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Situation report | Wash Cluster - State of Palestine | Wash | 25 07 2014

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Key issues

An estimated number of 190’000 Internally Displaced Persons have taken refuge in formal and informal IDP shelters. They have lost their houses, have left areas where heavy fighting takes place and/or where services such as electricity and water are no longer available. The number of IDPs hosted in UNRWA shelters reached the number of 165,548 in 89 shelters on 26th of July, others are located in public schools, hospitals, churches, mosques and open areas.

Communities east of Salah El Deen Road have either taken refuge in UNRWA schools in camps or moved to host families in the city centers of Gaza City, Khan Yunis, Deir al Balah, Rafah and Jabalia. The number of IDPs living in host families is unknown. Field reports stated for example for the Middle Area that most residents of Wadi As Salqa and Al Musaddar moved to UNRWA schools in Al Maghazi Camp whereas those of Juhor ad Dik moved to Al Bureij camp.

The Israeli military has declared an area 3km from the fence separating Israel and Gaza as a "no go" zone, sending evacuation warnings to many communities located there. This area covers 162 km2 (44% of the Gaza Strip). Around 250,000 people were residing in this area prior to its declaration. An estimated amount of 350’000 may have left As Shuja’ijeh,Ijdeedeh, Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, and Jabalia. It has to be expected that numbers equal to those in IDP shelters may stay with host families.

An additional estimated amount of 600’000 people have reduced access to water, due to electricity shortages, lack of fuel and pressure in the water network to reach certain streets, areas on higher altitude or upper levels of multi-story buildings. Even more grave is the fact that they are exposed to severe public health risks due to the mixing of sewage with water from many damages that occurred in the sanitation system and the lack of solid waste collection. The WASH Cluster Area Focal Points of Rafah today requested insecticides in order to respond to an outbreak of lice and scabies due to the lack of water. The total population of Gaza, or 1.8 Million people, are in one way or other affected.

The electricity system has been badly damaged. Gaza Power Plant and main electricity feeder lines were hit, large areas of Gaza Strip have 3 to 4 hours of electricity per day, hardly enough to operate pumps and equipment of wells, sewage pumping stations, waste water treatment plants and desalination plants. Approximately 25% of all facilities have no electricity because electricity lines and transformers were damaged and rely on generators only. WASH facilities without generators are not operational. Fuel is one of the most urgently required commodities.