04/24/2002

International media attention on the Middle East is focused on the devastation in the Jenin refugee camp and the continuing siege of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity in the West Bank. Refugees International (RI) is also deeply concerned by another unfolding humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the Gaza Strip.

Three-quarters of the current estimated population of some 1.1 million in Gaza are refugees registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Life in Gaza, already hard, is becoming increasingly difficult due to the impact of the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Israel, as part of its campaign against terrorism, has tightened restrictions on Gaza, but as the occupying power, Israel has specific obligations under international humanitarian law to respect the lives of civilians and facilitate humanitarian access. Closures and blockades by the Israeli army, in place throughout March and April, are preventing access by humanitarian personnel and blocking the movement of badly needed supplies, causing unnecessary hardship to the civilian population.

On a visit to Gaza in March, RI spoke to a number of families in Beach Camp, in the north of Gaza near the Mediterranean coast, with a registered population of about 75,000. In normal times, most of the refugees worked as laborers in Israel or locally in agriculture. Some refugees work in small workshops and sewing factories or are owners of small shops in the camp's market place, while others work in Gaza City itself. A sizeable number of families depend on fishing for a livelihood.

Israeli restrictions on movement within the Gaza Strip and between Gaza and Israel have severely hampered the ability of residents to meet the needs of their families. One family told RI how the father had made his livelihood from fishing under normal circumstances. Now restricted from such activity by Israeli closures, which divide the Gaza Strip into three sealed zones, he is unable to support his wife and eight children. Responsibility for supporting the family is now carried by one young and newly married son who can occasionally find an odd job. In another family, where the husband suffers from diabetes, his wife operates their small shop, which barely survives as neighbors’ incomes are increasingly strained. “Humanly speaking, it is a tragedy,” reports Mustafa El Hawi, a Development Specialist for the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and the Canada Fund. In Khan Younis, a refugee camp. he told RI that “the children have resorted to digging through trash for scraps—a new level of desperation.”

The UNRWA education program in Gaza is “affected negatively by the prevailing current situation,” according to Gaza’s Education Director. Some 337 teachers can no longer reach class, further exacerbating the inadequate teacher/student ratio. Space for students also presents a challenge. There are 140 UNRWA operated schools in Gaza with 185,000 students. In Jabalia refugee camp with a population of over 100,000, for example, all 24 schools (18 elementary and 6 preparatory) operate double shifts. There is need to accommodate an annual increase of 10,000 students, for which an additional five schools are required.

The on-going conflict, however, has reduced classroom space. Israeli attacks on Gaza City in March damaged three schools during strikes on security installations; as these schools are repaired hundreds of children have been forced to attend other ones at greater distance from home. The Gaza Training Center, which provides technical and vocational training to 478 pupils, has not been open since March 4 due to road closures. Children from the Rehabilitation Center for the Visually Impaired, which has been declared unsafe, have been forced to move to various temporary locations as well.

In response to increasing incidence of psychological disorders, particularly among children, two mental health teams have been established in the northern and southern areas. They conduct home visits and also hold clinics and give lectures at NGOs, schools and community based centers in camps. In March these mental health officers saw 257 cases.

Since RI’s visit, the situation there has further deteriorated according to UNRWA reports and RI’s contacts on the ground. Karni crossing, the only commercial entry/exit point in the Gaza Strip has been closed since April 2. It was partially re-opened on April 15 to allow two trucks carrying onions, garlic, and flour to enter, and a truck carrying flowers to exit. It was then closed the following day and again on April 20, with intermittent openings in between. Consequently, food supplies are running low, and UNRWA reports serious concern about food shortages in the Gaza Strip. They have protested to the Israeli military authorities at the tight security measures that are causing shortages of basic foodstuffs. The price of flour has risen in price by 50% in the last week. Basic goods such as lentils, rice, cooking oil, sugar, powdered milk, and infant formula are also in short supply and increasing in price. With over 65% of the refugees in Gaza living on less than $2 per day, these price increases are causing untold hardship to an already vulnerable population.

Since April 1, internal blockades have been lifted for less than two hours a day. At all other times it is impossible for pedestrians and vehicles to move between the northern, middle and southern areas. Ten percent of UNRWA staff has been unable to reach work. As a result, the movement of staff and the delivery of aid—including the lifesaving transport of patients and medicines— have been severely inhibited. In one case on April 4, UNRWA reported that a Red Crescent Ambulance arrived at Netzarim junction (IDF checkpoint between north and middle area) with a patient suffering from heart attack. IDF refused to let the ambulance pass, even after searching, and the patient died at the checkpoint. UNRWA’s Deputy Director for Gaza says, “The southern area of the Gaza Strip has been virtually cut off from specialist health services in the last month depriving over 3,000 patients of help. Dental services have also been severely affected, particularly in the middle and southern areas of Gaza, as have X-ray and laboratory services.”

Refugees International repeats its call on the Israeli Defense Forces to allow unimpeded delivery of food and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip and West Bank and to restore full access to health care.