{"id":208125,"date":"2014-08-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T19:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?p=208125"},"modified":"2019-03-12T19:30:51","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T19:30:51","slug":"auto-insert-208125","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/auto-insert-208125\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaza Situation Report (Issue No. 33) &#8211; Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA update"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">\n<hr height=\"7px\" \/>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top:10px;font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;color:#000000;padding-bottom:10px;text-align:left;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><strong>GAZA SITUATION REPORT 33<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"color:#000000;text-align:left;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><strong>10 August 2014\/ Issue No. 33<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"color:#00a1e0;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><strong>HIGHLIGHTS<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<ul type=\"disc\" style=\"margin-left:-20px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">\n<li style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">Hostilities continue. Albeit currently at a lower intensity than during the days prior to the 72-hours ceasefire, the uncertain status of the negotiations in Cairo makes it difficult to predict how the military operation will unfold and how to plan for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA humanitarian and core operations. For example, due to movement restrictions, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵMAS stopped unexploded ordnance clearance of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA installations, thus delaying the start of damage assessments by Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA engineers. Also, with continued hostilities and damage to property across the Gaza Strip, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA engineers cannot assess the damage to homes, which again has an impact on support to families who have lost everything. The cumulative number of housing units destroyed or severely damaged is estimated at over 10,800, which is 70 per cent higher than the damage incurred during the 2008\/9 military operation. The number of houses that sustained light or substantial damage (but still inhabitable) is estimated at 36,700. The level of destruction is unprecedented.<\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:8px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">Mass displacement continues. Within two days, the IDP numbers climbed from 166,527 to 238,097 IDPs in 90 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA shelters, renewing concerns over the conditions in the schools which are not designed to provide for a long term shelter. One new shelter had to be opened in the Middle Area (Maghazi). Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA and WFP staff continued to work round the clock so that all displaced were provided with food and water. Palestinians know that, with the previous shelling to the Agency&#8217;s schools, there is no such as a safe haven in Gaza, and there is nowhere safe to go as the tiny coastal enclave is effectively sealed off. It was reported that some Palestinians, previously sheltered in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA schools and currently undergoing medical treatment, refuse to leave the hospital as they fear renewed shelling to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA schools.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"padding-top:10px;text-align:center;padding-bottom:10px;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><img class=\"lazyload\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27548%27%20height%3D%27266%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20548%20266%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27548%27%20height%3D%27266%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/images\/3bbd83cf511c6e2785257d31004e021f_image0.GIF\" border=\"0\" height=\"266px\" width=\"548px\" \/><\/p><\/div>\n<ul type=\"disc\" style=\"margin-left:-20px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">\n<li style=\"padding-top:8px;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;\"><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">As every single family is affected by the war, displaced or sheltering an unknown number of displaced, some 3 &#8211; 6 hours electricity per day and with very little or no water supply, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA and WFP are planning to undertake an exceptional food distribution starting as of tomorrow 11 August 2014 to somewhat stabilize the situation. This will also help families to cope with the<\/span><span style=\"color:#4f4f4f;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">&nbsp;<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.maannews.net\/eng\/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=719469\" style=\"padding-top:8px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;color:#00a1e0;padding-bottom:4px;text-align:justify;\"><u>increasing food prices<\/u>(link is external)<\/a><span style=\"color:#4f4f4f;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">. <\/span><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">Everyone not currently receiving food aid from Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA and WFP will be eligible to receive a 30 kg flour bag to prepare the traditional &#8216;pita&#8217; bread, and a 10 kg rice bag. This exceptional food ration to 143,000 families &#8211; about 730,000 individuals &#8211; will be distributed through Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA&#8217;s 12 food distribution centers. This distribution presents a massive challenge to all staff, as it requires careful planning in terms of logistics, security, communication and protection. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA and WFP together are regularly providing food aid to over 1 million Palestinians in Gaza. The number of Palestine refugees coming to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA for food aid has increased from less than 80,000 in 2000 to over 830,000 today as Gazans are trapped in a cycle of unemployment, food insecurity and aid dependency because of the Israeli blockade. Since the start of hostilities, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA is continuing to provide its regular food aid through all open Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA distribution centers 6 days a week, with the 7<\/span><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:5pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\"><sup>th<\/sup><\/span><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">&nbsp;day required to stock up food supplies in the centers. In addition, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA and WFP are providing daily food rations to Palestinians sheltered in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA and government schools.