Day Six in Gaza - "Humanitarian Situation...Is Dreadful" | War and Peace

Day Six in Gaza - "Humanitarian Situation...Is Dreadful"

Published January 01, 2009 @ 05:32PM PT

[Footage from Gaza today by CCTV]

As Israeli airstrikes continue for a sixth day, the UN estimates the total number of fatalities at between 310 - 390, with an additional 1,500 - 1,800 Palestinians injured. Palestinian medical officials report that 38 children and 25 women are among those killed.

Beyond civilian casualties, the overall humanitarian situation in Gaza remains bleak. According to a representative with the NGO DanChurchAid:

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dreadful. They are out of flour for bread, there's zero stock of medicine and the hospitals have no more room for the wounded."

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) offers a more in-depth look at the situation. The OCHA Protection of Civilians Weekly Report, 24 - 31 December explains:

"The widespread Israeli airstrikes have severely disrupted humanitarian and relief operations....Increased risks faced by humanitarian aid workers in Gaza conflict zones have been exacerbated by an almost complete collapse of the Gaza police force, exposing humanitarian staff to the threat of violence and looting. As a result of heightened levels of insecurity, some critical humanitarian activities, including food distribution to the poorest households by WFP, have been suspended."

Keep in mind, the situation was verging on catastrophe even before the attacks, as frequent and prolonged Israeli closures of Gaza since early November - in response to Hamas rocket and mortar attacks against southern Israel - had drastically depleted available humanitarian supplies.

That said, Israel has been allowing some supplies into Gaza, even during the attacks. According to OCHA:

"A total of 218 truckloads carrying mainly food and medical supplies, were allowed entry to the Gaza Strip....The Karni conveyer belt was open on 26 December for the entry of 25 trucks of wheat (nearly 1,000 tonnes) and 18 trucks of animal feed. As of 31 December, nearly 100 truckloads, including 45 of humanitarian supplies, had been expected to arrive into Gaza during the day through Kerem Shalom."

However, Gaza still faces a shortage of wheat and fuel for the electrical plant.

In a rare piece of positive news, the World Health Organization reports that "although healthcare in Gaza had been initially overwhelmed by the large numbers of Palestinian casualties, it remains functional." Yet even this good news is tempered, as hospitals still remain critically short of necessary supplies.

For its part, Israel claims to be doing what it can to avoid civilian casualties. As reported in a New York Times article yesterday:

"On the issue of civilian casualties, Israeli officials maintain that they do not take aim at civilians and do everything possible — like using precision-guidance systems, up-to-the minute intelligence, leaflets and phone calls to targeted areas — to avoid hitting them."

For more information on the risks faced by civilians in Gaza, see this New York Times article, and this article in the Christian Science Monitor. For the most recent UN map showing the attacks in Gaza, see here.

Previous posts on Gaza are available here.

Finally, Informed Comment has been offering excellent analysis and commentary of the overall situation, including an article today by Gitanjali Bakshi - Why Should We Care About Gaza?

Share this Post

Comments (4)

The saddest aspect of the status quo in Gaza is that we as a species have not evolved ethically. With the technological advancement, knowledge and scientific enlightenment, we are still ethically handicapped. We can still find ways to justify mass murder, find ways to accept apartheid and injustice, still classify people as "us vs. them" and then proceed to apply different standards to each.
Just try to imagine Gaza as a US city, and its inhabitants as US citizens, then ask yourself if you would find it acceptable, justifiable, or to say the least ignorable.

Posted by Ryan Hamd on 01/01/2009 @ 10:56PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
Reply to thread
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Ryan
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
Go and read the comments on Change.gov - Obama's site - and vote for those you support. Talking is fine, but we have to force Obama to fight AIPAC and show some leadership on the MIddle East (at the very LEAST to deny funding to Israel and stand up to Saudi arabia). He won't do it unless a very broad coalition of people force him to support Jimmy Carter and the UN Quartet - otherwise he'll cave in. In the scale of IMPORTANCE to the planet - a brokered peace in the middle east, defanging of Israel, humanitarian aid to Palestine instead of bombs for Israel is much more important than "puppy mills" and "autism" - even though those causes are just. If you want CHANGE - then stand up to Israel, otherwise, those dreams of 'armageddon' are closer than you think.

Posted by Terry Bever on 01/02/2009 @ 06:59AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Terry
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
Excuse me! but although being bombarded for years by rockets and terrorist suicide bombers Israel still transfers humanitarian aid and funds in to the Gaza strip!!
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/12/26/news/ML-Israel-Palestinians.php
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7799915.stm
and - talking about borders - why don't the EGYPTIANS open the borders for the poor palestinians? Why don't they welcome their musilim brothers in and provide them with homes and jobs and a normal life??

MAYBE BECAUSE NO ONE WANTS TERORIST MANIACS on their hands?!!

Posted by M Green on 01/02/2009 @ 08:13AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by M
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
I apologize to everyone that it's taken me so long to respond to this most recent ocmment -- just wanted to say that I find M Green's position (that all Palestinians are "terrorist maniacs") as abhorrent as I would anyone who broadcast anti-semitic remarks.

I can't think of anything worse than stereotyping and judging an entire people.

MBK

Posted by Michael Bear on 01/12/2009 @ 06:58PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Michael
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply

Add a Comment

For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

Comment

Check Spelling

Email me when there are new posts to this thread
Comment Policy

Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.

Author

Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.