After 10 Days Of Israeli Attacks On Gaza - report from MA'AN in Gaza

27 December 2008 to 5 January 2009: The Israeli military operation "Molten Lead" has entered its tenth day, with the population of Gaza bearing the brunt of the violence. Israeli ground forces are currently deployed around the large Palestinian population centres in the northern Gaza Strip (Gaza City, Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, and the Jabalia Refugee Camp), eastern Gaza Strip, between the Gaza governorate and Middle Area, and in southeast Rafah.

Gaza is now divided into two sections with internal movement within the Strip extremely dangerous. It is increasingly difficult for humanitarian staff to distribute aid or reach casualties. More than a million Gazans still have no electricity or water, and thousands of people have fled their homes for safe shelter. In addition to the destruction of essential infrastructures, including electricity, water and waste water, communications and roads, hospitals are unable to provide adequate intensive care to the high number of casualties.

75% of Gaza's electricity has been cut off. Since the ground operation, all Gaza governorate and most of North Gaza and the Middle Area are without electricity and there is limited electricity in Rafah, following attacks which damaged 6 of 10 power lines from Israel and one of two power lines from Egypt. The Gaza Strip is currently receiving just 25% of its total electricity need.

Gaza's water and sewage system is on the verge of collapse due to the lack of power and fuel. The CMWU warns that 48 of Gaza's 130 water wells are not working at all due to lack of electricity, damage to the pipes and/or depleting fuel reserves on which the generators depend (sufficient only for coming 2-3 days). At least 45 additional water wells are operating only partially and will shut down within days without additional supplies of fuel and electricity. Over 530,000 people (approximately 400,000 people in Gaza and North Gaza, 100,000 people in Rafah, and 30,000 people in the Middle Area) are entirely cut off from running water, and the rest are receiving water only intermittently, every few days.

10 days of Israeli attacks on Gaza resulted in around 550 persons killed and 2600 injured as it was reported from the Ministry of Health. Conmtinuous aircraft attacks hit more than 700 targets, mostly public buildings or civilian homes. All ministries' buildings have been hit (including Ministry Of Education, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Agriculture). All police stations and security forces centers were totally destroyed, 14 mosques were attacked during prayer times, so dozens were killed when they were praying, Seven ambulances were shelled and destroyed and their crews either killed or injured. Seven emergency health workers were killed and more than ten were injured when they were trying to access victims of shelling and attacks.

An UNRWA school was also a target for Israeli attacks and eight UNRWA students were killed.

Many of the recent fatalities are women and children with entire families among the dead. This morning, an Israeli shell killed seven members of a Palestinian family (five children and their parents) in their home in the Beach refugee camp .Through the random shelling from tanks and the sea more than 15 families (mostly women and children) were devastated, losing at least five members of the family including parents.

All borders are totally closed and only some few medical supplies came in through the Rafah Gate and then the Israeli aircrafts shelled the around the Palestinian side of the border to stop the entry of any kind of materials.

During the last three months of blockade Palestinians smuggled some simple goods as food through tunnels between Gaza strip and Egypt; in the second day of Israeli attacks on Gaza continuous F-16 shelling by special (vibration power) missiles destroyed all tunnels.

Israel allowed only a few truck loads to enter Gaza for UNRWA & WFP, only for public relations purposes, to show that Israel has not caused the humanitarian crises in Gaza.

In the Gaza Strip , all the cities have become ghost towns. Everybody is too afraid to look out the windows as a result of intensive shelling, especially in Gaza City and in the Northern Gaza Strip. There is not any kind of municipal services, nor support for basic needs; there is no electricity, domestic water, potable water, fuel, cooking gas, flour, bread ,meat ,milk, pampers, medicines, fodder and all food stuff. Moreover the wastewater plants are not operating.

In the directly targeted areas of the Israeli ground attacks, hundreds of families have been displaced from their homes leaving all they had ( clothes, food, basics,..), their homes having been totally or partially damaged. They have gone to stay as groups in UNRWA schools - but even UNRWA schools have been shelled..

A large number of people from the border areas are being displaced deeper into Gaza as the ground operations progress. UNRWA has now opened 11 shelters for those displaced. 5,000 persons are currently staying at them, though the number is quickly increasing.

Israeli troops damaged and uprooted wide areas of agricultural lands where losses are very high (first rough estimation is USD $25 million). Moreover the Gaza port has been subject to continuous shelling on a daily basis. At least 15 fishing boats were destroyed and sunk.

Most commodities are unable to be found; shops -- if open -- have empty shelves, unable to replace what is consumed. The prices of fresh vegetables (locally grown) have sharply increased as wide areas have been uprooted and access to farmlands is impossible.

All medicines and medical supplies have run out from all operating hospitals. The capacities of the hospitals and clinics cannot treat the number of casualties, an average of 300 daily, especially in operating theatres and intensive care rooms.

Hospitals are struggling to function under 24-hour power outages. Hospital electricity is still being provided by back-up generators but fuel for generators is precariously low. Today, generators at Health Ministry ambulance stations, vaccine stores, labs and warehouses shut down due to lack of fuel, until UNRWA was able to deliver fuel to the Ministry.

The sewage situation is highly dangerous, posing serious risks of the spread of water-borne diseases. Sewage is flooding into Beit Lahiya, farmland, and the sea, after five of Gaza's 37 wastewater pumping stations shut down due to lack of power. The remaining 32 stations are operating only partially and will shut down within days unless they receive more diesel. The most dangerous problem is the wastewater treatment plant in Beit Lahiya. In addition to the risks of any strikes near the lake, the sewage level of the lake is rising by approximately 1.5 cm to 2 cm each day due to lack of electricity or fuel to pump overflow sewage from the main lake into the lagoons. Within a week, an increase of 15-20 cm is expected in the water level, which is close to overflowing.

One of the worst aspects of the attack is the psychosocial problems for children. Fear has become prevalent on their faces; bed wetting and screaming and many other behavioural phenomena are also common.

Fadi Hindi, Office Director
MA'AN Development Center, Gaza
www.maan-ctr.org

MA'AN Development Center is a Palestinian non-government organisation working throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip. MA'AN has been a successful, long-term partner of Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA for the past twenty years.
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Last Modified: Friday, 09-Jan-2009 16:30:08 EST
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