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">According to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ information, the cumulative death toll among Palestinians stands at 1,948, with 9 additional fatalities reported, including three boys, one girl and two women. As of 10 August 2014, and according to information provided by the Ministry of Health, the cumulative number of injured has reached 9,875. The death toll on the Israeli side stands at 67, including 64 soldiers, three civilians and one foreign national. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"color:#00a1e0;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><i><strong>GENERAL<\/strong><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><span style=\"color:#00a1e0;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">Past 24 hours<\/span><span style=\"color:#4f4f4f;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">: <\/span><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">On Saturday, an Israeli official said that negotiators would not return to Cairo until the ceasefire agreement was renewed. It was initially reported the Palestinian delegation would not leave Cairo until a renewed ceasefire agreement was reached, but then later on Saturday night it was said the delegation would also leave unless Israel agreed to return to the Egypt mediated negotiations. Egypt reportedly focused on getting the Palestinian delegation to agree to a ceasefire, with the key issues &#8211; the lifting of the Israeli blockade on Gaza, the reopening of its seaport, airport and border crossings &#8211; unresolved and to be discussed after a ceasefire was reached. It was reported Israel had offered to ease some restrictions to the blockade, but concessions fell far short of Palestinian demands. Reportedly, Israel offered to expand the fishing area from 6 to 12 nautical miles, which is still less than what was agreed in the Oslo accords, to ease restrictions on transfer of goods to the West Bank and exports abroad, and increase the number of permits for Palestinians to travel between Gaza and the West Bank via the only functional border crossing, Erez.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">Similar Israeli concessions made in the November 2012 ceasefire agreement were subsequently temporarily revoked in response to rocket fire from Gaza, including the extension of the fishing limit. Overall, after the easing of the blockade in 2010 with Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ agencies allowed to import construction materials, there has been no significant relaxation of the Israeli blockade.<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"color:#00a1e0;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><i><strong>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA RESPONSE<\/strong><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA counselors provide psychological first aid, orientation and advice to parents, and individual counseling to those that suffer from psychological distress. Counselors also engage in psychosocial activities with children, which include playing, relaxation and meditation exercises, drawing and storytelling.<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">Bassema Ghanem is one of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA counselors working to help the displaced children. She says: &#8220;Our main goal is to provide them with a sense of safety and security so that they feel protected&#8221;, which is a challenging undertaking given the attacks on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA schools. Even small children know there is nowhere safe to go in the entire Gaza Strip, and nobody can leave. &#8220;As counselors, we have noticed serious behavioral changes in children, such as aggression, anger, nervousness and restlessness. Children cannot sleep or fall asleep only to wake up screaming in the middle of the night, clinging to their parents.&#8221; Bassema explains that drawing has a particularly positive effect on children. &#8220;I noticed that many of the children tend to draw houses, trees and flowers, reflecting their hope to return to a home and to have a future&#8221;, she says.<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">Since the beginning of the crisis, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA&#8217;s Community Mental Health Programme has served over 91,000 parents and engaged over 100,000 children in recreational activities. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA partner organizations, including the Sharek Youth Forum, provided further support to over 14,000 adults and almost 80,000 children.<\/p><\/div>\n<ul type=\"disc\" style=\"margin-left:-20px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">\n<li style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">Over the reporting period, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA delivered 31 truckloads of non food items (blankets and cleaning supplies) as well as 59 truckloads of food to shelters in cooperation with WFP. Despite the significant increase in IDPs, nobody went hungry in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA shelters thanks to staff working around the clock. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA also distributed non food items to community based rehabilitation centers and to the displaced staying in Shifa Hospital, the main hospital in Gaza City.<\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">In cooperation with partners and donors, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA continued to distribute potable and non-potable water to 90 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA emergency shelters. With the increase in IDP numbers, water needs are on the rise again, and Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA is working to increase service providers to meet the escalating needs. Over the reporting period, 570 cubic meters of potable water were trucked to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA shelters, excluding donations of bottled water to shelters where no sufficient water supply was provided through trucks. 777 cubic meters of non-potable water was trucked by Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA, municipalities and contractors to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA shelters. Some shelters benefit from Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA wells and municipal water sources. Most of Gaza&#8217;s households reportedly have no water supply, or receive water for a few hours every five days.