Gaza 2008 ... Till now

Prepared by: Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations, www.alzaytouna.net
The Humanitarian
Crisis in Gaza
Prepared by: Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and
Consultations, Beirut, Lebanon, www.alzaytouna.net
A Call for International
Action to Lift the Siege

Gaza Strip is an occupied
territory by international
law. The Fourth Geneva
Conventions that relate to
the protection of civilians
under any occupation by a
foreign power points out
that:
“No protected person may be
punished for an offence he or she
has not personally committed.
Collective penalties and likewise
all measures of intimidation or of
terrorism are prohibited…
Reprisals against protected
persons and their property are
prohibited…”

Gaza Strip is
suffering since
mid June 2007
from a tight
Israeli closure
and collective
punishment,
which is about
to result in a
humanitarian
catastrophe …

The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza
• Gaza Strip
• The Closure
• The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza
– Food/Poverty
– Water
– Health/Medicine
– Trade
– Industry
– Power
• Current Developments

Gaza Strip
• Occupied Palestinian
Territory, by international
law
• Area: 363 km2
• Population ~ 1.5 million
(July 2007 est.) including
around 1 million
refugees.
• Borders:
– 11 km land, with Egypt
– 51 km land, with “Israel”
– 40 km coastline
• Israeli occupation &
control over land, sea
and air access.
‘ ’

The Closure
• Collective punishment, siege, closures, blockades, etc…
all these terms are not new in the Israeli practices since
ever.
• Checkpoints, control of crossings, sea, water, airport
bombed, raids on vital facilities, official institutions,
markets, factories…
• Always used, but not as severely as today:
– Al-Intifada 2000
– After Hamas’s victory in the elections
– After Hamas’s control over Gaza
• Today the closure is so tight and the siege is so harsh
that even basic essential humanitarian needs of food,
medicine, and clean water are lacking.

Gaza today is isolated
like never before. There
is misery and fear on
every single Palestinian
face you see here.
BBC's Matthew Price
9/8/2007

The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza
The United Nation’s
Office of Coordination
for Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) released by the
end of 2007 very
alarming figures about
the humanitarian crisis
in Gaza.

OCHA reports (December 2007
and January 2008) stated that,
since mid June 2007:

Food/Poverty
- No goods other than
basic foods and
medicines are being
allowed into the Gaza
Strip; Supplies of many
stocks that are not
considered absolutely
essential are fast
running out.

- Basic items including
wheat grain, vegetable
oil, dairy products and
baby milk are in
extremely short supply.

- Latest figures show
poverty in the Gaza
Strip has already
reached unprecedented
levels with around eight
out of ten households
living below the poverty
line. Of these, 66.7% of
Gazan households are
living in deep poverty.

- According to World
Food Programme
(WFP), of the 62% of
households who stated
a drop in spending,
93.5% cut back on food
buying overall, leading
to a 98% reduction in
the purchase of meat
and an 86% fall in the
purchase of dairy
products.

- Unemployment is set to
rise above 50% in the
Gaza Strip by the
middle of 2008, if
current trends continue.
Joblessness in the
Gaza Strip stood at
37.6% in the third
quarter of 2007.

- The UN currently
provides food ass-
istance to 80% of
the population in
Gaza Strip.

- Food aid in Gaza is dispensed by the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to
850,000 refugees and WFP to 300,000 non-
refugees. UNRWA has sufficient reserves of
food but almost ran out of sacking and bags
required to distribute food. WFP has very limited
stocks of food for 120,000 of their beneficiaries
and on 23/1/2008, only 10,000 people were
given a portion of their rations.

Water
- In December 2007, Gaza's
water authority (the
Coastal Municipalities
Water Utility, CMWU)
received 50% of its fuel
needs.

- As of 21/1/2008, the
CMWU had only enough
fuel to pump water from 40
out of its 130 wells, and to
pump sewage at 21 out of
its 33 pumping stations. At
least 40% of Gazans had
no running water during
this time, while 30% of the
population (450,000) still
had no water by 23
January 2008.

Lack of access to clean water will lead to
children falling sick, AP, January 2008

Health/Medicine
- Availability of medical supplies at
Ministry of Health (MoH) facilities:
105 of the 416 essential drugs
(25.2%) and 203 of the 596
essential medical supplies (34%)
were at zero availability in
December due to the lack of
financial resources. These drugs
include six first-line pediatric
antibiotics and oncology drugs
needed by 135 patients.

