underscore the challenges impeding humanitarian actors from carrying out even the most basic life-saving activities, such as providing a safe haven for civilians or evacuating the wounded, adding to the growing despair and frustration among Gaza’s men, women and children.

Hostilities and casualties

Intense fighting has been reported in the past 24 hours in the Middle Area (Al Maghazi and Al Bureij Camps), alongside the ongoing hostilities in the northern area, especially in Beit Hanoun. Since the last situation update, 68 persons have reportedly been killed, including at least ten children and nine women. These include a number of people killed during the bombardment in Khuza’a on 23 July, whose bodies were retrieved during this period, after the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) coordinated access to the area. Similar search and rescue operations, including the evacuation of civilians, were carried out by ICRC and PRCS today in Beit Hanoun and Ash Shuja’iyeh (eastern Gaza City).

The fatalities include 11 IDPs, including seven children, taking refuge in UNRWA’s Beit Hanoun elementary school, which yesterday at around 15:00 was hit by explosive projectiles. Over 100 other IDPs have been injured in the incident. The school’s coordinates had been formally conveyed to the Israeli army on 12 occasions. Prior to the incident, UNRWA had been attempting to negotiate with the Israeli army for a safe corridor to relocate staff and any displaced person who chose to evacuate to a more secure location; approval for that never came. This followed three previous incidents in the past few days in which UNRWA shelters had been hit.

The scenes of carnage and human suffering that we witnessed today at our elementary school in Beit Hanoun were so appalling and intolerable, that it is difficult to find the words to convey adequately my indignation… I further call for an immediate cease-fire to end the killing and maiming as well as the devastation and traumas that will mark the population for decades. Enough is enough.

UNRWA Commissioner General, Pierre Krahenbuhl, 24 July

Incidents of ambulances being hit are of increasing concern. Yesterday around midnight, a Ministry of Health ambulance was hit several times during an Israeli attack in Khan Youths; civilians who tried to evacuate the ambulance staff,

reportedly came under fire, which injured three of them. When a PRCS ambulance arrived at the site and tried to evacuate the wounded, several missiles were shot next to it, injuring the driver and damaging the vehicle. Initial reports indicate that a similar incident occurred today in Beit Hanoun, resulting in the death of one paramedic and four injuries.

Under international humanitarian law, medical facilities, transportation and personnel shall be respected and protected in all circumstances, and must be allowed to carry out their duties, including in the collection, transport and treatment of the injured, at all times without hindrance. Parties to the conflict must take all measures to ensure access to those in need and must facilitate their safe evacuation.

The cumulative fatality toll among Palestinians is at least 857 as of 14.00 today, according to preliminary data collected by the Protection Cluster from various sources. This includes at least 649 civilians (76 per cent of total fatalities); 122 members of armed groups; and 86 persons whose status is still unknown.

Since the launch of the Israeli military operation, hundreds of homes have reportedly been directly targeted by Israeli airstrikes, and it is estimated that about 650 residential properties (including multi-storey buildings) have been totally destroyed or severely damaged, causing hundreds of civilian casualties and displacing the survivors. To date, at least 42 families have lost three or more family members in the same incident, for a total of 253 fatalities, since the onset of the emergency. This represents an important loss of social fabric in Gaza.

Despite a decrease since the start of the ground offensive, indiscriminate firing by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza into southern and central Israel continued, with most falling in open areas or intercepted by the Iron Dome system, resulting in no additional fatalities. Since 8 July, three civilians in Israel have been killed, including one foreign national, and a few dozen directly injured by rockets or shrapnel. Two soldiers have been killed during the reporting period bringing the Israeli military fatalities since the beginning of the ground offensive to 37.

Displacement

As a result of ongoing hostilities, thousands of Palestinians have continued to flee their homes in search of a safe haven. As of this afternoon, UNRWA was hosting about 159,000 IDPs in 84 schools operated as emergency shelters, additional 10,000 compared to a day before. It is estimated that nearly 9,000 IDPs are residing in 11 government schools and public buildings. This is in addition to the approximately 20,000 individuals who have been displaced, and are now hosted by friends or relatives as destruction or damage to their homes has rendered them uninhabitable.

Humanitarian actors are facing severe challenges in reaching some of the shelters to provide basic supplies, particularly in the northern (Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia) and middle (Bureij and Maghazi) areas, due to the ongoing hostilities taking place in these areas.

The halt in water supply to several shelters due to damaged or inaccessible infrastructure is of increasing concern. While UNRWA and Oxfam are delivering water tankers to those shelters, some have become inaccessible. The UNRWA shelter in Maghazi, for example, has not received water for four days, and IDPs have been dependent on help from neighbors and the municipality.

Public infrastructure and services

Today afternoon, the Gaza Power Plant (GPP) was able to partially resume operations, after repairing the damage sustained on 23 July, and following the delivery of some 300,000 liters of fuel. The latter will enable the plant to run two turbines for the next two days. Two feeder lines supplying electricity from Israel to the middle and southern area that were damaged several days ago have been repaired as well. However, rolling power cuts of about 20 hours per day continue and many households remain disconnected due to the extensive damage sustained by the distribution network.

