BICOM

 

• Starting today, the IDF will hold fire in Gaza City for three hours a day, in an effort to provide a ‘humanitarian corridor’ for its residents.

• Israeli President Shimon Peres apologised for any loss of innocent life in a building near a UN school in Gaza yesterday, saying “I’m sorry for all innocent deaths.” The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the deaths there “a heartrending tragedy.”

• Israel is giving serious consideration to a French-Egyptian plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau, meanwhile, said yesterday that Hamas rejects a permanent truce with Israel, but is also looking at international proposals.

Key statements: responses to Gaza events

Israeli President Shimon Peres apologises for loss of innocent life (1/7): “I’m sorry for all innocent deaths.”

IDF Spokesperson Avi Benayahu (1/6): “We face a very delicate situation where Hamas is using the citizens of Gaza as a protective vest.”

Jonathan Freedland paraphrasing uncle of killed Gaza toddlers on his anger at Hamas (1/7): “Unless, of course, this is all a fiendish plot by the Hamas leadership. On this theory, they are not really cowering in their underground bunkers – too scared to resist, saving their own skins, as the uncle of those dead toddlers accusingly told the Guardian yesterday. Instead they are waiting to lure the IDF in, enticing Israeli troops deep into Gaza’s cities where they will be most vulnerable.”

Jonathan Freedland quoting diplomat on comparison of Gaza situation to Iraq and Afghanistan (1/7): “Still, Britons and Americans have no cause for self-righteousness. The scale of the Israeli offensive is shocking, and yet the killing is not of a greater order than that of the two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, in which our very own British troops are taking part. I spoke yesterday with one foreign diplomat based in Jerusalem who recalled how, during an earlier posting in Afghanistan, he had seen the remains of an entire village razed to the ground by American fighter jets in pursuit of a couple of Taliban commanders. ‘All that was left was rubble and body parts,’ he says now. Seen in the context of the last seven years, the grim truth is that Israelis are not guilty of a unique crime in Gaza.”

Situation on the ground

Starting today, the IDF will hold fire in Gaza City for three hours a day, in an effort to provide a humanitarian corridor for its residents. In these three hours, Gaza City residents will be able to acquire basic necessities and damaged infrastructure can be repaired. This took place today from 1.00 to 4.00 pm local time.

The shipments planned for today include 60,000 litres of fuel to pass for the first time by truck through the Kerem Shalom crossing, along with 80 trucks carrying food, medicine and basic equipment. Additionally, some half a million litres of fuel are scheduled to pass through the Nahal Oz terminal.

The IDF is investigating the incident yesterday in which at least 30 Palestinians were killed near an UN school in Jabalya. An initial inquiry by the IDF revealed that several mortar shells were fired at IDF forces from within the school, which prompted IDF forces to respond with mortar fire. Israeli Channel 2 commentator Ehud Yaari said yesterday that most of the victims were young men. Two known Hamas terrorists were among the casualties. It is not the first time that Hamas has fired mortars and rockets from schools, using civilians as human shields.

Diplomatic developments

Israel is giving serious consideration to a French-Egyptian plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, opening the crossings to Gaza and setting up a supervision mechanism that would prevent arms smuggling. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a special discussion in the Security Council that Egyptian President Mubarak had invited PM Olmert to come today to Cairo to discuss the security arrangements on the Gaza-Egypt border. Kouchner added that France is willing to participate in the international mechanism for supervising the implementation of the ceasefire and preventing smuggling. 

The deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau, Moussa Abou Marzouk, said yesterday that Hamas rejects a permanent truce with Israel. He said that Hamas received proposals from France, Turkey, Syria and Egypt to bring about a ceasefire, which the movement is looking at. He also reiterated Hamas’s demands for an immediate end to Israel’s operation and the opening of the border.

Tally of missiles, rockets and mortar shells fired from Gaza

• Since 4 November: 834 rockets and mortar shells
• Since 19 December: 769 rockets and mortar shells
• Since Israel began Operation Cast Lead on 27 December: 614 rockets and mortar shells

For a daily tally of rockets and mortars fired into Israel, see BICOM Statistics: Total number of identified rocket and mortar shell hits since 2001; daily tally for 2008 and 2009. Please note the new web link.

