Humanitarian crisis in Gaza

[Fishnut]

The Gaza Strip is home to around 2.2 million people who have been subjected to just over a month of military attacks in retaliation for the terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas.

On 9 October Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered "a complete siege" of the Gaza Strip,

“I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” Gallant says following an assessment at the IDF Southern Command in Beersheba.

“We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly,” he adds.

Water
Israel cut Gaza off from water shortly after the terrorist attacks. It has since restored some supply to the south,

An aide to Israeli Energy and Infrastructure Minister Israel Katz said water was being supplied in the community of Bnei Sahila, near southern Khan Younis. The aide declined to elaborate on the amount of water being supplied.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in their Flash Update 31 (6/11/23) that,

In northern Gaza, the two main sources of drinking water, a desalination plant and a water connection from Israel, have been shut down for several weeks. In the south, one of the two desalination plants is operational, alongside two pipelines supplying water from Israel.

They also reported that,

- On 6 November, UNRWA and UNICEF distributed limited amounts of fuel to 120 municipal water wells across the entire Gaza Strip, including in the north, enabling the wells to resume operations. The water extracted is brackish and therefore meant only for non-drinking domestic uses. The fuel had been stored in Gaza since before the start of hostilities.

- On 4 and 5 November, sevena water facilities across the Gaza Strip were directly hit and sustained major damage, including three sewage pipelines in Gaza city, two water reservoirs (in Rafah and Jabalia refugee camp) and two water wells in Rafah. The Gaza municipality warned about the imminent risk of sewage flooding.

In Flash Update 30 (5/11/23), OCHA reported,

Hundreds of thousands of residents in Gaza city and the North Gaza governorate are facing a severe water shortage, following the shutdown of all municipal water wells due to the lack of fuel, alongside the halt of water trucking activities. This situation raises concerns of dehydration and waterborne diseases due to water consumption from unsafe sources. However, a precise assessment is uncertain due to hostilities and access restrictions.

The BBC reports that WHO estimates "the average water consumption in Gaza is just three litres per person."

Power
In Flash Update 31, OCHA reported that,

- Gaza remains under a full electricity blackout since 11 October, following Israel’s halt of its power and fuel supply, which triggered the shutdown of Gaza’s sole power plant.
- The entry of fuel, which is desperately needed to operate electricity generators to run life-saving equipment, remains banned by the Israeli authorities.

In Flash Update 30, they reported,

Multiple solar panels on the roofs of standing buildings, particularly in Gaza city, have reportedly been destroyed in the past few days during Israeli bombardments. Affected facilities include Shifa and Nasser hospitals, several water wells, and bakeries. This has eliminated one of the remaining sources of energy, which is not dependent on fuel.

US officials, current and former Israeli officials and academics believe that Hamas has a stockpile of over 200,000 gallons of diesel in storage though "Experts say the exact amount of fuel the group has is impossible to know."

Current and former U.S. and Israeli officials agree that, even if Hamas is hoarding fuel, the international community has a responsibility to provide humanitarian aid to Gazan civilians.

Food
OCHA's Flash Update 32 (7/11/23) reported,

As of 7 November, no bakeries were active in the north, due to the lack of fuel, water and wheat flour, as well as the damage sustained by many. Food security partners have been unable to deliver assistance in the north for the past seven days...

Food security partners have been unable to deliver assistance in the north during the past seven days. Reports by IDPs indicate that no food is provided in the shelters and people are merely surviving with limited assistance by local NGOs and community-based organizations, alongside reliance on negative coping mechanisms, such as eating food with limited nutritional value or unfit for human consumption.

Access to bread in the south is also challenging. The only operative mill in Gaza remains unable to grind wheat due to a lack of electricity and fuel. Eleven bakeries have been hit and destroyed since 7 October. Only one of the bakeries contracted by the World Food Programme (WFP), along with eight other bakeries in the south, intermittently provides bread to shelters, depending on the availability of flour and fuel. People queue for long hours in bakeries, where they are exposed to airstrikes.

While about 9,000 tons of wheat grain are stored in mills in Gaza, a significant portion of it cannot be used, due to massive destruction, security concerns, and shortages of fuel and electricity.

Phone and Internet Access
Internet access was lost in Gaza for 34 hours on 27 October. From Wired,

On October 27, Israel reportedly imposed a full internet shutdown in the area, cutting off the last remaining connectivity for about 34 hours as its troops moved into the Gaza Strip. After what’s left of Gaza’s internet access was restored—data shows it stands at around 15 percent or less of usual connectivity—the area has suffered two other, similar connectivity blackouts. The most recent lasted for about 15 hours on Sunday as Israel was carrying out an intense operation to cut off Gaza City in the north from southern Gaza

While researchers and technologists who monitor internet connectivity can’t conclusively say that Israel was behind the blackouts—or that they were imposed using technical controls rather than physical destruction of infrastructure—the fact that some connectivity could be restored so rapidly seems to indicate deliberate shutdowns over incidental destruction.

The Airstrikes
According to the BBC, Israel has claimed to have used over 10,000 bombs and missiles in its airstrikes on Gaza.

Those airstrikes are supposed to be targetting members of Hamas. But because Gaza is so densely populated, even 'targeted' attacks lead to massive civilian casualties and infrastructure damage.

Hospitals
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Israel has repeatedly ordered the evacuation of the 22 hospitals in northern Gaza, a demand the WHO has condemned.

On 5 November, the Israeli army bombed a convoy of ambulances,

The attack resulted in 15 deaths and at least 60 wounded civilians, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS). In a statement, the PRCS said the convoy of five ambulances tried to transport casualties toward the Rafah border crossing, but was returning to the [Al-Shifa] hospital because the road was blocked with rubble when it was targeted by two missiles.

Israel acknowledged that it attacked an ambulance because it was used by the Hamas militia. The Israeli forces have been insisting on the evacuation of this hospital, claiming it houses the underground command center of the Islamist militants.

WHO also reported that Al-Quds Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza City and North Gaza governorates were also attacked on the same day. They say the attack at Al-Quds Hospital resulted in at least 21 casualties.

Dr Marwan Abusada, head of surgery at Shifa Hospital, has said that the lack of medicine and water is causing infections and said that the situation is "disastrous". A video filmed by Dr Abusada on 3 November showed,

...that almost every bed is filled with children, their faces covered with bruises and grisly cuts. In one bed, two small children appear unconscious and are lying at opposite ends...

Dr Tayseer Hassan, a surgeon at the nearby Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, said that they are seeing the majority of “horrific” injuries amongst children.

She added that they have been forced to prioritise injuries with a higher chance of survival. Due to fuel shortages, they are no longer able to help emergency room patients in need of a ventilator.