The impact of hostilities on the functioning of health services raises particular concern. As the number of injuries grows, the coping capacity of health professionals, working under extreme and insecure conditions, is increasingly overstretched. A media report from the maternity ward of the Shifa hospital in Gaza City highlighted increased numbers of miscarriages, premature births, and child mortality amongst pregnant women. Access to obstetric care is limited due to the hostilities, while many health facilities providing obstetric care are not operating. Several of the over 100 women killed since the start of the emergency were reportedly pregnant, including three belonging to the Abu Jama’a family, whose house near Khan Youths was bombed on 20 July, killing 25 people.

The World Health Organization calls for the creation of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of the injured, as well as for the supply of life-saving medicines. The humanitarian corridor should extend to protect the safe passage of patients to access crossing points and exit outside the Gaza Strip for medical care.

Key humanitarian priorities

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

Humanitarian space: increased access for humanitarian workers to carry out life-saving activities, for example, through regular and meaningful humanitarian pauses. This is needed among other reasons, to complete search and rescue operations in several areas; 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. Assistance for IDPs living with host families also needs to be increased, particularly the provision of NFIs and water.

Update on Gaza Crossings:

Erez: On 25 July, the crossing was open from 11:00-13:00 for pre-coordinated movement of UN, ICRC and INGOs staff, as well as journalists and medical evacuations.

Belt Hanoun (Arba-Arba): Closed until further notice.

Kerem Shalom: Was open from 10:00-12:00 on 25 July. No specifications on goods that entered yesterday were available by the time of this update.

Rafah: Open today from 9:00-15:00. Yesterday six truckloads of medical supplies provided by United Arab Emirates Red Crescent entered

Humanitarian needs and response

Protection

Needs

At least 165,000 children require direct and specialized psychosocial support (PSS) on the basis of families who have experienced death, injury or loss of home since the start of the emergency.
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 unexploded ordnance (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 PSS teams and PRCS teams have been able to provide initial psychosocial support to 1,410 children across the Gaza Strip.
Sawa Child Protection Helpline continues to operate providing guidance to caregivers via phone calls. Since 13 July the Helpline has been operating 2⁴/₇ with capacity to take 30 calls simultaneously.
Since 18 July, in cooperation with UNRWA the Youth Empowerment Center has been providing PSS for IDPs inside UNRWA schools used as shelters, reaching 330 children and 211 caregivers.
Since 20 July, 60,000 child protection and PSS text messages have been sent to Jawal subscribers in Gaza. World Vision is providing PSS to children in hospitals and UNRWA shelters.
Right to Play has reached a total of 2,000 children in UNRWA shelters since the start of the emergency.
Tamer Association has been conducting support activities for children in seven of their 22 libraries.
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.

Gaps and Constraints

Ongoing hostilities continue to impede movement of child protection staff and emergency PSS teams, as well as access to basic services for children and their families

Increased hostilities and major electricity outages since 18 July hamper communication with PSS staff.

Sawa Child Protection Help Line needs additional trained counsellors who can answer phone calls.

Due to the rapidly increasing need, there is currently an insufficient number of social workers and psychosocial support counsellors at hospitals.

Managers of government schools employed as emergency refuges are yet to receive child protection training. Such training will be provided on 27 July.

Displaced children and their families 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

3,600 families (approximately 21,600 individuals) whose shelters were totally destroyed or sustained major damage require emergency NFI kits. 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 4140 families (24,800 individuals) whose homes sustained damage but are still inhabitable. Another 23,000 families (141,600 individuals) whose homes sustained minor damage (broken windows and/or damaged doors) need NFI assistance such as nylon and plastic sheets.

Response

Approximately 159,000 people are being provided with shelter in 84 UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip and nearly 9,000 are sheltered in government schools.
10,807 individuals whose homes were destroyed or sustained damage have been provided with NFIs by shelter cluster members.
UNRWA delivered 22 trucks of NFIs to shelters on 24 July. Gaps and Constraints
Cash assistance of over US$ 18 million is needed to allow 3,600 families to cover rental fees and urgent expenses.
Emergency shelter kits, including blankets, mattresses, kitchen sets and hygiene sets, are required for 2,573 families.
Additional shelters for IDPs are required to reduce overcrowding at UNRWA schools.
Lack of information about displaced families hosted with relatives, who are perceived to be vulnerable and in need of NFIs and other assistance.
UNRWA is doing great efforts to provide vital humanitarian supplies, including NFIs, to IDPs in all five areas of Gaza, but is facing massive challenges in regards to supplies and access, in particular in the northern and eastern part of Gaza, due to the precarious security situation and the Israeli-imposed `no-go’ zone.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Needs

The mixing of sewage with water poses a great public health hazard. Several areas are experiencing sewage flooding, particularly in northern Gaza (Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya).
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.
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 (buffer zone) have not been accessible for repairs, and are also likely to be inaccessible to water trucking due to the unsafe security situation.
Urgent need for fuel, to run the water wells, particularly in Nusseirat and Al Bureij camps, as water is pumped to the network only when there is electricity supply.
There is urgent need for 10,000 litres of fuel for two municipal wells in Az Zawayda, as a high tension transformer feeding the wells has been destroyed.
Deir al Balah Desalination Plant cannot produce enough water to serve people in the Middle Area due to a shortage of fuel and electricity outage (3hrs/day).
Rafah schools require additional storage water tanks.

