Humanitarian Bulletin
Relative quiet returns to Gaza after serious escalation of hostilities in November. Significant increase in the supply of water in Gaza following increase in electricity supply from previous 5 to 16-18 hours a day. Food insecurity in Gaza affects 68% of households; unemployment at all-time high of nearly 55%. Increase in incidents by Israeli soldiers and settlers at Palestinian schools disrupts access to education in West Bank.
Electricity supply in Gaza increased up to 18 hours a day in some areas, following the provision of additional fuel to operate the Gaza Power Plant. Only 22 per cent of patients injured during the Gaza demonstrations, who were referred for follow- up surgery in the West Bank or Israel have been granted Israeli exit permits. 97 per cent of ground water extracted in Gaza is unfit for human consumption, generating the risk of a waterborne disease outbreak. The number of Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians and their property during 2018 grew by 57 and 175 per cent, compared with 2017 and 2016, respectively.
The oPt Humanitarian Fund launched an $8.3 million allocation for the implementation of some critical but unfunded HRP projects, the majority in the Gaza Strip. Less than 60 per cent of applications for exit permit by patients seeking treatment outside Gaza were approved by the Israeli authorities in the first half of 2018. The continuous opening of the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing has been impaired by factors, including the reduced number of passengers allowed through and the obscure criteria used for selecting travelers. OCHA recorded 705 permanent checkpoints and roadblocks restricting or controlling Palestinian vehicular or pedestrian, movement across the West Bank.
Israeli authorities lift recent restrictions on Kerem Shalom but additional restrictions imposed at Erez Crossing. UN emergency fuel programme for essential health and WASH services in Gaza about to run out. Pest that infects olive trees expected to significantly reduce this year’s harvest in West Bank
Israel’s blockade on Gaza tightened: further import restrictions, a suspension of exports, and a reduction of the accessible fishing area. The 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan is only 24 per cent funded, an all-time low, forcing agencies to scale down interventions. Over 100 million litres of poorly-treated sewage discharged into the sea every day, posing serious health and environmental hazards for Gaza’s population. Herding communities in, or next to, a “firing zone” in eastern Nablus governorate face an increasingly coercive environment due to various Israeli practices.
$4.8 million urgently required for trauma management and emergency healthcare response to Gaza demonstrations. Housing survey reveals that 43,700 substandard homes in Gaza require full reconstruction or emergency shelter assistance. Military order allowing the demolition of new unlicensed structures in Area C within 96 hours from the issuance of a notice, frozen, pending decision by Israeli Supreme Court. Palestinian families move out of the Batan al Hawa neighbourhood in East Jerusalem due to coercive environment by Israeli settler presence.
Over 13,000 Palestinians injured since the start of the Gaza demonstrations, exceeding the number of injuries during the 2014 hostilities, and further straining the already limited capacity of Gaza’s health system. The continuation of food assistance programmes targeting over 1.2 million poor Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the second half of 2018 is at risk due to severe funding shortfalls. 84 settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties or property damage in the first four months of 2018, the highest such figure since 2014. Palestinian Bedouin community in the outskirts of East Jerusalem, in Area C of the West Bank, at heightened risk of forcible transfer, following a final ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court.
40 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces during mass demonstrations in the Gaza Strip, and 6,800 injured; nearly 30 per cent of injuries by live ammunition (as of 30 April). Humanitarian agencies appealed for US$5.3 million for Gaza, for healthcare, mental health and psychological support, and protection monitoring. Electricity cuts of up to 20 hours a day continue to undermine service provision in Gaza, including education. Palestinian Bedouin community in Area C of the West Bank at heightened risk of forcible transfer following court hearing.
18 Palestinians killed and 1,400 injured by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, the majority during demonstrations at the perimeter fence; concern over possible excessive use of force by Israeli soldiers. Some 22,000 people in Gaza are still displaced from the 2014 hostilities, primarily due to the lack of funding for reconstruction, and are living in precarious conditions and constant uncertainty. Seasonal expansions of the permitted fishing areas in Gaza have significantly increased the total catch, but this remains limited to low-value sardines; concern over the methods used to enforce access restrictions remain. The operation of mobile health clinics in 35 vulnerable communities in the West Bank has been halted, and is at risk in another 154 communities, due to severe funding gaps.
Donations of $3.5 million avert a halt of emergency fuel program in Gaza, preventing the collapse of vital services; available funding will be exhausted by mid-2018. Newly-built classrooms demolished in a Bedouin community located in an area planned for settlement expansion; 44 schools in Area C and East Jerusalem at risk of demolition. Closure of a West Bank village, ongoing for over one month, generates hardship and raises concern about collective punishment.
