24
hour reports by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
Due to
the dramatic escalation in violence over the past few days and the
massive assault on Gaza, UNRWA has declared an emergency in all five
areas of the Gaza Strip. It is closely monitoring the situation and
stands ready to mount an emergency response should that become
necessary. The priority for the Agency has now shifted to emergency
operations, providing assistance to those who have been displaced and
sought shelter in UNRWA schools, while attempting to continue regular
operations. Urgent funding needs persist and are increasing
Key
parts:
“With
the resumption of hostilities, 238,097 IDPs are currently seeking
a safe space in 90 UNRWA schools. A new shelter was opened in the
Middle Area (Maghazi).”
“With
the resumption of hostilities, there is a widespread feeling
amongst Palestinians that, should they be lucky enough to survive the
war, there is nothing to look forward to, that there is no future in
Gaza. As the UN Secretary-General has pointed out on several
occasions, the root causes of the conflict must be addressed. Gaza
cannot return to the status quo of the blockade, where people are
deprived of any semblance of a normal life. The Israeli blockade on
Gaza has locked in 1.8 million people in what is one of the world’s
most densely populated areas, without the possibility to export, with
imports tightly constrained, access to fishing areas and agricultural
land severely restricted, and movement of people virtually banned.”
“As
of 8 August 16:30 hrs, over 220,000 Palestinians took refuge in
UNRWA’s 89 shelters. With the resumption of hostilities, the
number of IDPs in UNRWA and government shelters is expected to climb
further as Palestinians continue fleeing their homes in search for a
safe place to stay.”
“Almost
30,000 IDPs are currently sheltered in 28 government schools,
with UN agencies, including UNRWA, providing support such as food,
non food items and water.”
“As
there is almost no electricity, the Agency is also providing
generators and fuel to local bakeries to prevent a collapse of the
market.”
“With
prolonged displacement in schools and no end in sight to hostilities,
UNRWA’s health department is deploying health teams in each
shelter, including a doctor, a nurse, and a health educator. The
teams will monitor nine health issues of concern, which include acute
bloody diarrhea, watery diarrhea, typhoid fever, mumps, measles,
scabies, impetigo, acute flaccid paralysis and viral meningitis.”
“The
resumption of hostilities also impeded UNMAS from clearing UNRWA
installations of unexploded ordnances (UXO). Throughout 8 August,
teams could not deploy to installations. There are 74 UNRWA
installations to be inspected and 17 have been cleared so far.
Continued military activity might require some installations to be
revisited again, thus delaying damage assessment by UNRWA engineers.
UNRWA cannot assess damage to shelters until there is a permanent
ceasefire.”
“Rescue
and medical teams continued recovering bodies. The
cumulative death toll among Palestinians stands at 1,939, with 17 new
fatalities reported. As of 8 August 2014, and according
to information provided by the Ministry of Health, the cumulative
number of injured has reached 9,842.”
“Sanitation
is among the crucial services UNRWA provides to Palestine refugees in
Gaza. UNRWA employs almost 730 sanitation laborers, including more
than 450 Palestinians under the Agency’s Job Creation Programme.
They are responsible for cleaning the streets and alleyways in 8
refugee camps, removing hundreds of tonnes of garbage per day and
maintaining a healthy living environment in the camps. Khalil Balata,
living in the Beach refugee camp in Gaza, is one of them. Khalil
and his family had to evacuate their home due to heavy bombings in
their area. He is committed to fulfilling his duties as best as
possible, even during these difficult times. Khalil believes that,
despite the grave situation and danger facing him on the streets
during the conflict, and his family's fear for his life and their
own, he has to continue working. 'Keeping the camps clean is
important. Otherwise there is potential for disease to spread in the
area. As sanitation laborers we do all we can to keep the area clean
and our people safe from health issues,' said Khalil.”
“One
of Khalil’s colleagues is Mohammed Saeed Aaraisha who lives with
his family of ten in Beach refugee camp as well. Mohammed's house
sustained damages due to the bombing of a neighboring home. His
children were injured. Mohammed continues to work as much as security
allows, despite the imminent danger. 'I leave my family ever day to
go to work despite the situation. I remind myself that my people need
me too. I can't leave them in such a time of crisis.'”
“Throughout
the war, UNRWA has distributed food to the current caseload of
over 830,000 people.”
“Reportedly,
there were 71 rockets and 11 mortar shells fired towards Israel.
There were also reports that 107 air-to-ground missiles were fired
into Gaza in addition to 5 navy shells. 25 tank shells were
fired into populated areas. Reportedly, 14 houses were bombarded.”
“UNRWA
estimates that 97 installations have been damaged since 8 July 2014.
Data on damage to UNRWA installations is based on preliminary
information and subject to change based on further verification.”
Full
Report:
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