According to The Defense for Children International - Palestine,

Israeli forces issued an evacuation order for Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital in advance of a possible attack, according to the Ministry of Health. Israeli attacks have already hit Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital twice, according to the Ministry of Health, striking the pediatric cancer ward and the specialized children’s center. At least four people were killed and 70 injured, including children and medical staff.

Refugee Camps
The BBC reports that according to the UN, around 1.7 million Palestinians were registered as refugees prior to 7 October 2023.

More than 500,000 of those refugees were already in eight crowded camps located across the Strip....

As two of those camps, Jabalia and Shati, are in the evacuation zone, this has put the other six under increased pressure.

Following the evacuation order, the number of displaced people has risen rapidly and there are now 1.5 million who have fled their homes since 7 October, according to the United Nations.

Israeli forces have been attacking refugee camps.

On 31 October, at least six airstrikes hit residential areas in the Jabalia refugee camp.

Video footage showed at least 47 bodies pulled out of the rubble and rescue teams searching for survivors amid twisted metal and two huge craters...

The Israeli military said it had targeted the camp to kill Ibrahim Biari – a key Hamas commander linked to the group’s 7 October attack on Israel who, it said, had taken over civilian buildings in Gaza City with his fighters.

Interviewed on CNN and asked if the Israeli military had known there were civilians in Jabalia, a spokesperson, Lt Col Richard Hecht, said Israel had attempted to minimise civilian casualties in a complex operation: “This is the tragedy of war […] We’ve been saying for days: ‘Move south, civilians that are not involved with Hamas, please move south.’”

According to CNN,

The airstrike killed at least 80 people and injured hundreds more, according to Dr. Atef Al Kahlout, the director of Gaza’s Indonesian hospital. He told CNN more bodies were being dug out of the rubble, and the majority of casualties were women and children.

According to the Guardian,

Experts on international humanitarian law said asking civilians to leave did not absolve Israel of the responsibility to protect those who chose to stay, when it was launching attacks.

The Al-Maghazi refugee camp was bombed late on 4 November. the director of Al-Aqsa hospital reported that 52 people had been killed in the attack.

AP reports that on 2 November,

two Israeli airstrikes flattened an entire block of apartment buildings in the Bureij refugee camp

Schools and Universities
On 2 November the United Nations refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) put out a statement saying that in the previous 24 hours four schools-turned-shelters had been damaged.

Today, a school-turned shelter was damaged at the Jabalia Refugee Camp, the largest in the Gaza Strip, reportedly killing at least 20 people and injuring five. This comes after two days of heavy bombardments in the area. Earlier today, another school at Beach Refugee Camp was also damaged, with one child reportedly killed. Both locations are in the north of the Gaza Strip.

“Further south, two schools-turned-shelters in the Al Bureij Refugee Camp were hit. Two people were reportedly killed and 31 injured.

They also reported that 72 members of staff had been killed. As of 6 November, this has increased to 88, with 25 injured.

According to University World News, the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHESR) has reported that the Islamic University of Gaza, Al-Azhar University, the North Gaza and Tubas branches of Al-Quds Open University, and buildings of An-Najah National University located at Palestine Technical University Kadoorie have been damaged or destroyed by airstrikes...

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that it had bombed the Islamic University of Gaza and released a video of a building being targetted by an air strike...

The IDF alleged: “The university was being used as a Hamas training camp for military intelligence operatives, as well as for the development and production of weapons. Hamas used university conferences in order to raise funds for terrorism. The university ‘maintained close ties with the senior leadership of Hamas’.

The MHESR also said that, as of 6 November,

439 people killed include 427 students and 12 academics or employees, 85% of them in the Gaza Strip. Nine of the 11 higher education buildings damaged are in Gaza and two in the West Bank...

“The entire educational process was disrupted in 19 higher education institutions in the Gaza Strip,” the ministry said, which has led to 88,000 students being deprived of education. Face-to-face education has been disrupted in all 34 higher education institutions in the West Bank, affecting 138,800 students.

Further, 555 students from the Gaza Strip were unable to enrol in scholarships abroad.

Deaths
I haven't focused on deaths because I am aware that the official figures are not universally considered trustworthy. The US government called into question their veracity and others have followed suite but this Guardian article explains why the figures are likely accurate. Among other reasons,

Gaza health ministry casualty figures have historically tended to be reliable, in part because the names of the dead are carefully documented and the deaths tend to be well known in the territory’s tightly knit communities.

Even if you dispute the precise figures (figures that are likely to change as bodies are located and people succumb to their injuries, while others are (hopefully) found alive, added to the fact the military attacks continue) simple logic suggests that intensive bombing of a densely populated area for a month is going to result in numerous deaths.

The Defense for Children International - Palestine report that an average of 180 children a day are being killed in the airstrikes. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that Gaza is becoming a "graveyard for children"

Reporters without Borders report that 36 journalists have been killed in Gaza in airstrikes since 7 October 2023.

The Israeli authorities have repeatedly said that their armed forces are “not targeting journalists” but they have not hidden their lack of interest in protecting them either. According to the information so far gathered by RSF, ten of the 36 journalists killed in the Gaza Strip were killed while clearly covering the news.

More than 50 media premises have been completely or partially destroyed by Israeli strikes.

They also report that several reporters were killed in airstrikes at their homes,

...four other journalists were killed by strikes in their homes, along with members of their families....

On 30 October, three reporters working in Gaza for Palestine TV, the official public TV channel of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, were killed with family members during strikes on their homes.

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 39 have been killed across Gaza and the West Bank, 8 injured, 3 missing and 13 arrested.

So What?
Why have bothered collating all of this? Because what is happening in Gaza is a humanitarian crisis. What Hamas did is despicable, but the people who are dying aren't Hamas. They are innocent people and their lives matter. It seems that neither Hamas nor Israel consider their lives to be of importance and are happy for them to be mere collateral damage.

What Hamas did was likely a war crime. But what Israel is doing in response is also likely multiple war crimes. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel is collecting and preserving evidence of war crimes committed by all sides according to their press release,

The Commission is gravely concerned with Israel’s latest attack on Gaza and Israel’s announcement of a complete siege on Gaza involving the withholding of water, food, electricity and fuel which will undoubtfully cost civilian lives and constitutes collective punishment.

Children are dying in appalling numbers. Children who have done nothing to deserve the horrors they are currently enduring. They want peace.

Destroying Gaza to get Hamas is not the answer. There must be a ceasefire.

[monkey]

So What?
Why have bothered collating all of this? Because what is happening in Gaza is a humanitarian crisis. What Hamas did is despicable, but the people who are dying aren't Hamas. They are innocent people and their lives matter. It seems that neither Hamas nor Israel consider their lives to be of importance and are happy for them to be mere collateral damage.

