Gaza Update: The Hospitals Are Full and More

Posted by Siun , Firedoglake at 8:12 PM on December 29, 2008.

Latest reports are that Israeli air attacks on Gaza have started up again, with another 10 already killed this evening according to CNN. These new casualties will further impact the already overwhelmed medical resources of the strip. Earlier today Allegra Pacheco, deputy head of the UN humanitarian office in the occupied Palestinian territory, reported to UN radio:

ALLEGRA: What we see on the ground is that more and more of the attacks are killing and injuring civilians. It's very hard for civilians not be injured or even killed when the buildings they are living (in) or their residencies are right next to a target. We're talking about some very powerful type of weaponry that, again, may hit its target but there are the after effects in the surrounding areas. For example, our offices today were quite badly damaged from an air strike that targeted another building, but it also damaged our cars, our offices, and now we won't be able to use our offices.

SAMIR: Will you update us on the humanitarian situation in Gaza Strip?

ALLEGRA: This is a situation that is compounded by an already difficult situation that has been going on since the blockade was imposed more than a year ago. There are shortages of electricity-most people are only getting electricity for about five, six hours a day. Running water is available for 60 per cent of the population once every five to seven days. There are long lines for bread, and the medical situation, the Israelis have opened the crossings in the last few days to get medical supplies in but there were shortages of several pharmaceuticals and some emergency kits in the hospitals as well as one of the key humanitarian concerns is the shortage of different kinds of fuel that are needed in the Gaza Strip. One is an industrial fuel to power the Gaza electric plant. There's also fuel for cooking gas; there's a shortage of that so people cannot cook at home. And then fuel for diesel to operate all the back-up generators that are used when the power outages occur, especially the hospitals. Many of the hospitals are running on back-up generators.

I have also just received the following update via email from Sameh Habeeb, a Gazan journalist and peace activist whose blog Gaza Today is a very good resource.

Sameh begins by noting that the “Humanitarian situation is still suffocating and no longer people are getting bread nor gas nor power.”

He then reports that as of this afternoon:

- Victims toll of Israeli military operation reached 350 while wounded up to 1500 persons.
-Medical sources: Victims of the third day are 40 between civilians and militants.
-Five Female children from Ba'losha family killed in Bait Lahia City north of Gaza.
-Three Children from Al Absi family killed in Rafah refugee Camp as their house collapsed due to the heavy rockets launched by Israeli F16s.
-Scale of bombings up to 60 raids for the 3rd day.
-Israel allows few vans of food supplies into Gaza and Egypt as well.
-Israel announce the borders with Egypt as "Closed Military Operation"
-Israeli army moves from targeting governmental offices into civic ones. It has targeted some of Hamas leaders' houses. A senior leader affiliated to Islamic Jehad Movement killed in east of Khanyonis City.
-Israli navy bombed Gaza seaport, destroyed many fishing boats.
-Israeli navy shelled houses in Rafah City while F16s raided on Rafah City Council.
-More threats by phones to Palestinian civilians in Gaza specifically Khan Yonis.
-Israel destroyed Al Sideeq Mosque in Jabalia Camp.
-Israei Helicopters opened heavy gunfire on Al zaytoun area.
-Yoval Diskin, Israeli army leader says, "the worse is coming"
-Severe shortages and medical supplies in Gaza hospitals and Al Shifa' hospital transformed Burnt and birth units into urgent surgeries. It has also announced inability of receiving more cases.
-Palestinian factions launched many rockets into Israel killing Arab citizen working in Ashkilon City.

As Gideon Levy wrote yesterday in his editorial Ha’aretz:

Perhaps we once again need to remember that we are dealing with a wretched, battered strip of land, most of whose population consists of the children of refugees who have endured inhumane tribulations.

For two and a half years, they have been caged and ostracized by the whole world. The line of thinking that states that through war we will gain new allies in the Strip; that abusing the population and killing its sons will sear this into their consciousness; and that a military operation would suffice in toppling an entrenched regime and thus replace it with another one friendlier to us is no more than lunacy.

Tagged as: war, israel, palestine, middle east, attacks, gaza

Siun is a regular blogger for FireDogLake.