Jerusalem blasts Red Cross for report

Gaza report: 1.5m living in poverty
Monday, 29 June 2009 14:33
A new report by the International Committee of the Red Cross has described the 1.5m Palestinians living in Gaza as people trapped in rising poverty, and unable to rebuild their lives.

The international charity said large numbers of children were severely malnourished, and that basic medicines were in short supply.

It said thousands of people whose homes were destroyed during Israel's 22-day military operation at the beginning of the year were still without shelter.

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The report added that the current situation was directly linked to the continuing Israeli blockade of the crossing points into Gaza.

Read the ICRC report

Meanwhile, a UN human rights panel has begun hearing testimony as part of its investigation into alleged war crimes by Israel and Ha

continued

Thousands of homes only have access to running water on certain days. Because the
water supply network cannot be properly maintained, it is leaking, making it harder
to maintain sufficient water pressure. Even when water is available in the pipes, many
homes do not have sufficient power to pump it into rooftop storage tanks.
The taps of tens of thousands of people run dry when Gaza's municipal water wells
break down, which frequently happens because of insufficient supplies of new water
pipes, electrical spare parts, pumps and transformers.
The ICRC has occasionally found ways of repairing infrastructure without relying
on imports. For example, it used recycled materials (including used water pipes
and concrete segments of the old Rafah border wall destroyed in January 2008) to
upgrade a wastewater treatment plant serving 175,000 people in Rafah.
However, on its own this is insufficient. Other repairs and reconstruction projects are
urgently needed to prevent the further deterioration of the water supply system, carry
out essential maintenance and stem the steady decline of the water and sanitation
system throughout the Gaza Strip. The fact that water and sanitation services could
collapse at any moment raises the spectre of a major public health crisis.
The only way to address this crisis is to lift import restrictions on spare parts, water
pipes and building materials such as cement and steel so that homes can be rebuilt
and vital infrastructure maintained and upgraded

continued

Gaza's hospitals are run down. Much of the equipment is unreliable and in need of
repair. Complicated procedures for obtaining approval to import spare parts make it
difficult and time consuming to bring in and maintain hospital equipment, such as
CT scanners, and spare parts – even for hospital washing machines. The ICRC has had
to wait as long as five months to import medical equipment for operating theaters,
such as orthopedic external fixators.
Daily power cuts and power fluctuations continue to damage medical equipment.
Most hospitals have to rely on backup generators for several hours a day, but it is
never certain that enough fuel will be available to run them.
Seriously ill patients should be given prompt and safe passage out of the Gaza
Strip in order to access the specialized medical care they cannot get inside the
territory. Essential medical items such as drugs, disposables and spare parts must
be allowed into the Gaza Strip without delay and in sufficient quantities to ensure
essential health services for the population.

Four of our 14 specialized ventilators
for newborn babies are out of order.
It is currently impossible to get spare
parts into Gaza so that we can have
the ventilators fixed. This is a real
problem if we have many newborns
in the intensive care unit at the same
time."
Majdia Jouda, head of the neo-natal
department at Shifa Hospital.

BREAKING THE CYCLE OF
DESPAIR AND DESTITUTION

Over the last two years, the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip have been
caught up in an unending cycle of deprivation and despair as a result of the conflict,
and particularly as a direct consequence of the closure of the crossing points.
The ICRC has repeatedly pointed out that Israel’s right to address its legitimate
security concerns must be balanced against the right of the population in Gaza to
lead a normal and dignified life. Under international humanitarian law, Israel has the
obligation to ensure that the population's basic needs in terms of food, shelter, water
and medical supplies are met.
The ICRC once again appeals for a lifting of restrictions on the movement of people
and goods as the first and most urgent measure to end Gaza's isolation and to allow
its people to rebuild their lives.
The almost 4.5 billion dollars that donor countries pledged for reconstruction at an
international summit in Egypt in March 2009 will be of little use if building materials
and other essential items cannot be imported into the Gaza Strip.
In any case, reconstruction alone does not offer a sustainable means of getting Gaza
back on its feet. To go back to the situation prior to the latest military operation
would be unacceptable, as that would only perpetuate Gaza’s plight.
A lasting solution requires fundamental changes in Israeli policy, such as allowing
imports and exports to and from Gaza, increasing the flow of goods and people up
to the level of May 2007, allowing farmers to access their land in the de-facto buffer
zone and restoring fishermen's access to deeper waters.
Humanitarian action can be no substitute for the credible political steps that are
needed to bring about these changes. Only an honest and courageous political
process involving all States, political authorities and organized armed groups
concerned can address the plight of Gaza and restore a dignified life to its people.
The alternative is a further descent into misery with every passing day.

The International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent
organization whose exclusively humanitarian
mission is to protect the lives and dignity of
victims of war and internal violence and to
provide them with assistance. It directs and
coordinates the international relief activities
conducted by the Movement in situations
of conflict. It also endeavours to prevent
suffering by promoting and strengthening
humanitarian law and universal humanitarian
principles. Established in 1863, the ICRC is at
the origin of the International Red Cross and
Red Crescent Movement.

omg....Israel is mad at a report criticizing it. The whole world is WRONG and being BIASED in their observations and investigations. ONLY Israel is always right.

I guess if you are a cold blooded murderer, you need to deny, deny and deny.

LOL
I read the headline and took a guess at who posted it before checking. I was right; it was Highr0ller as usual, with numerous comments on her own story, and WorldPeaceTV chimes in at the end.
Deja vu. This seems to happen a lot on here.
:-)

keep up the good work roller. Some of us appreciate what you do and the info you present.