Alan Johnson MP

The International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander, has pledged £30m to help rebuild damaged and destroyed homes, schools, and hospitals in Gaza.

The money will support the first phase of rebuilding Gaza which is still devastated from the recent fighting. It will include the repair of essential infrastructure including water, sewage and electricity supplies. This brings the total response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to nearly £47m since the conflict began.

During a visit to Gaza and Israel in early March Douglas Alexander called for improved access and urged the Israelis to relax tough restrictions on the type of goods that are allowed across the border.

He also met with representatives of the Israeli Government, the UN and organisations working on the ground in Gaza. He called for an end to rocket attacks and a political settlement that includes both a viable Palestinian State and a secure Israel.

Many people are still living in temporary housing and over 90% of the population require food aid. United Nations assessments have indicated that urgent repair work is needed to initiate the first stage of recovery.
Construction materials are desperately needed to help repair homes and infrastructure but restrictions on access to Gaza are preventing supplies getting through.

Most recently, the Department for International Development has committed £1.5m to the World Food Programme’s Emergency Operation to meet the urgent basic food needs of 365,000 conflict-affected people in Gaza, and £340,000 to help the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) coordinate the provision of emergency water and sanitation.

Other organisations that have received funding include the International Committee of the Red Cross, which received £4m to provide food and carry out health and protection work, £661,000 to Islamic Relief to repair and rebuild houses and schools, and £200,000 to Mines Advisory Group to Assess to survey and clear the danger of unexploded ordnance.

Background on the humanitarian situation:

Casualties: As of 26 February, Palestinian Ministry of Health reports that 1,452 Palestinians were killed in the conflict (404 children and 114 women) and 5,380 injured (1,872 children and 800 women), although reliable figures are hard to obtain. According to Israeli authorities, four Israeli civilians and eleven soldiers were killed during the conflict with 182 civilians injured.

• Power: Scheduled power cuts of 6-8 hours in most of Gaza every few days and unscheduled power cuts continue. Up to 15% of the power network is not functional and some areas are still without electricity.

• Water: 50,000 people are without running water, and a further 100,000 only receive running water in their homes every 7-10 days. Pollution of water supplies is of major concern.

• Food: 90% people now partially dependent on food aid compared to 76% before the conflict. Shortage of currency makes purchasing food difficult for many. Approximately 43% of farmland is within 1 km buffer zone inside Gaza which has reduced food production significantly.

• Health: 58 health facilities were either destroyed or damaged during the conflict – most are now operational again. Many hospitals were already run down due to ongoing access restrictions and lack of spare parts for repairs.

• Shelter: As of 23 February, only 178 people remained in shelters – down from 51,000 at the peak, but thousands remain homeless.

• Destruction: 21,000 homes destroyed or badly damaged.

• Environment: Estimated 6m tonnes of rubble, mixed with poisonous materials and, possibly unexploded ordnance, needs to be removed before any reconstruction can begin.

• Security: At least 7.5 tonnes of unexploded ordnance has been found. This is hindering the clearance of rubble and posing a danger to the public. Essential equipment to make unexploded bombs and shells safe is being refused entry.