Day Eight in Gaza - Attacks Continue, Some Aid Getting Through

[AP Footage from Gaza yesterday]

Israeli bombing attacks continued Saturday, for the eight straight day, as the possibility of a ground invasion loomed.

According to the January 2nd Gaza Humanitarian Situation Update by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), elements of the current humanitarian crisis include:

"- [Through the first seven days of the attacks,] registered fatalities amount to 327 and injuries to over 1,100, however there are estimates of additional unregistered casualties up to 421 people killed and 2,100 injured. People are living in a state of fear and panic.

- 80% of the population cannot support themselves and are dependant on humanitarian assistance. This figure is increasing.

- According to WFP, the population is facing a food crisis. There are food shortages of flour, rice, sugar, dairy products, milk, canned foods and fresh meats.

- The imports entering are insufficient to support the population or to service infrastructure,  maintenance and repair needs.

- The health system is overwhelmed, having already been weakened by the 18- month blockade.

- The utilities are barely functioning: the only electric power plant has shut down. Some 250,000 people in central and northern Gaza do not have electricity at all due to the damage to fifteen electricity transformers during the air strikes. The water system provides running water once every 5-7 days and the sanitation system cannot treat the sewage and is dumping 40 million litres of raw sewage into the sea daily. Fuel for heating, needed due to the cold weather, and cooking gas, are no longer available in the market.

- There has been significant destruction in the Gaza Strip, over 600 targets hit, including roads, infrastructure, the Islamic university, government buildings, mosques and civil police stations."

The food shortage is particularly worrying.  According to the World Food Program (WFP) representative in the occupied Palestinian territory: "The current situation in Gaza is appalling and many basic food items are no longer available on the market."

The UN resumed food distributions on January 1st, with six of ten food distributions centers open as of yesterday.  Yet the shortage of wheat remains a critical issue. OCHA provides further detail:

"No wheat grain has entered Gaza since the beginning of the hostilities, which has resulted in the closure of all mills. Mill owners confirmed that the Ministry of National Economy in Gaza ordered them to allocate the available wheat flour to bakeries and to distribute it under its supervision (instead of selling it on the market). As of today, fewer than 20 bakeries throughout the Gaza Strip are operational, due to lack of flour and cooking gas."

On the other hand, the UN reports that the health situation is stabilizing:

"According to various sources in the Ministry of Health and ICRC, while conditions at hospitals remain extremely precarious, the situation has somewhat stabilized following the arrival of a large volume of medical supplies (i.e. 30 truckloads since Sunday). On 1 January, four sophisticated generators were brought in through Rafah crossing and distributed to Gaza Ministry of Health hospitals as an additional power backup. The main challenge remains the shortage of adequate medical equipment and spare parts, compounded by the 18-month blockade."

Israel is allowing limited humanitarian supplies into Gaza.  According to the UN, 58 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered Gaza on Thursday, with another 70 truck expected yesterday.  The Israeli Foreign Ministry has reported that, since the beginning of the fighting last week, 335 truckloads of humanitarian aid have entered Gaza.

Finally, for those interested in whether the attacks violate international law, there's an interesting exchange between Alan Dershowitz, writing in the Wall Street Journal (taking - surprise, surprise - the position that Israel's actions are justified), and a response by Kevin Jon Heller, writing at Opinio Juris.  Personally, my sympathies are with Heller, as I've always found Dershowitz a bit much.

(And by a bit much, I mean completely insufferable.)