Tracking - Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

[Israel allows limited humanitarian aid into Gaza - Footage from CCTV]

According to an article today from IRIN: "Some 60 trucks carrying food and medical supplies entered Gaza on 29 December.  A hundred more trucks were waiting to enter on 30 December."

This is a step in the right direction, but as mentioned yesterday, this is still far from enough, considering that the frequent and prolonged closures since early November have drastically depleted humanitarian supplies in Gaza.

The IRIN article quotes a spokesperson for UNRWA in Gaza, who described the situation:

“The warehouses in Gaza are depleted; we ceased food distribution on 18 December. Even this shipment will only sustain us for a few days. We now need to deal with the matter of the security of the truck drivers given the aerial attacks, and also think how we can distribute the supplies given the heavy bombardment.”

On December 27th, a group of NGOs operating in Gaza - including Oxfam, CARE, CAFOD, Medico International and Diakonia - warned of a humanitarian catastrophe.  Accoding to the statement:

"Gaza has already been paralysed by the Israeli blockade. A military attack on Gaza could completely destroy essential infrastructure for sewage treatment, water provision and electricity for hospitals and homes, with devastating impact on civilians."

Many NGOs have had to suspend activities as a result of the recent attacks.  Below is a quick round-up for how the attacks are affecting some NGO programs on the ground:

- CARE:

"CARE has set up a life-saving supply of medicines and equipment to hospitals in Gaza. But the agency has warned that the emergency resources - from limited stocks within Gaza - will run out shortly...Health staff and facilities are overwhelmed by the sheer scale and nature of casualties flooding hospitals."

- Mercy Corps:

"Mercy Corps is monitoring evolving humanitarian needs in the embattled Gaza Strip as our programs there — which offer psychosocial assistance to children and provide vulnerable residents with short-term jobs such as sewing hospital linens and baking for kindergartens — are on hold as Israel continues its military offensive...Even before the military action, Mercy Corps programs were struggling to operate because of Israel's frequent closure of the Gazan border, which led to fuel rationing and electricity and water shortages."

- Oxfam:

"Oxfam International has already been forced to temporarily suspend most of its humanitarian work in Gaza because of the bombing, and a programme which will feed 25,000 people has also been put on hold. Oxfam’s local health partners are actively helping people injured in the current bombing."

- World Vision:

"World Vision staff members have minimized operations due to insecurity, but staff living in Gaza have visited program areas and continue to assess the situation...The number of casualties has completely overwhelmed the limited health services, which have already been starved of essential surgical supplies by the 18-month Israeli blockade against the import of goods, including most humanitarian supplies. The recent strikes have also caused severe damage to the civilian infrastructure, with many areas now without water, electricity or sanitation."

For previous posts on Gaza, see here.  Also, Shadi Hamid offers an interesting perspective on the crisis in this article on Huffington Post.