Despite the
constant fire into Israel, the Kerem Shalom crossing remains open during Operation Protective Edge.
The
flow of goods and fuel into the Gaza Strip continues. In the last three
days a total of 300 trucks loaded with humanitarian supply entered the
Gaza Strip, maintaining an average of 100 trucks per day carrying food
and fuel to Gaza.
There is no shortage of food or fuel in Gaza
and there are no signs of a humanitarian crisis. Medicines and medical
equipment have passed continuously as well through the two crossings.
While
the entry of larger quantities of food was approved to alleviate the
fears of the Palestinian population, the ban on cement and equipment
that could be used by terrorist organizations remains in effect.
The Kerem Shalom crossing continues to operate with high security. The IDF acceded to the request of hundreds of
Palestinians who hold foreign citizenship to leave the Gaza Strip -
including the USA, Sweden, Greece, Serbia and Romania. The Erez Crossing
in northern Gaza also remains open to Palestinians pedestrians for
humanitarian cases.General
Yoav Mordechai, Coordinator for Government Activities in the
Territories, noted that terrorist organizations daily attack the
crossing through which Israel allowed trucks carrying supplies to enter
the Gaza Strip.
Since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge (8 July) 673 trucks
entered Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing, carrying food, medicines
and medical equipment.Since the beginning of the operation the following amounts were provided to the Palestinians via the Kerem Shalom crossing:
- 2.8 million liters of diesel for the power station in Gaza Strip
- 1.4 million liters of fuel
- 304,000 liters of gasoline for transportation
- 1084 tons of gas for domestic needs.
Erez Crossing: Since the beginning of the
operation, there were 1,272 Palestinians entered Israel from Gaza and
1,066 from Israel into Gaza. So far, Israel has coordinated 27 cases of
back-to-back ambulance procedures, mainly from Gaza to Israel (58
Palestinian patients were hospitalized in Israel) and Jordan, but also
vice versa. 247 Jordanian field hospital staff members crossed into Gaza
to replace their colleges. 1000 units of blood from Jordan and the Red
Cross were transferred to Gaza.
On
Saturday, 19 July, since the Kerem Shalom Crossing was closed due to
Hamas attacks, five trucks entered Gaza Strip via the Erez Crossing,
carrying 100 tons of medicines and medical equipment (antibiotics, first
aid kits etc.).
Medical supplies Gaza enter Gaza, July 19, 2014
Copyright: IDF Spokesperson
On Sunday
evening (20 July) Israel opened a field hospital near the Erez
Crossing in order to tend injured and sick Palestinian civilians.
Since
the beginning of the operation, Israel has carried out 24
infrastructural repairs: 10 electrical repairs; 10 water supply repairs;
2 sewage repairs; 2 communication repairs.
On Friday (18 July),
two high voltage lines supplying electricity from Israel to northern
Gaza Strip were repaired, despite the dangers to which Israeli
Electrical Corporation workers were exposed due to Hamas firing rockets
on this area. The two lines provide a total of 25 Mega-Watt from Israel
to some 40,000 people in the Gaza Strip.
Humanitarian aid to Gaza Copyright: IDF SpokespersonDuring the week of July 6-10, the following goods entered the Gaza Strip from Israel via the Kerem Shalom crossing:
3,540 tons of food
960 tons of cooking gas
520,000 liters of gasoline
932,000 liters of diesel fuel for public transport
1,591,000 liters of diesel fuel for electricity plants
1217 people received permission to cross through the Erez Crossing, including 632 humanitarian cases.On Friday, July 11, and Sunday, July 13, the following goods entered the Gaza Strip from Israel via the Kerem Shalom crossing: 197 tons of cooking gas
72,000 liters of gasoline
410,000 liters of
diesel fuel for public transport495,000 liters of diesel fuel for electricity plantsOver 500 foreign citizens left the Gaza Strip to Israel via the Erez Crossing.List of goods entering the Gaza Strip on Monday, July
14:
Food - 46 trucks
Animal feed mixture - 26 trucks
Medicine - 1 truck
Gas - 6 trucks (127 tons)
Fuel - 21 trucks (751,000 liters)
Total trucks - 100
On Tuesday (15 July), 102 trucks entered Gaza from Israel through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
Food - 55 trucks
Animal feed mixture - 21 trucks
Hygiene products - 2 trucks
Gas - 7 trucks (151 tons)
Fuel - 17 trucks (601,000 liters)
Total trucks - 102
The Erez Crossing was open but pedestrian traffic was interrupted by Hamas on the Gazan side.
On Wednesday (16 July), a total of 94 trucks entered Gaza at the Kerem Shalom Crossing, providing food, medicines, 169 tons of cooking gas and 640,000 liters of fuel.
Two
out of the ten high-power lines that Israel uses to provide electricity
to Gaza were hit yesterday by Hamas rockets. The Israeli Electricity
Corporation (IEC), which provides power to Gaza, will not be able to
repair the two lines due to the immediate threat to the lives of its
technicians when doing repairs in open areas subject to frequent rocket
attack.
The Kerem Shalom crossing continues to operate with high security. The IDF acceded to the request of hundreds of Palestinians who hold foreign citizenship to leave the Gaza Strip. The Erez Crossing in northern Gaza also remains open to Palestinian pedestrians for humanitarian cases.