What Hamas did was likely a war crime. But what Israel is doing in response is also likely multiple war crimes. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel is collecting and preserving evidence of war crimes committed by all sides according to their press release,

The Commission is gravely concerned with Israel’s latest attack on Gaza and Israel’s announcement of a complete siege on Gaza involving the withholding of water, food, electricity and fuel which will undoubtfully cost civilian lives and constitutes collective punishment.

Children are dying in appalling numbers. Children who have done nothing to deserve the horrors they are currently enduring. They want peace.

Destroying Gaza to get Hamas is not the answer. There must be a ceasefire.

+1.

Sorry I don't have much more to add than that. I find it hard to put the words together about things like this.

[EACLucifer]

Hamas appear to have launched their attack in the belief that Hezbollah and other allies would turn it into a regional war. They now find themselves nearly alone fighting a more powerful enemy. They want to hold on to their position and avoid a catastrophic defeat that sees them lose their hold on the Gaza strip. They also want to repeat their actions on October the 7th, and have made that very clear.

One way for them to change the equation is to cause a humanitarian catastrophe. They hide behind civilians, for example UNRWA posted photos of what they implied were craters in their schools, but were in fact sinkholes caused by collapsed tunnels (the clue is that the paving is all still in place it's just descended somewhat). Footage of a tunnel entrance abutting a hospital also emerged. While Israel has called for evacuations, Hamas opposed them, telling people to stay in place, blocking roads, and possibly going further than that - a number of civilians were seen dead from small arms fire on the evacuation route south a couple of kilometres from the nearest Israeli positions at the time, and the idea of treating those who evacuate as traitors has appeared in the rhetoric of Hamas supporters.

They also removed fuel from UNRWA facilities near the start of this particular conflict, though UNRWA's report on the issue was soon pulled to avoid offending Hamas. The water infrastructure meanwhile has been damaged by the removal of pipes for use in rocket attacks. In addition to that there is the chronic underinvestment and corruption that has marked Hamas's dictatorial rule of the strip. While fuel is reportedly short - with implications for water supply, which, despite talk about Israel cutting it and restoring it, is something like 90% domestic and fuel dependent - Hamas do not have a shortage of fuel to power their tunnel infrastructure, which is generally internal-combustion powered.

They also still hold hundreds of hostages including the elderly and young children. The only offer of release they appear to have made was a ridiculous "all for all" where they'd release a couple of hundred hostages that are mostly just random civilians seized by force and in return demand the release of thousands of convicted terrorists, including mass murderers. They also continue to fire rockets at Israel, despite the fact that they kill more Gazans than they do Israelis.

A ceasefire now would reward them for these tactics, and enable them to continue to use them in the future, prolonging the suffering indefinitely. I want the fighting to stop, but the consequences of letting Hamas remain intact and in power are also horrific.

[Fishnut]

According to the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict,

Attacks on schools and hospitals during conflict is one of the six grave violations identified and condemned by the UN Security Council.
...
Under international humanitarian law, both schools and hospitals are protected civilian objects, and therefore benefit from the humanitarian principles of distinction and proportionality. Direct physical attacks and the closure of these institutions as a result of direct threats have since 2011 been added as triggers for inclusion on the list of the Secretary-General of parties to conflict committing grave violations against children in armed conflict.

The Guidance Note [PDF] on Security Council Resolution 1998 explains when a school or hospital can be considered a legitimate target,

Schools and hospitals may lose their protected status, if and for such time as they qualify as “military objectives”, as defined in IHL [International Humanitarian Law]. Civilian objects can become military objectives through their military use, which may transform their status from protected civilian objects to legitimate military targets for such time as they, by their nature, location, purpose or use, make an effective contribution to military action and whose partial or total destruction, capture, or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage...

However, even when a school is used for military purposes, it may only be attacked by the opposing party to conflict if its destruction would provide a definite military advantage at the time of the attack; if the attack would not cause excessive civilian deaths and injuries and damage to civilian objects in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated; and if all feasible precautions are taken to limit the attack’s effects on civilians and civilian objects. [p26]

Just because one side commits war crimes that doesn't permit the other to do so as well.

People are dying in the hundreds every day. A ceasefire isn't about "rewarding" anyone, it's about saving lives.

[EACLucifer]

According to the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict,

Attacks on schools and hospitals during conflict is one of the six grave violations identified and condemned by the UN Security Council.
...
Under international humanitarian law, both schools and hospitals are protected civilian objects, and therefore benefit from the humanitarian principles of distinction and proportionality. Direct physical attacks and the closure of these institutions as a result of direct threats have since 2011 been added as triggers for inclusion on the list of the Secretary-General of parties to conflict committing grave violations against children in armed conflict.

The Guidance Note [PDF] on Security Council Resolution 1998 explains when a school or hospital can be considered a legitimate target,

Schools and hospitals may lose their protected status, if and for such time as they qualify as “military objectives”, as defined in IHL [International Humanitarian Law]. Civilian objects can become military objectives through their military use, which may transform their status from protected civilian objects to legitimate military targets for such time as they, by their nature, location, purpose or use, make an effective contribution to military action and whose partial or total destruction, capture, or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage...

However, even when a school is used for military purposes, it may only be attacked by the opposing party to conflict if its destruction would provide a definite military advantage at the time of the attack; if the attack would not cause excessive civilian deaths and injuries and damage to civilian objects in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated; and if all feasible precautions are taken to limit the attack’s effects on civilians and civilian objects. [p26]

Just because one side commits war crimes that doesn't permit the other to do so as well.

You evidently didn't actually understand the text you quoted. Loss of protected status effectively renders an otherwise protected place not protected. It doesn't remove the existing burdens regarding proportionality, but those burdens do not mean any strike that kills civilians is a warcrime, except perhaps in the special version of IHL that is only applied to Israel.

For example, the Israeli strikes on Jabaliya Camp definitely killed civilians. It is likely the damage was significantly worsened due to the tunnels under buildings causing them to collapse, and some reports suggest secondary explosions occured, which would mean munitions were stored there. The attack also killed a senior Hamas commander, "dozens" of other Hamas combatants, and destroyed a Hamas command centre. Was it proportional?

I can't say for definite, I don't have every detail, but it probably was, at least according to the standards the modern German military holds itself to. In 2009, two Taliban hijacked tankers got stuck on a sandbar in the Kunduz River in Afghanistan. To prevent the use of the tankers in attacks by the Taliban, a German commander called in an airstrike, however civilians had swarmed the tankers to siphon the fuel. As many as 90 were killed. The German court ruled that though the airstrike was carried out in ignorance of the civilian presence, it would have been justifiable even if they had known they were there. A summary of the case can be found here, in the "Practise" section - countries are arranged alphabetically, it is of course in the "Germany" section.

