Highlights
• During the first quarter of 2018, the deteriorating socio-economic situation in the Gaza Strip, characterized by shortages in the electricity and fuel supply, uncertainty in the funding of key services and renewed clashes has deepened the severe humanitarian situation for Palestinian children and their families.
• Ongoing demonstrations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have so far resulted in the death of 33 Palestinians, including three children (source: UN).
• In addition to 3,193 children reached with child protection and MHPSS services, psychosocial support was provided to 40 children directly affected.
• Two stocks of prepositioned essential drugs and medical consumables were released to cover emergency medical care for 111,532 children and their families.
• UNICEF supported the rehabilitation of water systems to improve access to safe drinking water in the most vulnerable communities of the Gaza Strip and of the West Bank. More than 24,640 people benefited from improved access to water as a result of UNICEF’s interventions in Gaza.
• UNICEF is currently supporting the training 180 pre-schools and 600 school teachers on positive discipline, in view of activating 60 school mediation teams as part of its non-violence programming.
• UNICEF and its partners provided protective accompaniment and presence to 5,400 children and 144 teachers crossing military checkpoints to and from schools in the West Bank.
• The current deterioration of the situation in Gaza and rising tensions in the West Bank require urgent funding for child protection, health and education interventions to address the growing humanitarian needs and funding gap of 72 percent.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Tensions have been running high in the State of Palestine following the announcement of the move of the United States Embassy to Jerusalem at the end of December 2017, planned for 14 May 2018. This comes at a time when Gaza’s economy continues to deteriorate as the intra-Palestinian reconciliation process appears stalled, having brought no real improvement in the lives of children so far. On 13 March, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority’s convoy was hit by a roadside Improvised Explosive Device as he visited Gaza to inaugurate the new Northern Gaza Emergency Sanitation Treatment Plant.
In Gaza, families have access to less than five hours of electricity a day and continue to face difficulties to access safe drinking water. Added to a reduction in the salaries of civil servants, further cuts in services and strict movement restrictions, the situation has negatively affected the entire population of two million, half of them children, and deepened the humanitarian needs in terms of access to safe drinking water, sanitation and health and child protection services.
Every Friday since March 30, over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza have participated in demonstrations along the fence with Israel to protest the ten-year-old blockade and support the “right of return” for Palestinian refugees. While the protests were overall peaceful and most demonstrators did not approach the fence, 33 Palestinians have been killed, including three children (source: UN). According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 2,835 Palestinian have been injured, of which 277 are children. This is the highest number of casualties since the 2014 hostilities. In the West Bank, tensions have been running high since December, with clashes sporadically erupting in various parts of the territory. UNICEF has appealed to all actors to put the protection of children first.
The total number of people in need in 2018 is 2. 5 million, of which 90 per cent live in the Gaza Strip. 1.8 million people are in need of WASH services suffer from poor water quality due to poor infrastructure, restrictions on fuel supplies and acute power cuts. With the escalation in violence, injuries and deaths, more children are in need of mental health and psychosocial support.