On August 4, Israel established a joint COGAT-International Organizations coordination center in order to streamline the process.
On August 24, three Israeli-Arab taxi drivers waiting to pick up Gazan residents and bring them into Israel for medical treatment were wounded - two seriously - by
mortar shells fired at the Erez Crossing as Palestinians from Gaza were entering Israel for medical care,
forcing the closing of the Erez Crossing. Soldiers evacuated the wounded as mortars continued to fall on the crossing specifically designated for the passage of Palestinians in need of medical and humanitarian assistance.
Wounded Israelis evacuated from Erez CrossingCopyright: Magen David AdomOn August 13th, a five-day humanitarian ceasefire went into effect, and was then extended for 24 hours. With the implementation of the 5-day ceasefire, there was a marked increase in the quantity of goods and humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip.
The ceasefire was broken by rocket fire from Gaza on the afternoon of August 19. Despite the resumption of rocket fire,
Israel continues to facilitate the entrance of goods and aid to the Gaza Strip, and COGAT held a conference with various international organizations to discuss the need for immediate humanitarian assistance for the civilian population.
On August 21-23, 232 trucks carrying 4,839 tons of goods and aid entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom Crossing. Among the trucks that entered were:
• 135 trucks carrying 2,761 tons of food
• 9 trucks carrying 65 tons of humanitarian supplies
Since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge (8 July) 5,160 trucks have entered Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing, carrying food, medicines and medical equipment.
Since the beginning of the operation the following amounts were provided to the Palestinians via the Kerem Shalom crossing (data up to and including August 23):
- 4.44 million liters of diesel for the power station in Gaza Strip, 1.73 million liters for UNRWA
- 9.3 million liters of fuel
- 4.13 million liters of gasoline for transportation
- 4,430 tons of gas for domestic needs
Since the beginning of the operation, Israel has carried out 82 infrastructural repairs: 51 electrical repairs; 18 water supply repairs; 6 sewage repairs; 7 communication repairs.
Repairs have often been delayed due to security threats and safety concerns for the workers.
Erez Crossing: Since the beginning of the operation, 4,042 Palestinians have entered Israel from Gaza and 2,874 crossed from Israel into Gaza. A total of 261 ambulance transfers have been carried out through Erez since July 8.
Since July 8, COGAT has coordinated an evacuation of dual nationals living in Gaza with the relevant embassies. A total of 360 dual citizens departed Gaza via Erez on August 7, bringing the total to 1,160.
On Wednesday, 13 August 2014, in full cooperation with the Foreign Ministry, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and the Turkish Red Crescent, MDA crews evacuated 18 wounded Palestinians (one in serious condition, four in moderate condition and 13 with light injuries) and 16 escorts from the Erez Crossing to Ben-Gurion International Airport where they boarded a Turkish plane that took them for treatment at a hospital in Ankara.
On August 20, a second group of wounded Palestinians left Gaza through the Erez Crossing for transfer by air to Turkey.
Palestinian civilians transferred to ambulances at Erez Crossing
Copyright: COGAT
Medical supplies Gaza enter Gaza, July 19, 2014
Copyright: IDF Spokesperson
Humanitarian aid to Gaza
Copyright: IDF Spokesperson
Col. Grisha Yakubovich, Head of the Civil Coordination Department / COGAT, briefing Foreign Ambassadors in Israel on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip - 31 July 2014
Copyright: MFA free usage
Rocket fire deprives Gazan popuation of humanitarian aid
At 12:30pm on August 10, a barrage of rockets struck inside the Kerem Shalom Crossing, forcing its temporary closure until workers can safely operate in the area.
Only 34 of the 283 trucks that were scheduled were able to cross into Gaza, depriving the people of Gaza of:
• 94 trucks of food
• 20 trucks of bottled water and drinks
• 16 trucks with humanitarian and medical supplies
• 14 trucks of agricultural materials
• 53 trucks of mixed goods (i.e. clothing, cleaning supplies, etc.)
• 27 trucks of equipment and supplies for international organizations carrying food, medicines, water
By firing rockets on Kerem Shalom on August 10, Hamas also prevented the entry of much-needed fuel to Gaza.
At 10 am on August 1, despite the UN/US-backed humanitarian ceasefire which began at 8 am, rockets were fired at the Gaza periphery, including the Kerem Shalom Crossing for humanitarian aid to Gaza, which was closed due to rocket fire and the postponement of 14 scheduled repairs.
Field hospital for wounded Palestinians from Gaza
The IDF, in cooperation with
the Red Crescent, has opened a
field hospital at the Erez Crossing, on the Gaza border,
to treat wounded Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. The field hospital contains an emergency room, lab, pharmacy, pediatric ward, ambulatory clinic, gynecology unit, family and internal medicine, and is equipped to treat dozens of patients.
Since the field hospital opened on 20 July, doctors and staff have attended to 50 patients. Some have been treated and released, some treated and sent on for additional care at a hospital, and some sent immediately for hospital care. Unfortunately, Hamas has directly and indirectly prevented patients from arriving for care at the field hospital.
Copyright: IDF Spokesperson