<\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">As reported yesterday, the launch of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA&#8217;s hygiene and water campaign was impeded by the resumption in hostilities. As of this morning, posters on water conservation, appropriate hygiene practices and treatment of scabies and lice were put up on the walls in all shelters, including in toilets and water points. Thirty volunteer graduate students will start today to train water and environment focal points at shelters and Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA&#8217;s Job Creation Programme workers. This team will then select and train hygiene and water committees, including on local monitoring of tap water use. The campaign serves to ensure that IDPs are aware of and take responsibility for helping to promote clean shelters and prevent major health issues.<\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">14 of 21 health centers were operating. 79 per cent of the staff reported to work, and 21,934 patients were served. There is a remarkable 39 percent increase in patients coming from shelters compared to Thursday 7 August.<\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA&#8217;s food distribution to a total caseload of over 830,000 beneficiaries continued. Food rations were provided to 3,096 families through Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA distribution centers.<\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA also continued to provide its logistics capacity to supply fuel to municipalities, water, sanitation and health facilities through the WASH and Health clusters (led by Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF and WHO). 1,000 liters were delivered to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF for the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU).<\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">Of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA&#8217;s Infrastructure and Camp Improvement Department, 280 staff, representing 83 per cent of the permanent sanitation staff, reported to work. Together with 364 Palestinians employed under the Job Creation Programme (JCP), they removed a total of 391 tonnes of waste from all Gaza camps. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA maintenance staff continue to undertake critical repair work in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA installations, including plumbing and electrical works in shelters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"color:#00a1e0;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><i><strong>SUMMARY OF MAJOR INCIDENTS<\/strong><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">Reportedly, there were 29 rockets fired towards Israel. There were also reports that 77 air-to-ground missiles were fired into Gaza in addition to 25 navy shells. 45 tank shells were fired into populated areas.<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"color:#00a1e0;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><i><strong>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA INSTALLATIONS<\/strong><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA estimates that 97 installations have been damaged since 8 July 2014. Data on damage to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA installations is based on preliminary information and subject to change based on further verification. <\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"color:#00a1e0;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><i><strong>FÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵDING NEEDS<\/strong><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">More information on the revised flash appeal can be found<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/unispal.un.org\/pdfs\/C55E5FC10757983085257D190006B6C4.pdf\" style=\"color:#0000ff;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">&nbsp;<u>here<\/u><\/a><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"color:#00a1e0;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><i><strong>CROSSINGS<\/strong><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n<ul type=\"disc\" style=\"margin-left:-20px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">\n<li style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">The Rafah crossing was open for foreign passport holders and wounded Palestinians.<\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">The Erez crossing was closed.<\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;text-align:justify;padding-bottom:4px;font-size:8pt;font-family:Arial, san-serif;\">The Kerem Shalom crossing was closed.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GAZA SITUATION REPORT 33 10 August 2014\/ Issue No. 33 HIGHLIGHTS Hostilities continue. Albeit currently at a lower intensity than during the days prior to the 72-hours ceasefire, the uncertain status of the negotiations in Cairo makes it difficult to predict how the military operation will unfold and how to plan for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA humanitarian and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/auto-insert-208125\/\"> [&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2929,2949],"document-source":[1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1769,1829,2033,5358,1873,2057,2005,2533,1741,5200,2613,2349,2465,2309,1745,2385,2729,2273,1841],"entity":[5343,1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-208125","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-situation-report","document-category-update","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-casualties","document-subject-children","document-subject-ClosuresCurfewsBlockades","document-subject-extrajudicial-killings","document-subject-food","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-health","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","document-subject-humanitarian-relief","document-subject-internally-displaced-persons","document-subject-living-conditions","document-subject-poverty","document-subject-protection","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","document-subject-security-issues","document-subject-shelter","document-subject-water","document-subject-women","entity-palestine-plo-palestinian-authority","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/208125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/208125\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=208125"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=208125"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=208125"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=208125"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=208125"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=208125"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=208125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}