- Approximately 1,000
different spare parts
for medical and non
medical equipment
remain unavailable
in MoH stocks and
on the local market
and cannot be
imported into Gaza
due to the current
import restrictions.

- The standard of
healthcare in the Gaza Strip
is deteriorating rapidly. The
majority of diagnostic
laboratory equipment, for
example MRI and x-ray
equipment, at Ministry of
Health facilities are no
longer functioning, and
cannot be repaired due to
the inability to import spare
parts.

- Israeli raids continued,
regardless of the suffering
and closure, and with the
lack of necessary medicine
and sufficient healthcare
facilities, civilians injured
suffered even more. Raids
targeted civilians, power
facilities, factories, and
markets…

Trade
- Due to the import restrictions
of equipment and spare
parts, 40% of Gaza's
municipality vehicles and
600 containers need urgent
replacement.
The market square is empty, Alzawieh
Market, Gaza, June 2007

- The import of agricultural
products was 36.6% less
from June to December
2007 compared to the same
period in 2006. The export of
agricultural products was
89.6% less from June to
December 2007 compared
to the same period in 2006.
Grocery store in Gaza, bombed
by an Israeli raid, May 2007

- Projects, including those funded by the World
Bank and the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), have been on hold since mid-June
due to the inability to import the required parts
and equipment such as pipes, valves, water and
waste water pumps and electromechanical
spare parts.
- None of the industrial sector's goods have been
exported since mid-June 2007.

Imports & Exports (May05-Nov07)

Industry
- The Gaza Strip's private sector, which generates
53% of all its jobs, has been hardest hit by the
closure and the resulting lack of raw materials
and trade opportunities. More than 75,000
workers out of approximately 110,000 employed
by the private sector have been temporarily laid
off.

Gaza, June 2007, Al-auda biscuit factory is closed due
to a shortage in cocoa. 350 employees, supporting
2,450 dependents – are since then thrown out of work.

- Nearly 90% of all
industrial establish-
ments (3,500 out of
3,900) have shut down
since mid-June 2007,
either temporarily or
permanently, including
the most significant
factories located at
Karni Industrial Zone.
Production lines halted.
A Factory in Gaza, June 2007.

- Only 10% of the Gazan
Strip's industries (400
establishments) remain
partially functional at a
low capacity (below
20%) and after five
months of closures, are
shortly expected to run
out of raw materials.
A factory in Gaza Strip, bombed by an
Israeli raid, May 2007

- The Gazan construction sector is currently
paralyzed, mainly due to shortages in basic
building materials such as cement, aggregates
and steel, on which it is entirely dependent.
- By the end of November 2007, all construction
factories (438) had shut down.

Power
- By the end of January
2008, a new crisis
aggravated in the Gaza
Strip. The fuel that was
used to empower the
only remaining power
station in Gaza was
running out.

- Gaza uses 200 megawatts
of electricity; Israel supplies
60% of this, and Egypt 8%;
The remaining 32% is
produced by Gaza's power
station; Israel supplies the
fuel oil for the Gaza power
station.

- 20 January:
Gaza's only power
plant shuts down.

- 22 January: Israel eases restrictions on a
limited amount of fuel.
Current Developments

- 22 January: Egyptian
border guards disper-
se Palestinian protest
against closure

- 23 January: Border wall breached by
civilian Palestinian crowds

- Today: Is the crisis over?
- Were few days of opening the crossing enough for re-
constructing what years of closure and suffering
aggravated?
- Were these few days enough taking into consideration
that now everything might go back to what it was before
or even worse?
- Isn’t it time yet for our action towards ending the
Israeli occupation, giving the Palestinians their
humanity, justice, and Giving them freedom…

Lift the Siege
on Gaza Strip

OHCA Reports:
Gaza Strip Humanitarian Fact Sheet, December 2007
The Closure of the Gaza Strip: The Economic and Humanitarian
Consequences, December 2007
Gaza Closure: Situation Report, 18-24 January 2008
Gaza Closure: Situation Report, 29 January 2008
Gaza Humanitarian Situation Report: Power Shortages in the Gaza
Strip, 8 January 2008
All reports are available online at the Report Centre, OCHA website
for the occupied Palestinian Territory, (last accessed 4/2/2008), url:
http://www.ochaopt.org/?module=displaysection&section_id=97&static=0&format=html

Gaza 2008 ... Till now

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