The ruling also states it would be disproportionate to destroy a village with hundreds of civilians to kill a single enemy combatant, but not to destroy artillery positions in that village.

I do not know if all Israeli strikes are lawful, and cannot because of the lack of information, and nor can anyone else on this forum. However, they do employ methods to reduce risk to civilians that are beyond what LOAC demand, and that other nations do not do, for example giving warnings of planned strikes on military infrastructure targets, both by phone and by "roof knocking"

People are dying in the hundreds every day. A ceasefire isn't about "rewarding" anyone, it's about saving lives.

Regardless of intent it rewards Hamas's tactics, because it protects them from response to their actions due to the humanitarian crisis they have created with their tactics, tactics which are, unlike the mere act of striking a military target in the vicinity of civilians, warcrimes.

I want the fighting to be over, but I don't want this scenario to happen again and again and again with an even higher human toll in the long run. When war criminals start wars and hide themselves amongst civilians and prevent civilians fleeing and even tunnel under schools, hospitals and places of worship and launch rockets from the immediate vicinity of the same, they leave no good options at all.

[Fishnut]

OCHA have published a their updates for 9/11/23. This snapshot is an infographic so I won't be quoting in quite the same was as I was able to do from the Flash Reports. I've also added in some additional information from elsewhere which I've cited and quoted where appropriate.

Displacment
- 1.6 million people are internally displaced (70% of the population of Gaza).

Electicity
- There has been zero hours of full electricity for the past 30 days.

Infrastructure
- There are 10,000 destroyed buildings including at least 40,000 destroyed housing units. 222,000 housing units have been partially damaged, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Housing. Those figures go up to 6 November.

Food
- According to the UN World Food Programme, there are 12 days of wheat flour available but zero days of vegetable oil, pulses, sugar or rice. And the only operative mill can't transform wheat into more flour due to electricity outages. [This isn't stated in the report but it's worth stating here, that flour is pretty much useless when you don't have water to mix it with or fuel to cook it.]
- People are waiting between 4 and 6 hours to receive bread, and that is only half a normal portion.

Yesterday, the World Health Organisation reported that all of Gaza's inhabitants lack sufficient food and face malnutrition.

"Before October 7th, 33% of the population were food insecure," said Kyung-nan Park, director of emergencies for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). "We can safely say that 100% are food insecure at this moment."

Water
- There is 90% less water consumption than pre-hostilities. [For context, the BBC reports that WHO guidelines are for 100 litres per day. Before 7/10/23 Gazans used an average of 84 litres a day.]

Health
- Over half the hospitals have been shut down and nearly 2/3 of primary care facilities.
- 13 hospitals are operational in Gaza City and Northern Gaza but all have received evacuation orders.
- There are critical shortages of drugs, blood products and supplies. Fuel is being severely rationed.
- At least 195 medical staff (according to the Ministry of Health), of whom at least 16 who were on duty, have been killed.

The World Health Organisation reported that 20 hospitals in Gaza are now entirely out of action. Al Shifa hospital and Rantissi hospital - the only hospital providing paediatric services in North Gaza - were "coming under bombardment" today.

The Rantissi hospital has children on life support and receiving dialysis, [WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris] added, saying it would be impossible to evacuate them safely.

WHO's office in Palestine tweeted yesterday that the only psychiatric hospital in Gaza has become "non-functional after sustaining damages due to an attack on 5 Nov".

Education
- All 625,000 students have no access to education.
- Over 51% of Gaza's education facilities have been hit.

Aid
- Prior to 7/10/23, an average of 500 trucks each working day brought in humanitarian aid. Since 21 October, 821 trucks in total have entered Gaza.

The World Health Organisation have reported the difficulties in getting aid into Gaza.

...the U.N. humanitarian office spokesperson Jens Laerke said that there had been some "issues" getting aid into Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, which it said had been designed for pedestrians, not trucks.

Only 65 trucks carrying food, medicine, hygiene supplies and water, and seven ambulances, crossed from Egypt into Gaza on Wednesday, it said, which is a fraction of pre-conflict levels.

None of that aid can reach northern Gaza, he added.

"We cannot drive to the north at the current point which is of course deeply frustrating because we know there are several hundred thousand people who remain in the north," said Laerke.

TL:DR People living in Gaza have extremely limited access to clean water, food, sanitation, medicine and safe shelter and things are only getting worse. Children have no access to education. More bombings are not going to do anything to advance the situation in a positive way. There must be a ceasefire now.

[EACLucifer]

There was a damn ceasefire. It did not stop Hamas from attacking! Just as it is with Putin's Russia, ceasefires are only worth anything if there is any sign they will hold. What you are demanding is that Hamas be left intact and unmolested and in possession of hundreds of kidnapped hostages, and that all other factions with hostile intent towards Jews in the area be emboldened in the knowledge that they are protected from defeat in wars they choose to start.

Amir Tibon lays out some of it here.

Ceasefire now means more violence in future, from Hamas, from Hezbollah, from the Houthis, and from all the other Iranian backed terrorist groups that sadly infest Syria and Iraq.

[Fishnut]

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Flash Update #36 (11/11) makes for difficult reading.

TL:DR the situation is dire and getting worse.

All text is direct quotes from the update unless otherwise stated.

Hostilities and Casualties
- On 10 November, at about 17:00, an Israeli airstrike hit Al Buraq school in Gaza city, which was being used as a shelter for IDPs, killing 50 people. The Israeli military stated that the airstrike targeted a Palestinian commander hiding in the school.

- The reported fatality toll since 7 October includes at least 192 medical staff, according to MoH Gaza. Of them, at least 16 medical staff were on duty when killed, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Furthermore, 101 UNRWA staff have been killed, the highest number of UN personnel killed in a conflict in the history of the organization. Eighteen Palestinian Civil Defense personnel and 44 Palestinian journalists have also been killed since this crisis began.

Displacement
To summarise, people are being told by the Israeli military to leave the north. The Salah Ad Deen Road has been opened between 9:00 and 16:00 for the last 8 day and "It is estimated that tens of thousands of displaced people [have] evacuated." The Israeli military is preventing people from driving to the main junction next to Wadi Gaza, stopping them 4-5km away so people are travelling on foot or by donkey cart. "Most were able to carry only a few belongings. Most IDPs arrived exhausted and thirsty. UN monitors and NGOs distributed water and biscuits next to the junction."

From the report,
- Over 1.5 million people in Gaza are estimated to be internally displaced. Among them, almost 760,000 IDPs are staying in at least 149 UNRWA shelters, where overcrowding is a major concern. The average number of IDPs per UNRWA shelter exceeded 6,250, which is nine times higher than their intended capacity. On average, 160 people sheltering in UNRWA facilities share a single toilet and there is one shower unit for every 700 people. The worsening sanitary conditions, along with the lack of privacy and space, generate health and safety hazards.

