"Everything has got to come in; that is one of the things we will be insisting on strongly." -- John Holmes, UN humanitarian chief
The way to de facto peace between Israel and Hamas is obvious: end Israel's blockade on civilian goods and people going into and out of Gaza. Anyone who cares about peace, the security of Israel, and the security and welfare of Gaza should be pushing Israel - or the U.S., Israel's main and essential supporter - to lift its siege. Pushing hard, like the UN, CARE, and Save the Children did today and yesterday.
AFP: The United Nations urged Israel on Thursday to reopen Gaza crossings as senior officials assessed war damage . . .
"If you want to have reconstruction, you have to have cement and construction materials and pipes and spare parts," said UN humanitarian chief John Holmes at a UN-run school hit by an Israeli missile in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.
"Everything has got to come in; that is one of the things we will be insisting on strongly" in discussions with Israel, said Holmes who was touring Gaza along with UN Middle East envoy Robert Serry.
Gaza's 1.5 million residents are struggling to cope without electricity and other basic necessities on the fourth day of an Israeli blockade. Hospitals have begun to run short of fuel for generators, and sewage has spilled out onto the streets. Jacky Rowland reports.
Here's the background to Israel's deadly siege. . .
Israel imposed it as soon as Hamas took power in Gaza in June of 2007. No time given Hamas to show it would respect Israeli borders, no time given Hamas to show that its moderated words and deeds of 2005, 2006, and 2007 would translate into moderate governance in relation to Israel. In apparent response to the siege, Hamas struck Israel with missiles, but finally in 2008 a ceasefire was agreed to. Here is what happened from that point forward:
Scoop.co.nz: Contrary to popular reports, Hamas had successfully reigned in [its] rockets during the 2008 ceasefire. According to Ethan Bonner of the New York Times [19 December 2008], "Hamas imposed its will and even imprisoned some of those who were firing rockets. Israeli and United Nations figures show that while more than 300 rockets were fired into Israel in May 10 to 20 were fired in July, depending on who was counting and whether mortar rounds were included. In August, 10 to 30 were fired, and in September, 5 to 10."
Bonner also observed the suffering during that period when Israel did not deliver the promised relief supplies into Gaza. He wrote: "Hamas thought it was going to get: a return to the 500 to 600 truckloads delivered daily before the closing, including appliances, construction materials and other goods essential for life beyond mere survival. Instead, the number of trucks increased to around 90 from around 70.''
. . . According to Jerusalem Post writer Larry Derfner, "The [Palestinian] Kassam [rockets] have terrorized the 25,000 people in Sderot and its environs, but have caused very, very few deaths or serious wounds. By contrast, Israel has terrorized 1.5 million Gazans, locked them inside their awfully narrow borders, throttled their economy, and killed and seriously wounded thousands of them...[24 December 2008]
Here is the CARE International and Save the Children announcement (emphasis added):
CARE and Save the Children today expressed concern about the devastating humanitarian situation in Gaza, and announced that they are prevented from scaling up their emergency response because of restrictions on humanitarian access and movement of international non-governmental organizations into Gaza. The two global agencies are calling for immediate and unfettered access for humanitarian aid and staff into Gaza to meet the critical and growing needs of the population, more than half of whom are children. Since the escalation of violence, the agencies have not been allowed to send any staff and have been limited in sending aid into Gaza. Additional humanitarian workers are required to support the aid workers already in Gaza, who have been working throughout the conflict under extremely difficult conditions. Most of the population has been without basic services and supplies for nearly a month. The agencies are stressing that the essential supplies needed to respond to the scale of the crisis, including food, water, medical supplies, hygiene kits and reconstruction materials, are not available in sufficient supply in Gaza's local markets.
The agencies applaud the statements of John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, regarding the urgent need for humanitarian access, and ask him to negotiate a removal of this barrier to effective humanitarian action during his visit to the region to assess the humanitarian situation on Thursday, January 22.
"Gaza's devastation has not only been caused by the recent three-week conflict. Humanitarian aid organizations have been denied access to the Gaza Strip since November 4, and this is utterly impeding our ability to respond to the humanitarian disaster we are faced with today," said Martha Myers, Country Director for CARE International in the West Bank and Gaza. "The 18-month blockade of Gaza has left the population weakened and completely unprepared to recover from the current crisis without outside help."
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) - Hundreds of workers toiled in southern Gaza Thursday to repair dozens of tunnels dug under tents or fake greenhouses while smugglers brought in food and fuel just days after Israel ended a barrage of bombs and missiles aimed at cutting off the supply route from Egypt.
The renewed smuggling underscored how difficult it could be for the Israeli military to meet one of the key goals of its three-week offensive: preventing Hamas militants from bringing weapons into Gaza through the porous Egyptian border. . . .
With so many tunnels out of service, the laws of supply and demand have driven prices up, [tunnel manager] Abu Rahman said. Sacks of goods like potato chips, clothes or cigarettes that transferred for $40 each before the offensive could now go for as much as $400, he said.
P.S. --
AFP: Two women, two children and an elderly man were wounded on Thursday by fire from Israeli navy boats patrolling the Mediterranean, medics said. The army said it fired warning shots at a fishing boat.
Otherwise mutual Israeli and Hamas ceasefires were holding for a fifth day.
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