United Nations Radio

A new report by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) points to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The report notes that Palestinian militants fired dozens of rockets and mortars Wednesday at Israeli cities and towns, which resulted in extensive property damage but no reported casualties. It also notes that the Gaza crossings have now been closed completely for eight consecutive days, including for humanitarian supplies.

And according to OCHA, this is the second longest period the crossings have remained closed since the Hamas takeover in June 2007.

UN Deputy Spokeswoman Marie Okabe.

"The report adds that the ongoing closures have significantly reduced the capacity of UN humanitarian agencies to provide aid in the event of an escalation in violence. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), for example, has no flour or cash to distribute, affecting thousands of Gazans. And the World Food Programme has been unable to preposition stocks - meaning that, in the event of an emergency, it has no food available within the Gaza Strip. OCHA also reports shortages of critical emergency surgical kits."

The report says due to the lack of fuel and spare parts, the power plant in Gaza has been shut down since 19 December.

It says this is affecting all aspects of daily life, including sanitation and the supply of water and power to households, schools, and civilian institutions.

OCHA says that 60% of the Gaza population is receiving running water only once every five to seven days.
In addition, the wastewater treatment plant, unable to operate regularly, has since Saturday doubled the amount of raw sewage it is dumping into the sea to 40 million litres per day.

Donn Bobb, United Nations Radio

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