Humanitarian Access
- A total of 53 trucks, carrying food, medicines, health supplies, bottled water, blankets, and hygiene products crossed from Egypt into Gaza on 11 November as of 18:00. This brings the number of trucks that have entered Gaza since 21 October to 914. This is far below the quantities needed to meet the needs of over two million people besieged in Gaza. [It used to be about 500 trucks a day].

Electricity
- 11 November marks one month since Gaza has been under an electricity blackout, following Israel’s shutting off the electricity supply and the depletion of fuel reserves for Gaza’s sole power plant.

Health care
To summarise, communications were cut off with hospitals in the north of Gaza on 11 November, so getting updates is difficult. The Director of Shifa hospital said that there's no food, water or electricity and that one person in ICU and two babies in NICU have died as a result of their life support machines failing due to a lack of electricity.

According to the Guardian, al-Shifa hospital and al-Quds have closed to new patients and are "without oxygen, medical supplies or fuel to power incubators".

Water and sanitation
- As of 9 November, following a few days of limited operation, all municipal water wells across the Gaza Strip had to shut down again due to the lack of fuel. As a result, the trucking and pumping of brackish water for non-drinking domestic uses came to a halt.

- UNRWA has been providing about 1.5 litres of potable water and 3-4 litres of non-potable water per person per day in all shelters in the south. In the largest shelter located in Khan Younis (over 21,700 IDPs), UNRWA in partnership with UNICEF, installed a desalination plant, which turns brackish water extracted from wells, into potable water.

- Water entering from Egypt in bottles and jerry cans can only address the drinking needs (three litres per person per day) of about 4 per cent of the people.

- Transfer of solid waste to landfills has largely stopped across the Gaza Strip, due to lack of fuel and insecurity. Waste is accumulating in the streets and outside IDP shelters, creating a high risk of airborne diseases and infestation of insects and rats.

Food security
- Lack of food in the north is of increasing concern. Since 7 November, no bakeries have been active, due to the lack of fuel, water, and wheat flour, as well as the damage sustained by many. Wheat flour is reportedly no longer available in the market. Food security partners have been unable to deliver assistance in the north during the past nine days. There are indications of negative coping mechanisms due to food scarcity, including skipping or reducing meals and using unsafe and unhealthy methods for making fire. People are reportedly resorting to unconventional eating, such as consuming combinations of raw onion and uncooked eggplant.

- Access to bread in the south is also challenging. The only operative mill in Gaza remains unable to grind wheat due to a lack of electricity and fuel. Eleven bakeries have been hit and destroyed since 7 October. Only one of the bakeries contracted by WFP, along with eight other bakeries in the south, intermittently provides bread to shelters, depending on the availability of flour and fuel. People queue for long hours in front of bakeries, where they are exposed to airstrikes.

[Woodchopper]

A confidential memo from the Dutch Defense Attache at the embassy in Tel Aviv warned the government that the Israeli army “intends to deliberately cause enormous destruction to infrastructure and civilian centers” in the Gaza Strip, which explains the “high number of deaths” among Palestinian civilians. The memo describes Israel’s actions as “disproportionate force” and a “violation of international treaties and the laws of war,” NRC reports.

The memo, seen by NRC, was written by the Defense Attache at the Dutch embassy, who is intensively monitoring the situation around the Gaza Strip with a military team.

[…]

According to the memo, the Israeli government’s military approach is motivated by revenge. “The emotion and anger are echoed in IDF [Isreali army] briefings,” NRC quoted from the document. To limit losses on its own side, the IDF is quick to use lethal force, the memo states. The Dutch embassy also noted that the IDF applies “elements” of the Dahiya doctrine - a strategy first used in the war in Lebanon in 2006 which "intends to deliberately cause massive destruction to infrastructure and civilian centers" while taking large numbers of civilian casualties for granted. That violates the laws of war, the memo states.

[…]

According to the Dutch embassy, Israel’s stated goal of “a clear military victory over Hamas” is impossible to achieve. Even if Hamas is almost completely destroyed, the fundamentalist movement’s ideology will live on. “There is no military answer to this, this is a political issue.”

The embassy also raised concerns about leaked Israeli plans to forcibly displace the over 2 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip to the Sinai desert in Egypt. Israeli media recently wrote about a policy document mentioning this option, sparking fears of ethnic cleansing. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called the plan “hypothetical,” but the Dutch embassy considers it serious. “Several people - including parliamentarians, advisors, and soldiers - don’t dismiss this option as extreme, but as real.”

https://nltimes.nl/2023/11/14/dutch-emb ... force-gaza

Original paywalled Dutch source: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2023/11/13/di ... d-a4180785

[Woodchopper]

Over 1.7 million people displaced, and a large proportion of those now crammed into these terribly overcrowded schools and collective centers run by UNRWA, where they’ve got very limited access to clean water, sanitation. Their toilets are overflowing. There’s open defecation. And there’s constant bombardment. And some of the testimonies we’re hearing from our colleagues and families of colleagues are just extraordinary.

Now we’ve got 22 of the 35 hospitals completely nonfunctional, and those that are remaining to operate are doing so at well below their capacity. So most of the beds, around two-thirds of the beds in Gaza, are in the north. And, of course, there is where we’re seeing the decline in functionality of health facilities and, of course, mass movements outside of the north down to the south. So our bed – our bed capacity and our ability to meet the health needs of the population is plummeting as the needs are absolutely soaring. That’s a huge problem.

Prior to the conflict, we estimate that Gaza had around three-and-a-half thousand beds. We have probably lost at least two-thirds of those right now. And we’re trying to deal with this massive medical need.

So what are WHO and our partners trying to do right now? Well, it’s an incredibly difficult operating environment, as you can imagine. We have 24 national staff on the ground. We have only just now been able to return some of our international staff over the last 48 hours.

Our big focus, of course, has been helping the health system to respond to the massive trauma needs by bringing in supplies and equipment. We’ve already done a lot of training over the years. And then also sustain access to other essential health services – making sure that the 180 women that will deliver each day in Gaza have access to obstetric care. We expect about 15 percent of them may need a Caesarean section or have some form of complication. And where do they go right now, with this major decline in the availability of health services?

You know, people with dialysis. There’s over a thousand patients with dialysis, kidney failure in Gaza. Those dialysis services are progressively declining in functionality, and a lot of those patients will die as a result.

The 9,000 patients that have cancer who’ve had their cancer therapy disrupted, you know, put at high risk. And we can fully expect that a number of them will die.