Humanitarian aid to Gaza

Israel is conducting the latest operation while making sure that food, basic supplies and medical needs are constantly transferred into the Gaza Strip. Israel maintains ongoing contact with humanitarian agencies and enables the constant flow of goods and supplies into the strip.

Since the beginning of operation in Gaza, 458 truckloads of humanitarian aid (10,231 tons) have been transferred at the request of international organisations, the Palestinian Authority and various governments. Israel does not wish to see the humanitarian situation in the strip deteriorate. Preparations are underway to facilitate further shipments expected to arrive in the coming days.

6 January 2009

57 trucks loaded with 1,312 tons of humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing. The trucks contained medical supplies, flour, powdered milk, potatoes, barley and more, shipped to Gaza at the request of international organisations including UNRWA, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organisation, as well as international donations on behalf of the governments of Jordan, Egypt and Greece. Israel’s humanitarian efforts, in conjunction with international organisations operating in the Gaza Strip, also include medical treatment in Israeli hospitals and infrastructure repairs in the Gaza Strip.

5 January 2009

49 trucks carrying 1,119 tons of food and medicines were transferred to Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, including four with medical equipment and medicines. The aid was donated by international organisations – UNRWA, WFP and the ICRC – and by several countries, including Egypt and Jordan. In addition, 215,000 litres of diesel fuel for the power plant, 93,000 litres of diesel for the use of various UN organisations and 50 tons of cooking gas for domestic uses were transferred via the Nahal Oz terminal.

The evacuation of dual nationals is continuing.

2 January 2009

Israel transferred 64 trucks carrying 1,530 tons of humanitarian aid (including basic foodstuffs, medicines and medical supplies, tents and generators) via the Kerem Shalom crossing.

1 January 2009

60 trucks, with approximately 1,360 tons of humanitarian aid, medical supplies and medication were conveyed through Kerem Shalom cargo terminal.

31 December 2008

93 truckloads carrying some 2,500 tons of humanitarian aid, medical supplies and medications were transferred through the Kerem Shalom crossing. The World Food Programme notified the Israeli authorities that their food warehouses in the Gaza Strip are full, with a two-week supply, and they do not require further shipments.

The Nahal Oz fuel crossing remained closed due to continuing fire in the area.

Twelve Palestinians, including two children, were transferred to Israeli hospitals.

30 December 2008

93 truckloads carrying 2,366 tons of humanitarian supplies as well as five ambulances donated by Turkey were transferred to the Gaza Strip. A Red Cross plane arrived with medical supplies for the hospital operating room. The aid included food and medicine provided by the World Food Programme, UNRWA, UNICEF, the ICRC, the World Health Organisation, Doctors without Borders, and Care International, as well as donations from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Turkey.

29 December 2008

63 trucks with 1,545 tons of humanitarian goods (food, medicines and medical supplies) were delivered via the Kerem Shalom crossing. Most of the aid was provided by the International Red Cross, UNRWA, Doctors without Borders, and Care International. Five ambulances from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in Ramallah passed through, at the request of the International Red Cross (ICRC). 1,000 units of blood donated by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan were also delivered.

Erez crossing: Four people (patients and their escorts), and ten international staff, including a pregnant employee of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and her Palestinian husband, left the Gaza Strip and crossed into Israel.

28 December 2008

At the request of international organisations (the International Red Cross, UNRWA, WFP) and of the Palestinian National Authority in Ramallah, 23 truckloads of humanitarian goods such as flour, medicines and medical supplies were transferred via Kerem Shalom crossing.

However, the transfer of additional aid through the crossings is being delayed by the high risk of terrorist attacks on the crossings themselves. There is a long history of such attacks, including: 

• 22 May 2008: a Palestinian bomber blew up an explosives-laden truck on the Palestinian side of the Erez crossing, causing substantial damage.
• 20 April 2008: Hamas gunmen wounded 13 Israeli soldiers in an assault with mortar shells, explosives-laden vehicles and gunfire against the Kerem Shalom crossing.
• 9 April 2008: Two Israeli civilian fuel truck drivers working at the Nahal Oz fuel depot – which supplies fuel to Gaza – were killed in an attack by Gaza militants.

Further Information

To visit our new Operation Cast Lead section on our website, click here. It contains daily situation updates, analyses, useful facts and figures, and videos. You can also find the section by going to our homepage and clicking on the Operation Cast Lead button on the right-hand side.

For a full news review for 7 January, click here.