Response

UNRWA is providing water tankering to IDPs in UNRWA shelters in areas where water pumping is currently not possible due to damaged or inaccessible WASH infrastructure. On 24 July, UNRWA delivered 70,000 litres of non-potable water.
On 25 July, Oxfam GB provided water to some 41,000 IDPs in shelters and public buildings.
Ongoing distribution of fuel for WASH facilities is carried out through UNRWA.
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

IDPs in an UNRWA shelter in Al Maghazi have not received drinking water for four days due to access restrictions.
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.

Health and Nutrition

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.

Response

On 24 July, eleven patients were referred to medical treatment in Egypt and six to hospitals in East Jerusalem.
US$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 US $ 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.
ANERA delivered drugs and supplies on 24 July.
Shifa hospital is transferring patients to Al Ahli hospital for post-surgical recuperation to free up beds.
The Israeli authorities reported the set up of a field clinic next to Erez crossing to treat Palestinian injuries on 21 July. Gaps and constraints
Only two of six Community Mental Health Centers are functioning (in Rafah and Zwaydeh).
On 24 July, only 13 out of 21 UNRWA health centres were open.
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.
The health and environmental condition in shelters is a major concern, especially lack of water and hygiene materials. Municipal garbage collection has almost stopped, which increases public health risks.
Donations of medical supplies have been slow to arrive. Several shipments are in transit from Arab countries through Egypt and Jordan and should arrive early next week.

Food Security

Needs

More than 176,000 IDPs hosted at UNRWA shelters, government schools and other facilities, with host families or in open spaces are in need of emergency food assistance. A few thousand IDPs are taking shelter in informal centres, including a mosque and a church, are urgently in need of food assistance, NFIs and other assistance, particularly IDPs in the southern part of Gaza.
Farmers, breeders and fishermen’s livelihoods are heavily compromised. Although a comprehensive figure is not yet available, animal feed for 3,000 herders is required 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

In total, food security partners have reached approximately 150,000 IDPs with food assistance since the beginning of the current crisis.
WFP, in cooperation with UNRWA, is providing ready-to-eat emergency food rations to all IDPs (approximately 155,000) sheltered in UNRWA or government schools. The basket has been diversified to include bread, canned meat and milk (provided by WFP), and halwa, cream cheese, corned beef and vegetables (provided by UNRWA).On 24 July, UNRWA delivered 69 trucks of food to IDP shelters.
WFP continues to provide food assistance to patients and hospital staff.
Food Security Sector partners are delivering complementary food distributions to IDPs at UNRWA and government schools. Other partners are reaching displaced persons at private shelters and hosting families.

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 one 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. FAO is ready to address the needs of herders through provision of fodder for 45 days, but lacks the funding to do so. Currently only 20 per cent of the needed amount has been mobilized.
Some food stores are located in areas which require ‘prior coordination’ due to the Israeli-imposed `no-go’ zone impeding the ability to provide much needed food assistance.

ED Education

Needs

In the last 24 hours, six UNRWA schools sustained damage due to shelling, bringing the total of damaged schools to 123 since the start of the emergency. 42 government schools and 81 UNRWA schools are in need of repair.

Response

NTR

Gaps & Constraints

Access restrictions impede the ability to assess impact of hostilities and carry out repairs to damaged school infrastructure.

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 hospitals and government school shelters.

UNRWA, Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA), Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PCRS) and Internal Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continue the coordination of opening up additional government schools for IDP shelters.

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 latest cluster/sector analysis, it is estimated that US $69 million is now needed for immediate assistance in Gaza, excluding UNRWA’s requirements. Some clusters have also made a latest estimate so far of up to US $220 million that is needed for medium term interventions once the security situation permits. The Humanitarian Country Team has

today begun development of a dedicated Gaza Crisis Appeal which will be finalized by 1 August to address urgent humanitarian needs resulting from the conflict. The appeal once finalized will supersede earlier HCT estimates.

UNRWA has issued its own emergency flash appeal which was revised up to US $115 million this week. The amount requested will help UNRWA respond to the urgent needs of the currently, 159,000 IDPs taking shelter in its facilities, 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 per cent of their requested funding.

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) to distribute NFI and water storage tanks to 1,475 households in Gaza, are being processed. Three additional proposals were approved today: support for the emergency needs of neonatal units in Gaza hospitals by procurement of essential drugs and disposables submitted by Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), the provision of food packages and hygine kits to IDPs hosted in Shelters in Rafah and Khan Unis by Dabn Church Aid; and for the management of ERW to reduce the risk posed to civilians by UNMASt. 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.

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

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.

Hostilities in Gaza and Israel – OCHA situation report (25 July 2014)

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