[…]

Huge operational constraints for us. Our 24 national staff, they’re all shell shocked. They’re doing a heroic job, as are other health-care workers and other humanitarian workers. Massive insecurity. Nowhere is safe in – across Gaza right now. Our access to the north has essentially being cut off, and we expect within days that the health system will, you know, largely stop functioning in the north, putting a huge burden on the south, again, with insufficient resources.
Fuel is a massive, massive need. It’s not getting in. Hospitals are closing because of the lack of fuel. Ambulances aren’t working. Desalination plants aren’t working. And in fact, like, just before you introduced me, Stephen, I got a popup message from our logistics colleagues to say UNRWA will not be able to do the distributions of the supplies arriving in Gaza because their fuel has run out. So our ability to deliver right now, horrific. And our partners – just about every one of our NGO partners has stopped operating in the north.

https://www.csis.org/analysis/gaza-human-toll

[Fishnut]

OCHA flash update 39 (14/11/23)

It is long and horrifying. I've pulled out a few bulletpoints but there's far more in the update.

Hostilities and casualties
- On 14 November, for the fourth consecutive day, following the collapse of services and communications at hospitals in the north, the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza did not update casualty figures. The reported fatality toll of Palestinians in Gaza as of 10 November at 14:00 (latest update provided) stood at 11,078, of whom 4,506 were said to be children and 3,027 women. About 2,700 others, including some 1,500 children, have been reported missing and may be trapped or dead under the rubble, awaiting rescue or recovery. Another 27,490 Palestinians have reportedly been injured.

- Active ground operations in the heart of Gaza city and near the hospitals, along with the lack of fuel, have halted the movement of rescue teams and ambulances in those areas.

Displacement
- Numerous reports indicate that Israeli forces have been carrying out arrests among IDPs fleeing through the corridor [the Salah Ad Deen Road that has been opened between 9am and 4pm each day to enable people to move south], alongside allegations of beating, stripping and other forms of violence.

Humanitarian Access
- total of 91 trucks, carrying food, medicines, health supplies, bottled water, blankets, tents and hygiene products, crossed from Egypt into Gaza on 14 November as of 18:00. This brings the number of trucks that have entered Gaza since 21 October to 1,187, representing a fraction of the needs. [a reminder that it used to be an average of 500 trucks a day]

Health care, including attacks
- Only one of the hospitals in Gaza city and northern Gaza (hereafter: the north) is reportedly still operational at a minimum level for those inside the hospital, as of 14 November; all others have ceased operations due to the lack of power, medical consumables, oxygen, food and water, compounded by bombardments and fighting in their vicinities. Al Ahli Hospital, in Gaza city, currently accommodates over 500 patients and is reportedly the sole medical facility able to admit patients in the north. However, it too faces increasing shortages and challenges.

- Forty patients died in Shifa hospital on 14 November, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza. The hospital reported preparations for a mass grave inside the compound to burry 180 bodies of patients, which cannot be evacuated due to the intense fighting.

- Hospitals and medical personnel are specifically protected under international humanitarian law (IHL) and all parties to the conflict must ensure their protection. Hospitals must not be used to shield military objectives from attack. Any military operation around or within hospitals must take steps to spare and protect the patients, medical staff, and other civilians. All feasible precautions must be taken, including effective warnings, which consider the ability of patients, medical staff and other civilians to evacuate safely. WHO has warned that the evacuation of hospitals in the north, as demanded by the Israeli military, would be a “death sentence” for some patients, because operational hospitals in the south cannot admit more patients.

- On 14 November, Médecins Sans Frontières reported that live ammunition had been fired into one of three of their premises (near Shifa Hospital), where more than 100 people, including staff and their families, had taken shelter.

- Active ground operations in the heart of Gaza city and near the hospitals in North Gaza governorate have halted the movement of rescue teams and ambulances in those areas. According to PRCS, hundreds of calls have been received at an emergency number from Palestinians in Gaza city, urgently requesting ambulances for the wounded, evacuation for trapped families, and assistance for those trapped under rubble.

Water and sanitation
To summarise, the lack of fuel means there's no water or sewerage facilities, or refuse collection which means that "about 400 tons of rubish [sic] per day accumulating in overcrowded camps and IDP shelters."

Food security
- Lack of food in the north is of increasing concern. Since 7 November, no bakeries have been active, due to the lack of fuel, water, and wheat flour, and structural damage. Wheat flour is reportedly no longer available in the market. Food security partners have been unable to deliver assistance in the north, as access has been largely cut off. There are indications of negative coping mechanisms due to food scarcity, including skipping or reducing meals and using unsafe and unhealthy methods for making fire. People are reportedly resorting to unconventional eating, such as consuming combinations of raw onion and uncooked eggplant.

Communications
- On 14 November, UNRWA reported that, in 48 hours, telecommunication companies are expected to run out of fuel to operate data centres and connection sites. In some areas, they have reportedly shut down already. The companies have had to depend on fuel-run generators since Gaza’s black out on 11 October.

[Sciolus]

According to the Israeli defence ministry,

there is no lack of food and no lack of water in Gaza.

[Al Capone Junior]

It's all sickening to me. But 8f you really want to vomit, the reactions to the violence in the USA are truly appalling.

Right wing douchebags are of course piling on the pro Israel bandwagon, effectively ignoring the massive civilian casualties, and demonizing anyone who supports the Palestinians. Often with vicious hate, up to and including violence, especially if someone is a Muslim and supports Palestinians. Bc you know Jesus can't come back unless there is an existing nation of Israel. Just ask John hagee, the douchebag preacher who lives in the dominion (super rich ppl neighborhood).

Not that Hamas or those who support them and their tactics have in any way helped themselves. For a long time. However...

I still support the Palestinians and still believe that they need their own country. How that will ever happen, I have no idea.

[Woodchopper]

According to the Israeli defence ministry,

there is no lack of food and no lack of water in Gaza.

According to the UN’s World Food Programme

“Supplies of food and water are practically non-existent in Gaza and only a fraction of what is needed is arriving through the borders. With winter fast approaching, unsafe and overcrowded shelters, and the lack of clean water, civilians are facing the immediate possibility of starvation," said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. "There is no way to meet current hunger needs with one operational border crossing. The only hope is opening another, safe passage for humanitarian access to bring life-saving food into Gaza."



Earlier this week, WFP confirmed the closure of the final bakery operating in partnership with the agency due to lack of fuel. Fuel shortages have triggered a crippling halt in bread production across all 130 bakeries in Gaza. Bread, a staple food for people in Gaza, is scarce or non-existent.



The shortage of fuel is also crippling humanitarian distribution and operations, including the delivery of food assistance. Even as trucks arrived from Egypt and offloaded supplies in Gaza on Tuesday, they were unable to reach civilians in shelters because of insufficient fuel for distribution vehicles.



