VZCZCXRO4161
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0104/01 0111713
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111713Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3804
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000104 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND NEA/IPA, PRM FOR PRM/ANE; NSC FOR 
PASCUAL/PRATT; PLEASE PASS TO USAID FOR 
KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN/NANDY/LAUDATO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAID PHUM KWBG ETRD IS PREF
 
SUBJECT: GAZA HUMANITARIAN UPDATE - JANUARY 11 
 
Reftel: Jerusalem 103 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Kerem Shalom crossing and Nahal Oz fuel transfer 
station were open on January 11.  UNRWA coordinated several convoys 
through Kerem Shalom.  Karni crossing remains closed.    The GOI 
announced another three-hour "humanitarian pause" on January 11, but 
there was confusion among UN agencies as to its actual duration. 
The Gaza power plant resumed partial operations on January 10.  Some 
parts of Gaza City now have 4-6 hours/day of power, including all 
Gaza hospitals.  UNRWA shelters now hold more than 25,600 displaced 
people.  End Summary. 
 
Crossings Update 
---------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) January 11:  Kerem Shalom crossing and Nahal Oz fuel 
transfer station were open.  Karni - including the bulk supply 
conveyer belt - remains closed.  As of 1700 local, WHO and UNRWA 
contacts reported an estimated 80 truckloads of humanitarian goods 
entered through Kerem Shalom.  An estimated 200,000 liters of 
industrial fuel for the power plant and 50 tons of cooking gas were 
scheduled to transfer at Nahal Oz, according to the PA Fuel Agency 
for Gaza.  Erez crossing was closed to all Palestinians on January 
11, according to OCHA.  WHO contacts report that Rafah is likely to 
be open for some shipments January 11. 
 
¶3. (SBU) January 10:   All Gaza crossings with Israel were closed. 
Rafah crossing was open for the transfer of 19 patients into Egypt. 
14 trucks of medical supplies and five ambulances entered Gaza via 
Rafah. 
 
Internal Movement 
----------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The IDF announced a fifth "humanitarian pause" on January 
11 between 1100 and 1400 local.  Media sources in Gaza reported 
military operations in northern Gaza continued during the time 
period.  UN contacts reported some confusion as to the actual 
duration of the pause. 
 
¶5. (SBU) UNRWA renewed coordinated convoys with the IDF on January 
10-11 and resupplied its seven food distribution sites.  UNRWA 
planned to take 56 trucks of humanitarian supplies from Kerem Shalom 
to destinations throughout Gaza on January 11.  UNRWA delivered food 
and water to its 27 shelters on January 11. 
 
¶6. (SBU) ICRC reported that, on January 10, an ICRC vehicle 
escorting an ambulance was hit by gunfire in Gaza.  ICRC could not 
assess whether it was IDF or militant fire.  As a result, ICRC is 
limiting its movements in Gaza.  ICRC and WHO contacts reported that 
Shifa hospital in Gaza City is coordinating medical evacuations to 
Rafah directly with the IDF. 
 
¶7. (SBU) On the afternoon of January 10, a female teacher at an 
UNRWA school in Khan Yunis was killed at her house by IDF shelling, 
according to UNRWA. 
 
USAID shipments to Gaza 
----------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Three (out of a planned five) truckloads of USAID 
humanitarian supplies entered Gaza via Kerem Shalom as part of an 
UNRWA-coordinated shipment as of 1700 local on January 11.  The 
reason two trucks were blocked is not known; COGAT reportedly 
approved all five trucks on January 10. 
 
Food/Shelter 
------------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) OCHA contacts reported that approximately 90 percent of 
Gaza's population remains dependent on food assistance.  On January 
10, UNRWA was able to deliver aid from the Rafah warehouse to the 
north, restocking food distribution centers and delivering flour to 
bakeries. 
 
¶10. (SBU) UNRWA reported on January 11 that it is now operating 31 
emergency shelters with 25,696 displaced people.  On January 10, 
ICRC escorted 1,000 people out of the northern Gaza area of Beit 
Lahiya because of security concerns there.  Both UNRWA and ICRC 
contacts confirm that the IDF is ordering Gazans into city centers, 
increasing the numbers of displaced and the need for humanitarian 
assistance. 
 
Water and Sanitation 
-------------------- 
 
JERUSALEM 00000104  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) On January 10, UNRWA finished the scheduled delivery of 
75,000 liters of fuel to the Coastal Municipal Water Utility (CMWU). 
 UNRWA also delivered 20,000 liters to the Beach (aka al-Shati) camp 
near Gaza City.  On January 11, UNRWA planned to deliver 4,000 
liters to CMWU in Rafah, and another 4,000 liters to water and 
sewage pumps in southern and central Gaza. 
 
Power/Telecom 
------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) The Gaza power plant general manager reported that one 
plant unit was restarted on January 10 at 1615 local.  The plant is 
producing 25 MW of electricity on January 11.  The manager said that 
the plant had sufficient fuel to operate at 25 MW until January 13 
(normal plant output is 60 MW).  He said at least one of the two 
high-voltage lines running from the plant had been repaired during 
the afternoon of January 10.  He said that several neighborhoods in 
Gaza City and central Gaza have power four to six hours/day as a 
result of the plant's limited output.  According to OCHA contacts on 
January 11, around 30 percent of Gaza City's population has 
intermittent power supply - from four to six hours/day. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Two of the ten feeder lines from Israel remained down on 
January 11, according to power plant contacts.  They added that 
numerous transformers in Gaza City remained down, although technical 
crews were working during the daily "humanitarian pauses" to repair 
the network.  GEDCO (Gaza's power distribution company) reported 
that its technical crews have had some success in recent days 
replacing damaged transformers in Gaza City. 
 
¶14. (SBU) PalTel contacts said on January 11 that several shipments 
of telecom spare parts were ready to enter Gaza. The GOI had not yet 
allowed them in. 
 
Health 
------ 
 
¶15. (SBU) WHO contacts said on January 11 that most Gaza hospitals 
have at least six hours/day of electricity from the grid and 
continue to rely on back-up generators the remaining hours of the 
day.  Hospitals have sufficient supplies, but emergency rooms and 
intensive care units are full.  Fifteen of UNRWA's 18 primary health 
clinics are open. 
 
Walles