Gaza Strip: Snapshot | July 2020

Monthly highlights

• No casualties reported as a result of hostilities in Gaza for the second month in a row.
• Exit arrangements for treatment in Israel and East Jerusalem, via the Erez Crossing, continues to be affected due to the halt of coordination between the Palestinian and Israeli authorities.
• A male patient died after his exit to undergo urgent surgery in Israel was delayed due to the halt of coordination, the third in this context since 21 May.
• The Egyptian and Palestinian authorities kept the Rafah Crossing with Egypt closed between 15 May and 10 August to control the spread of COVID-19. 

Protection of civilians and casualties

• Three rockets were fired by a Palestinian armed group from Gaza towards Israel in July, causing no injuries or damage to property. Following the incident, Israeli forces targeted several, reportedly military, sites in Gaza. This resulted in no injuries. Three houses and a livelihood structure, adjacent to the sites, sustained damage.
• On at least 50 occasions, Israeli forces opened warning fire near its perimeter fence with Gaza and off the Gaza coast, presumably to enforce access restrictions, about 40 per cent below the number of such incidents reported in June.
• On three occasions, Israeli bulldozers entered Gaza and levelled land near the perimeter fence.

Comprehensive data on conflict-related casualties is available at OCHA’s interactive database.

Access

• 325 people holding permits crossed the Israeli-controlled Erez Crossing, a 27 per cent increase compared to June, but two per cent of the 2019 monthly average. Eighty per cent of the exits were patients and their companions, whose permits were exceptionally coordinated by NGOs and international agencies, due to the halt in coordination.
• 305 people entered Gaza via Erez, a slight increase compared to June. All were sent to mandatory quarantine by the local authorities. 
• Some 9,556 truckloads of goods entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom Crossing with Israel, almost the same as the previous month, and 17 per cent above the monthly average in the first half of the year. Another 348 truckloads entered via the Rafah Crossing from Egypt, a 17 per cent decrease from the previous month.  
• Some 197 truckloads carrying mostly agricultural produce, exited Gaza through Israel to the West Bank (157 truckloads); Israel (39 truckloads); and markets abroad (1 truckload); a 19 per cent decrease compared to June (244 truckloads).

Comprehensive data on Gaza crossings is available at OCHA’s interactive database.

Services, Livelihoods and Shelter

• The daily supply of electricity during July declined to 11 hours, compared to14 hours in June, due to the increased demand triggered by summer temperatures.
• The pollution level of the wastewater discharged into the sea increased by 13 per cent in July compared to June, due to repair works at the Gaza wastewater treatment plant. 
• The percentage of essential drugs at zero-stock was 46 per cent in July, almost the same as in June. 
• The Government of Qatar distributed $10,000,000 in financial aid to 100,000 impoverished Palestinian families in Gaza. 
• Three UNRWA health centres received support through a EUR1.79 million donation from the Government of Italy.

An interactive database on electricity supply in Gaza is available at OCHA’s website.