Oxfam: first week of Israeli government and Hamas unilateral ceasefires

Headlines The government of Israel adopted a unilateral ceasefire at 2am on 18 January, Hamas announced its own unilateral ceasefire twelve hours later. Following the unilateral ceasefires people were able to return to their home neighborhoods and begin searching the rubble of destroyed buildings. Sporadic shooting from Israeli forces during the week led to a further 5 Palestinian deaths and 6 injuries. There were no Israeli casualties during the week. It was reported that 2 Palestinian farmers were killed during 4 separate incidences of Israeli fire from the border. It was reported that Israeli naval vessels fired on Palestinian fishermen in three separate incidents resulting in 1 injury to a fisherman and 4 to Palestinian civilians close to the shore There are no reliable statistics on displaced people in Gaza. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimates 4,000 homes were destroyed and 17,000 damaged. This suggests a range of between 40,000 and 210,000 people displaced. According to OCHA (25 January), less than 500 displaced people are sheltered in youth centres as a temporary measure, while many more are staying with relatives or other families causing additional strain on scarce food and water resources, blankets and space. The work of clearing the rubble of destroyed buildings and recovering bodies is made more difficult by the dangers of unexploded ordinance (UXO). OCHA reports a mine action team has been carting out a situation assessment and delivering training and UNICEF have distributed 75,000 leaflets and have aired radio information spots in Gaza. Humanitarian supplies are coordinated and handled by the UN logisctic Cluster who provide support to UN and NGOs bringing humanitarian supplies into Gaza. Services are provided on a cost recovery basis. Details are available from their website http://www.logcluster.org/ Humanitarian supplies arriving in Egypt are coordinated at El Arish port and transported through the El Aouga-Nitzana crossing 90 km south of Kerem Shalom. The UN humanitarian logistics cluster liaises with Egyptian authorities and the Egyptian Red Crescent. 7 day’s notice is required before humanitarian goods can be received, storage facilities at El Arish are limited to 1000 pallets and truck load numbers crossing El Aouga-Nitzana are 33 per day three days a week. Medical supplies are handled separately from other humanitarian supplies. By 24 January, health services in the Ministry of Health clinics had fully resumed, including for immunization, antenatal care and the management of chronic diseases services as well as casualties of the Israeli military operation. Hospitals are still having to cope with intermittent electricity supplies and restricted access to fuel for back up electricity generators. UNRWA schools that had been used as shelters for displaced people during the bombardment and ground fighting re-opened as schools on 24 January....

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