Of the 1,129 trucks that have entered Gaza since the opening of the Rafah border crossing on 21 October, only 447 were carrying food supplies. While WFP welcomes the increase in the number of trucks crossing into Gaza, the volume remains woefully inadequate: the food that has entered Gaza is only enough to meet 7 percent of the people’s daily minimum caloric needs.



The food infrastructure in Gaza is no longer functional; only 25 percent of shops contracted by WFP remain open and others have run out essential food items. Local markets have shut down completely. The small quantities of food that can be found are being sold at alarmingly inflated prices and are of little use without the ability to cook, forcing some to survive on one meal a day. For the lucky, that includes more than solely canned food, though some people have resorted to consuming raw onions and uncooked eggplants.



"The collapse of food supply chains is a catastrophic turning point in an already dire situation, where people have been stripped of basic necessities”, said Samer Abdeljaber, Representative and Country Director in Palestine. "Without access to fuel, our ability to provide bread or transport food to those in need has been severely compromised, essentially bringing life in Gaza to a standstill. People are going hungry."



Since last month, WFP has provided emergency food assistance to over 700,000 displaced people in Gaza and plans to scale up food assistance to reach over one million people in the next few weeks. However, this can only happen with increased, sustained supply corridors into Gaza, the ability to rotate staff in and out with safe humanitarian access, and additional support from donors.

https://www.wfp.org/news/gaza-faces-wid ... -warns-wfp

[Imrael]

I still support the Palestinians and still believe that they need their own country. How that will ever happen, I have no idea.

Me too. Particularly the last part. I can see no plausible path to peace without large scale attrocities by one side or another. Israel seems to have closed the door on any form of assimilation, and on any economic settlement that would reduce discontent levels. And the pro-negotiation elelements on the other side are too weak to have any influence.

[Woodchopper]

Following long weeks of delay, the Israeli Authorities approved only half of the daily minimum requirements of fuel for humanitarian operations in Gaza.

“This is far from enough to cover the needs for desalination plants, sewage pumps, hospitals, water pumps in shelters, aid trucks, ambulances, bakeries and communications networks to work without interruption.

"Fuel should not be restricted for these activities.

"Without the full amount of fuel:

People will have only two thirds of their daily needs of clean drinking water;
Large parts of Gaza will continue to be flooded with sewage further increasing risks of diseases;
70 per cent of solid waste will not be removed, a major health hazard;
We are forced to handle a reduced number of aid trucks crossing daily into Rafah.

https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official ... manitarian

[Woodchopper]

I still support the Palestinians and still believe that they need their own country. How that will ever happen, I have no idea.

Me too. Particularly the last part. I can see no plausible path to peace without large scale attrocities by one side or another. Israel seems to have closed the door on any form of assimilation, and on any economic settlement that would reduce discontent levels. And the pro-negotiation elelements on the other side are too weak to have any influence.

The Palestinians already have their own state, which is recognised by a majority of other states. The government in Jericho does all the things a normal state does, eg passes and enforces laws, collects taxes provides services etc. It has a circa 10 000 strong police force trained and equipped by the EU. This was negotiated as part of the Oslo accords.

Obviously for many Palestinians the State of Palestine falls short of what they want. To start with it doesn’t control contiguous territory, instead a series of enclaves. The most populous area by far is Gaza and it was controlled by a renegade government after 2006.

The Oslo accords were supposed to be an interim settlement and what was agreed then was supposed to be the start of a long term process.

People can choose who to blame for it all going wrong. Israel for not being committed to a long term process, or the Palestinians for not being able to give the process enough time.

Nevertheless, it’s still possible to hope that the current situation could be developed into an agreement that both peoples could live with. The government in Jericho can have a constructive relationship with Israel. That could be built upon.

[Fishnut]

OCHA flash update 44 (19/11/23)

As in the previous updates, paragraphs starting with a "-" are direct quotes. Where this is absent I am summarising information from the update. Information from other source have their sources linked in the text.

Hostilities and casualties
A reminder that the reason we're not seeing any updated figures on how many have been killed and injured is that the infrastructure to allow data collection and dissemination has collapsed. Some attacks do lead to casualty figures but they are piecemeal. It is clear, however, that the number of dead and injured continue to rise.

On 18 November a direct hit to Al Fakhouri school in Jabalia killed at least 24 people and injured others. Two residential buildings were also hit, "reportedly killing 50 and 32 people, respectively."

- At the time of the incident, the [Al Fakhouri school] was sheltering about 7,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). A previous attack hitting this school, on 4 November, killed at least 12 people and injured 54. Since the start of hostilities, at least 176 IDPs have been killed in UNRWA premises and 778 have been injured, according to the agency.

As of 14 November (the most recent date I can find figures for) 102 UN workers have been killed.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has confirmed 48 journalists have been killed as of 20 November. "CPJ is also investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt, or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists’ homes."

Displacement
- Over 1.7 million people in Gaza are estimated to be internally displaced, including almost 900,000 IDPs who are staying in at least 154 UNRWA shelters. UNRWA shelters are accommodating far more people than their intended capacity and are unable to accommodate new arrivals. According to preliminary reports, thousands of IDPs are seeking security and safety by sleeping against the walls of shelters in the south, out in the open.

- Overcrowding is contributing to the spread of diseases, including acute respiratory illness and diarrhea, prompting environmental and health concerns.

According to AFP and reported in the Guardian,

Israel warned residents of Gaza’s largest refugee camp, Jabaliya, and a nearby coastal camp to evacuate, while the military said on Sunday it was “expanding its operational activities in additional neighbourhoods” of Gaza.

Humanitarian Access
- On 19 November, 69,000 litres of fuel entered Gaza from Egypt. The Israeli authorities have confirmed that they would start allowing the entry of a daily amount of approximately 70,000 litres of fuel from Egypt, which is well below the minimum requirements for essential humanitarian operations. Fuel is set to be distributed by UNRWA to support food distribution, and the operation of generators at hospitals, water and sanitation facilities, shelters, and other critical services.

Health care, including attacks
- Thirty-one out of the 36 premature newborns in Shifa hospital were evacuated in temperature-controlled incubators to the Al Helal Al Emarati Hospital in Rafah, where their condition is now being stabilized and they are being cared for in the neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The newborns’ condition was rapidly deteriorating in their previous location, where the remaining five babies had died following the collapse of medical services.

- On 19 November, Israeli raids reportedly continued in Shifa hospital, with at least one patient being arrested during searching and interrogation by Israeli forces.

- As of 17 November, the World Health Organization (WHO) documented more than 44,000 cases of diarrhea and 70,000 acute respiratory infections in Gaza shelters, but actual numbers may be significantly higher. Furthermore, they stated that rains and floods during the approaching winter season are likely to make an already dire situation even worse.

