Palestinian Interior Ministry, Gaza city
Gaza under siege
The kidnapping of an Israeli soldier and the killing of two others by Palestinian militants provoked the Israeli army to carry out air-strikes, destroying the Gaza Strip’s main power station.
The lack of power is having a knock-on effect on generator-powered water wells and the operation of medical equipment in hospitals.
As they enter the eighth day without power and water and psychologically exhausted by the constant explosions of sonic booms from Israeli fighter-jets overhead, Christian Aid's partners are struggling to cope with the situation on the ground.
‘The situation is awful,’ said Majeda Saqqa of the Culture and Free Thought Association which runs children’s centres in the southern Gaza Strip. ‘Fuel is running out so it is hard to maintain the generators that lift water up from the wells so we have very little water,’ she said.
‘Petrol prices have doubled. It is very hot and humid and we have a huge problem with mosquitoes. The municipal garbage collection cannot operate due to lack of fuel so garbage in the streets is becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
‘We need to keep doors and windows open otherwise they will break due to the sonic booms so there are mosquitoes everywhere. On Sunday two small houses collapsed as a result of the sonic booms – luckily no one was hurt.’
As they enter the eighth day without power and water and psychologically exhausted by the constant explosions of sonic booms from Israeli fighter-jets overhead, Christian Aid's partners are struggling to cope with the situation on the ground.
‘The situation is awful,’ said Majeda Saqqa of the Culture and Free Thought Association which runs children’s centres in the southern Gaza Strip. ‘Fuel is running out so it is hard to maintain the generators that lift water up from the wells so we have very little water,’ she said.
‘Petrol prices have doubled. It is very hot and humid and we have a huge problem with mosquitoes. The municipal garbage collection cannot operate due to lack of fuel so garbage in the streets is becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
‘We need to keep doors and windows open otherwise they will break due to the sonic booms so there are mosquitoes everywhere. On Sunday two small houses collapsed as a result of the sonic booms – luckily no one was hurt.’
Food and medical supplies
The UN reports that Gaza’s hospitals are running low on emergency items and the ability of medical services to respond to possible increased casualties is being compromised.
‘The elderly - who live in large apartment blocks - can’t get to hospital for dialysis treatment as the lack of power means the lifts aren’t working,’ said Saqqa.
‘The elderly - who live in large apartment blocks - can’t get to hospital for dialysis treatment as the lack of power means the lifts aren’t working,’ said Saqqa.
Psychological impact
Majeda Saqqa said: ‘It is really terrifying when the sonic booms hit. They create a state of panic and children rush to hide under tables. Everybody is tired all the time as the sonic booms go on through the night. Nobody gets any sleep. Our staff can’t hide their fear.’
Ahmed Sourani of the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee, another Christian Aid partner, said: ‘There is a real sense of depression and pessimism in Gaza – people are expecting things to get worse and that there will be an escalation of the situation’.
‘Our children are traumatised – they want to sleep in the same bed as us at night. We are as scared as our children are but we cannot admit it for their sake.’
The foreign ministry in Switzerland, depositary state for the Geneva Conventions which set out rules regarding armed conflict, said there was ‘no doubt’ Israel has not taken the necessary precautions required of it under international law to protect the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza and its infrastructure.
Ahmed Sourani of the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee, another Christian Aid partner, said: ‘There is a real sense of depression and pessimism in Gaza – people are expecting things to get worse and that there will be an escalation of the situation’.
‘Our children are traumatised – they want to sleep in the same bed as us at night. We are as scared as our children are but we cannot admit it for their sake.’
The foreign ministry in Switzerland, depositary state for the Geneva Conventions which set out rules regarding armed conflict, said there was ‘no doubt’ Israel has not taken the necessary precautions required of it under international law to protect the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza and its infrastructure.
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