VZCZCXRO9763
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #2261 3531530
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 181530Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3545
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 002261 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/PASCUAL/RAMCHAND 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWBG IS PTER PHUM ECON PREF
SUBJECT: GAZA: QASSAMS POUND NEGEV; ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE KILLS 
PALESTINIAN IN NORTH GAZA 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and other 
militants in Gaza fired 27 Qassam rockets and four mortars 
into Israel December 17-18.  One Qassam struck Sderot and 
injured three Israelis, according to local press.  According 
to Gaza contacts, Israeli airstrikes hit near Jabaliya 
Refugee Camp, Gaza City, and Khan Yunis late December 17, 
killing one Palestinian and injuring three others near 
Jabaliya Camp.  All crossings were closed December 17-18, and 
UNRWA halted food distributions indefinitely for lack of 
foodstuffs on December 18.  End summary. 
 
27 Rockets, 4 Mortars Hit Israel; 
Israeli Airstrike Kills Palestinian 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Palestinian militants in Gaza fired 27 Qassam 
rockets and four mortars into Israel December 17-18. 
According to Gaza contacts, most of the rockets were fired by 
PIJ al-Quds Brigades militants from Bayt Hanun, Jabaliya, and 
Shuja'iya (south Gaza City), although the al-Aqsa Brigades 
and PFLP also claimed responsibility for launches.  One 
Qassam struck a parking lot in Sderot, causing minor injuries 
to three Israelis according to local press, and two others 
hit near Kibbutzim on the Gaza perimeter, causing minor 
property damage.  The other rockets and mortars landed in 
open areas without causing injuries or damage, according to 
Israeli press. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) According to Gaza contacts and press, Israeli 
airstrikes hit near Jabaliya Refugee Camp, Gaza City, and 
Khan Yunis late December 17, killing one Palestinian (Salah 
Abu Uqal) and injuring three others when the balcony of their 
house near Jabaliya Camp was struck by an IAF missile and 
collapsed.  Palestinian health officials in Jabaliya told 
press that a site near the house was sometimes used to fire 
Qassam rockets, but Abu Uqal was not a militant and no 
weapons were kept in his house.  Palestinian press say two 
other IAF missile hit empty farmland near Bayt Hanun, and a 
separate IAF strike in Khan Yunis damaged a building but 
caused no casualties. 
 
GOI Closes Crossings; UNRWA 
Stops Food Distributions 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) UN OCHA reports that all Gaza crossings were closed 
December 17-18 and are unlikely to open December 19-20 due to 
Israeli observation of Shabbat.  The crossings were open 
December 15-16 for limited humanitarian supplies, and 130 
truckloads of food/supplies, 642,000 liters of industrial 
fuel and 172 metric tons of cooking gas entered Gaza. 
According to OCHA, these supplies meet less than 5 percent of 
the baseline need in Gaza, which they estimate at 3,094 
truckloads and 6.5 million liters of fuel per week.  OCHA 
expects the Gaza power plant to keep one of its turbines 
generating 25-30 megawatts of current on December 18, with a 
complete shutdown early December 19 if no new fuel supplies 
are permitted.  Currently, there are rolling blackouts 
ranging from 4-12 hours per day across the Gaza Strip. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) On December 18, UNRWA announced that, due to 
shortages of flour and other goods because of the closures, 
it will suspend food assistance to roughly 750,000 
Palestinian refugees. In a statement, UNRWA said they 
normally distribute foodstuffs to about 20,000 refugees each 
day, but have exhausted their warehoused supplies in the Gaza 
Strip. 
MARCHESE