The World Health Organisation called al-Shifa hospital a "death zone". According to the Guardian, the hospital has,

a mass grave at the entrance and only 25 staff left to care for 291 seriously ill patients after orders from the Israeli army to evacuate the complex.
...
At least 40 people, including eight premature babies, died this week at al-Shifa because of a lack of electricity to operate life-saving equipment such as incubators and dialysis machines, the UN has said.

Israeli forces are also closing in on Indonesian Hospital, with 12 people believed killed in overnight shelling.

Water and sanitation
- On 19 November, UNRWA and UNICEF distributed 19,500 litres of fuel to water and sanitation facilities south of Wadi Gaza (hereafter: the south), enabling them to operate generators and resume their operation. This fuel is expected to last for about 24 hours. To the north of Wadi Gaza (hereafter: the north), all water and sanitation facilities are presumed to be shut down, and no distribution of bottled water has been taking place since the start of the Israeli ground operations on 28 October, raising grave concerns about dehydration and waterborne diseases.

Food security
- Since 7 November, members of the Food Security Sector have been unable to deliver assistance in the north, as access has been largely cut off. Due to the lack of cooking facilities and fuel, people are resorting to consuming the few raw vegetables or unripe fruits that remain. No bakeries are active due to the lack of fuel, water, and wheat flour, and structural damage. Wheat flour is reportedly no longer available in the market. Food Security Cluster members have raised serious concerns about the nutritional status of people, especially lactating women, and children.

- Also in the north, livestock is facing starvation and the risk of death due to the shortage of fodder and water. Crops are being increasingly abandoned and damaged because of the lack of fuel which is required to pump irrigation water.

- Across Gaza, farmers have begun slaughtering their animals due to the immediate need for food and the lack of fodder. This practice poses an additional threat to food security as it leads to the depletion of productive assets.

-----

What's really concerning is how much less information is coming out since power for communications has been lost. The updates contain less new information and have fewer specifics. We no longer have any clue how many people have been killed and injured. Individual reports may make it out but nothing comprehensive. What is clear is that nowhere is safe for people - schools, hospitals, refugee camps, churches are all being bombed. There is no food, no water, no sanitation, no heat. People are going to start dying of disease, thirst and starvation soon (if they haven't already). How does this end? And how many more are going to die before it does?

[Sciolus]

Meanwhile in the West Bank, thousands of people are under house arrest, in some cases their doors literally welded shut and their balconies caged in, for the crime of not being Israeli occupiers.

[Fishnut]

A convoy of evacuating Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff and family members was deliberately attacked, killing one and injuring another. The cars were clearly marked as MSF vehicles and both sides were notified of their evacuation.

[Fishnut]

OCHA flash update 45 (20/11/23)

As in the previous updates, paragraphs starting with a "-" are direct quotes. Where this is absent I am summarising information from the update. Information from other source have their sources linked in the text.

There's little change from yesterday as information is increasingly difficult to get. However, there's a few updates that are worth highlighting,

Hostilities and casualties
- As of 11 November, at least 3,117 school students and 183 educational staff have been killed in Gaza and more than 4,613 students and 403 teachers have been injured, according to the Ministry of Health in Ramallah. Additionally, as of 13 November, about 300 school buildings (61 per cent of all such buildings in Gaza) are said to have sustained damage.

- Since 7 October, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has preliminarily documented the death of 50 journalists and media workers, including 45 Palestinians, 4 Israelis and 1 Lebanese, making it the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.

Displacement
- The movement of unaccompanied children and separated families, including women who were ordered to leave their children, while people are on the move has been increasingly observed. Intensive bombing was heard multiple times in the vicinity of the corridor.

- Over 1.7 million people in Gaza are estimated to be internally displaced, including almost 900,000 IDPs who are staying in at least 154 UNRWA shelters. UNRWA shelters are accommodating far more people than their intended capacity and are unable to accommodate new arrivals.

- Over 15 per cent of the IDPs are estimated to have disabilities as of 1 November, yet most shelters are not adequately equipped for their needs. Shelters lack the required medical mattresses and beds, causing ulcers for people unable to move and other medical issues that cannot be treated in unsterilized conditions. The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities demands unconditional and unrestricted humanitarian aid access and relief for people with disabilities in the Gaza Strip.

Humanitarian Access
- 51 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered on 20 November as of 18:00, and another 100 entered on 19 November. Overall, between 21 October and 20 November at 18:00, at least 1,320 trucks of humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza via Egypt (excluding fuel). [A reminder, it used to be 500 trucks a day]

Health care, including attacks
- Israeli operations at Shifa Hospital continued on 20 November for the fifth consecutive day. Nineteen health workers and 259 patients remain in Shifa, according to MoH in Gaza, as of 19 November, facing critical shortages of power, water, and medical supplies. This includes two people in intensive care, 22 dialysis patients, 32 stretcher patients, and 27 patients with spinal injuries, who will be prioritized for the next evacuation. The hospital is no longer operational and is not admitting new patients.

- On 20 November, a clinic operated by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Gaza city was hit, resulting in damage to the building and five MSF cars burned and crushed by tank shelling. A total of 21 people are in the clinic, and might be in extreme danger and their status is unknown, the organization has warned.

- WHO has recorded 164 attacks on health care in the Gaza Strip since 7 October.

Water and sanitation
- In the north, grave concerns of dehydration and waterborne diseases due to water consumption from unsafe sources continue. The water desalination plant and the Israeli pipeline supplying water to the north of Wadi Gaza are not functioning. There has been no distribution of bottled water among IDPs accommodated in shelters for over a week, raising grave concerns about dehydration and waterborne diseases due to water consumption from unsafe sources.

[Fishnut]

We have a ceasefire, of sorts.

50 women and children held by Hamas will be exchanged for 150 women and children held by Israel and there will be a 4 day ceasefire for the transfer. Bombing will stop completely in the south and "sorties over northern Gaza [will be] restricted to six hours a day."

More aid will be allowed in (though how much is unclear from the article).

The deal is also thought to include visits by the Red Cross to remaining hostages and a distribution of medicine.

It's unclear when the ceasefire will begin. It seems that it can be extended if Hamas returns further hostages.

[Grumble]

Not quite sure how “sorties for only six hours” counts as a ceasefire, but I suppose it’s progress

[El Pollo Diablo]

150 women and children held by Israel

Apologies if I've misunderstood, but has Israel taken hostages as well?

[WFJ]

150 women and children held by Israel

Apologies if I've misunderstood, but has Israel taken hostages as well?

Hamas takes hostages but Israel takes prisoners. 1000s of prisoners who are held indefinitely without trials or even charges and are often subjected to torture. Many of these prisoners are held for crimes such as looking at an IDF soldier in a funny manner.