ReliefWeb

SITUATION OVERVIEW

The fifty one days of escalated hostilities that started on 7 July 2014 entailed intensive bombardments, rocket, mortar fire and ground operations across the Gaza Strip. This resulted in a record number of civilian casualties, the devastation of civilian buildings and infrastructure, and large scale displacement. Every man, woman and child in the Gaza Strip - some 1.8 million people – were directly affected by the conflict. Rocket fire from Gaza also affected communities in Israel. On 26 August, the parties to the conflict reached an open-ended cease-fire, which has held to date. However, the situation remains very fragile, due to the scale of the needs, the slow pace of reconstruction, the ongoing blockade and internal tensions. The situation could be further exacerbated in the event of anticipated, small-scale emergencies, such as winter flooding.