How was the humanitarian situation in Gaza one year after Israels operation Protective Edge 1 ?

According to the United Nations (UN), between July 7 and August 26, 2014, the Israeli military:
  • Carried out more than 6,000 airstrikes on Gaza, an area roughly the size of Detroit and with 1.8 million people one of the most densely populated places on earth, many of them on residential buildings and other civilian targets.
  • Fired 14,500 tank shells and approximately 35,000 artillery shells into Gaza.
  • Supplied 5,000 tons of munitions to its attacking forces.
CASUALTIES:
According to the UN, between July 7 and August 26, 2014:
  • 2,251 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, including 1,462 civilians. The dead included 551 children and 299 women.
  • 11,231 Palestinians were wounded in Gaza, including 3,436 children and 3,540 women. Ten percent of the injured suffered a permanent disability.
  • 142 Palestinian families had three or more members killed in the same Israeli attack, for a total of 742 deaths. More than 1,500 Palestinian children were made orphans.
  • During the same period, five Israeli civilians, one Thai foreign worker, and 67 Israeli soldiers were killed.
DESTRUCTION OF HOMES, SCHOOLS & MEDICAL FACILITIES:
  • Approximately 18,000 housing units were partly or completely destroyed by Israeli attacks, including multi-story apartment buildings and entire neighborhoods, leaving approximately 100,000 of Gaza's 1.8 million people homeless. Hundreds of civilians were killed in these attacks, including whole families. Prior to the 2014 assault, there were 12,000 Palestinians still displaced from Israel's 2008-09 attack, “Operation Cast Lead," and a shortage of 71,000 housing units.
  • According to the UN, at least 262 schools were damaged in Israeli airstrikes, including three that were completely destroyed and at least 23 that were seriously damaged. Seven of the schools were sheltering internally displaced Palestinians at the time they were attacked, resulting in at least 42 Palestinian civilians killed, including 16 children, and more than 200 others injured.
  • Seventy-three medical facilities and numerous ambulances were damaged by Israeli attacks, including 32 hospitals. One hospital and 58 primary health clinics were destroyed. At least six patients and 16 health care workers were killed, and more than 80 others wounded, as a result.
DESTRUCTION OF CIVILIAN INFRASTRUCTURE & INDUSTRY:
  • According to the UN, Israel's assault caused $1.4 billion in direct and indirect damages and $1.7 billion in losses to Gaza's economy.
  • During the attack, Israeli forces systematically targeted Gaza's civilian infrastructure and private industry, including bombing Gaza's only power plant.
  • The destruction of the power plant caused the shutdown of water treatment plants, while Israeli tank shells put Gaza's largest sewage treatment plant out of commission. Other Israeli attacks did extensive damage to Gaza’s water and sewage systems, already in critical condition due to the siege and previous Israeli assaults, leading to the release of raw sewage into open pools, farmland, and the Mediterranean Sea, causing health concerns and affecting fishermen.
  • According to the Palestinian Federation of Industries, 419 businesses and workshops were damaged and 128 totally destroyed by Israeli attacks.
LACK OF RECONSTRUCTION:
  • In October 2014, international donors pledged approximately 3.5 billion dollars for Gaza's reconstruction and recovery. A year later, only 28% of those funds have been disbursed.
  • Of the approximately 12,000 homes destroyed during the attack, a year later none have been rebuilt.
  • According to the UN, less than 1% of the construction materials required to rebuild homes damaged and destroyed during the assault and to address natural population growth has been allowed to enter Gaza.
  • According to Israeli NGO Gisha: Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, in June 2015, Israel allowed 193,242 tons of building materials into Gaza, out of the approximately 900,000 tons needed per month.
  • According to Oxfam, at the current pace and without a lifting of the siege, it could take more than 100 years to complete the rebuilding of homes, schools and health facilities damaged or destroyed during the assault.
GAZA: A YEAR LATER: