On Friday 18 January, 2008, following a surge in conflict between the IDF and Palestinian militants affecting civilians on both sides, Israel closed all crossings from Israel into Gaza, cutting it off from all supplies of food, medicine and fuel including humanitarian aid. The blockade which lasted until January 22 deprived Gaza’s power station of fuel, forcing it to cease operation. The resulting power cuts of around twelve hours per day put immense pressure on civilians and hindered the provision of public services, particularly in health, food aid and water and sanitation. On January 23, militants destroyed large parts of the border wall between Rafah and Egypt, allowing large numbers of Gazans to cross into Egypt.

Israel responded to the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip on 15 June 2007 by closing Gaza?s borders to export and severely limiting imports. This isolation of the Gaza Strip, along with a lack of effective coordination between the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and the Hamas authorities in Gaza has resulted in shortages of food, medical and relief items, spare parts for critical health and water sanitation installations, materials for humanitarian projects and raw materials for Gaza?s commerce and industry. This inter-agency fact sheet highlights the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as of December 2007.

Since 15 June 2007, when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, Israeli restrictions, the lack of funding and the lack of coordinationbetween Palestinian bodies have resulted in shortages of food, medical and relief items, spare parts for critical health and watersanitation equipment, materials for humanitarian projects and raw materials for the Gaza Strip?s commerce and industry.

UN agencies have been informed by Israeli Defence Forces and Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials that all crossings into the occupied Palestinian territory will be standardized by the end of 2007. UN agencies are seeing increasing restrictions at crossings into the West Bank similar to those already in place into Gaza.