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Israeli Defence Forces (IDF)
entered northern Gaza at 22.30 on Tuesday, 28 September establishing
positions on high ground overlooking Izbet Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia
and Jabalia. This incursion came in the wake of the continued firing
of home made rockets by Palestinian militants towards Israel, and
the killing of three soldiers in Morag settlement on 23 September
and one settler in Neve Dekalim on 24 September.
Heavy fighting has taken
place in the last six days. The Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH)
has recorded 82 Palestinian deaths of which 24 were children. Three
hundred and sixteen Palestinians have been injured of which over 110
were children. Five Israelis have died including two children who
were killed by a home made rocket fired by Palestinian militants
from northern Gaza into Sderot on 29 September.
Defence Minister Mofaz
announced on 30 September, a ělarge scale and prolonged operation
aimed at pushing Palestinian missiles out of range of Sderot with
plans to create a buffer zone that may reach up to nine kilometers.
Israeli reinforcements entered northern Gaza on 30 September and it
is estimated that up to 200 tanks, bulldozers and armoured personnel
carriers are now present on the ground.
Jabalia Camp has
remained the focus of the operation. Located to the north of Gaza
city, the camp covers an area of 1.4 km2 with a registered refugee
population of 103,646. The Israeli incursion has particularly
focused on the Block 4 area of the camp as well as Blocks 2, 3 and
5. The area to the east of the camp between Sika street and Salah ed
Din street has also been the site of extensive land leveling and
infrastructure damage.
In the course of the
last three days, the IDF has isolated Beit Hanoun from the rest of
Gaza with no movement for the local population in and out of the
area, with the exception of humanitarian cases where prior
coordination is required. Movement in and out of the Tal el Zatar
and Glebo areas in the east of Jabalia is all but impossible on
account of the large numbers of Israeli tanks.
Health. There are six
primary health care centres in Jabalia run by the Ministry of
Health, UNRWA and NGOs. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports
that all these centres are currently operating 24 hours a day. Two
primary health care centres are present in Beit Hanoun. The UNRWA
clinic has been adversely affected by the tight closure imposed
around Beit Hanoun as most of its health staff live in Beit Lahia
and Jabalia and are unable to reach their work place in spite of
requests for coordination to the IDF. There is also one primary
health care centre in Izbat Beit Hanoun run by the MoH which is
currently closed because of the incursion. Two MoH health centres
are in Beit Lahia and these are working 12 hours a day.
Medecins du Monde
(France) undertook a brief assessment to the two northern Gaza
hospitals Kamal Adwan hospital (MoH) in Jabalia and Al Awda hospital
(Health Work Committees) in Beit Lahia on 4 October. These are both
57-bed facilities that have received the majority of casualties in
the last six days. MDM concludes that both hospitals have sufficient
staff, drugs and consumables although supplies of oxygen were
running low. (Since the assessment, ICRC reports that replacement
supplies have been delivered to the hospitals from a private company
based in Erez industrial estate).
In order to increase
capacity, ICRC has provided an emergency surgery kit to Al Awda
hospital which has sufficient supplies and equipment for 100
severely wounded or between 150 and 200 with less serious injuries.
A second kit will go to Kamal Adwan. UNICEF has delivered an
emergency health kit to the MoH that is destined for Kamal Adwan
which has sufficient supplies to treat 30,000 people for one month.
Concern is growing over
the increasing number of delays, denials of access and incidents
involving ambulances operated by the MoH and the Palestine Red
Crescent Society (PRCS) . Of a total number of 13 incidents between
29 September and 5 October, 10 occurred in northern Gaza.
Delays of between four
and eight hours have been recorded by both the MoH and PRCS. In one
incident, a woman who was in labour had to wait four hours before
being able to exit Beit Hanoun to reach Kamal Adwan . In one of two
such incidents, a PRCS ambulance was hit by direct gun fire in
Jabalia on 30 September leaving one paramedic with moderate wounds
to his arm.
WHO along with UNRWA and
ICRC is particularly concerned over the ability of patients with
chronic illnesses such as asthma, diabetes and cardiac disorders to
gain access to their required medications. This is particularly
relevant to those areas that have become isolated on account of the
large Israeli military presence and families are too afraid to leave
their homes in Sika street, Tal el Zatar, Glebo and parts of Beit
Hanoun. Interruptions in electrical supplies means that insulin can
not be stored and patients require access to oral substsitutes.
Homes and Property.
Given the volatile situation on the ground, it has proved difficult
for UNRWA to undertake an accurate assessment of the number of homes
that have been demolished. ICRC on the basis of its movement around
eastern Jabalia in the last 3 days estimates that between 70 and 80
homes have been destroyed.
Land leveling.
Further to the 1 October humanitarian update, ICRC has confirmed on
the basis of its field visits over the last three days, that
extensive land leveling has taken place between Sika street and
Salah ed Din street. Given the volatile situation on the ground, it
has not been possible for UNRWA or local organizations such as the
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) or Al Mezan to undertake
an accurate assessment of the extent of land that has been leveled
since the start of the operation. Infrastructure damage. PRCS
reported that there had been breaks in the electrical supply in
blocks 2,4,5 and 6 of Jabalia camp. One of the principal activities
of ICRC in the last three days has been to accompany Municipal
engineers to restore power lines in the Sika street area and to
date, power is largely restored, although the continued presence and
movement of Israeli tanks can quickly lead to breaks in the system.
UNICEF will provide five generators for the worst affected areas in
Jabalia as a temporary substitute until regular power supplies are
restored.
Breaks in the electrical
network clearly have implications for the flow of water. ICRC has
expressed concern over the ability of people living in Sika street,
Tal el Zatar and Glebo to get access to regular supplies of water.
ICRC has so far distributed 9000 litres of bottled water. UNICEF has
distributed 45 water kits in north east Jabalia with each kit
designed to serve 10 families. No water shortages are reported in
Beit Hanoun.
Food. As the
incursion approaches the end of the first week there is growing
concern among international organizations over the ability of people
to access food. In the worst affected areas, shops remain closed and
people are too afraid to leave their homes to buy food. Both UNRWA
and the World Food Programme (WFP) have been unable to undertake
distributions since the start of the IDF operation. UNRWA attempted
a distribution on 30 September but this had to be abandoned due to
the proximity of fighting. ICRC has distributed 250 food parcels in
the Sika street area.
UNRWA and WFP is seeking
coordination with the IDF to do a joint food distribution targeting
around 500 families at the earliest opportunity. Food supplies would
be designed to last between two and four weeks depending on family
size. UNRWA has emphasized the need to identify safe distribution
points to allow families to collect the food.
Education. No schools
are open in Jabalia , Beit Hanoun or Beit Lahia. Two UNRWA schools
have had boundary walls damaged by Israeli tanks. The Rawdet Tal el
Zatar kindergarten serving 500 children aged between three and four
has been destroyed. UNICEF reports the cost of ruined educational
materials alone at $20,000.
Humanitarian Access.
International humanitarian staff working for the UN have been
prevented from entering Gaza since Tuesday, 21 September. An attempt
at coordination was made on Monday, 4 October for nine staff to
return. Five staff were informed by the Israeli DCL before they left
Jerusalem that their security clearance needed to be reviewed by the
General Security Services while the remaining four were unable to
enter Gaza when they arrived at Erez.
UNITED NATIONS NATIONS
UNIES OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS OCHA, MAC
House, P.O.Box 639, Jerusalem, 91004 Tel/Fax: +-972-(0)2-5829962 .
Source: UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Aff
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