Quarterly updated socioeconomic statistics within the occupied Palestinian territory. Selected indicators include demographics, workforce statistics, poverty, food insecurity, wages, and macro-economics.

The first two days of March saw the intensification of ongoing Israeli army air and ground operations throughout the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip remains closed to the outside world, with the exception of limited humanitarian imports and the movement of a small number of international visitors, patients and Israeli-approved Palestinians. In March, the supply of diesel and gasoline by Israel was 57% and 80% less, respectively, compared to one year ago.

Following Israel?s complete closure of the Gaza Strip crossings in January, restrictions on the movement of commodities into Gaza continued. Fuel supplies to the Gaza power plant were restricted to 2.2 million liters per week. The plant?s production was reduced to 55 megawatts (full capacity: 80 megawatts), causing daily eight-hour power cuts everywhere in Gaza except for Rafah, which receives its power from Egypt. Queues for diesel and petrol became a regular occurrence as the supply of diesel and petrol were restricted to 700,000 liters and 70,000 liters per week respectively for the entire Gaza Strip. The distribution of fuel was further complicated by protests by the Association of Gazan Gas Station Owners. Hostilities in February were limited, except for a surge at the end of February which continued into March.

There has not been a significant improvement on the ground in the humanitarian situation since the reinvigoration of the political process following the Annapolis summit. A key reason is the increasing movement restrictions imposed by the IDF both within the West Bank and on the Gaza crossings. The high number of casualties during the IDF operation into Gaza in late February, and the increasing military activities in the West Bank, have further exacerbated an already difficult humanitarian situation. Since Annapolis, there was also a significant increase in the number of rockets and mortars fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel.