VZCZCXRO7980
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0145/01 0151710
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 151710Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3864
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000145 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA, PRM FOR PRM/ANE; NSC FOR 
ABRAMS/PASCUAL/RAMCHAND; PLEASE PASS TO USAID FOR 
KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN/NANDY/LAUDATO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAID PHUM KWBG ETRD IS CASC PTER MOPS
SUBJECT: GAZA UPDATE JANUARY 15, 2009, 1700 LOCAL 
 
REF: JERUSALEM 138 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  UNRWA's main warehouse of food and 
medical supplies was engulfed in fire and destroyed on 
January 15, as a result of IDF shelling.  UNRWA suspended 
some movements in Gaza, but continued operations.  Gaza City 
residents report that the IDF has taken control of several 
high-rise buildings amid intense fighting.  Gaza City 
residents lost electricity, running water, and most telecom 
services during IDF operations in the area.  As of 1700 
local, fighting had subsided in Gaza City, according to 
contacts on the ground.  End summary. 
 
UNRWA movements temporarily halted following IDF attacks 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Per reftel, IDF artillery fire hit the UNRWA 
compound in Gaza City on the morning of January 15.  At 1400 
local, UNRWA reported that a fire had spread from the storage 
building and workshop to the large UNRWA warehouse, which is 
across a narrow street from the fuel tanks.  UNRWA Gaza 
director John Ging's assistant told RefCoord that the UNRWA 
warehouse was engulfed in fire as of 1530 local, and 
completely destroyed.  UNRWA said that nearly all its 
supplies were housed in this building. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) UNRWA staff in Gaza reported that hundreds of 
people are now sheltered nearby in the Rehabilitation Center 
for the Visually Impaired and in an UNRWA elementary school. 
Elsewhere, UNRWA shelters were open and receiving newly 
displaced persons. 
 
IDF operations in Gaza City 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Gaza City contacts reported that IDF troops remain 
in/near Gaza City, but that fighting had calmed by 1700 
local.  Gaza-based contacts, press, and the UN reported that 
the heaviest fighting took place in the southwestern Tel 
al-Hawa neighborhood, where at least two militants and an 
estimated fifteen unidentified Palestinians were reported 
killed (Note: This neighborhood was considered Gaza City's 
most upscale. End Note).  IDF forces were seen in the area 
south of the Islamic University, and tanks and bulldozers 
were reported moving through the streets and public parks. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) A USAID contractor in Gaza City told Econoff that 
IDF snipers positioned themselves on the roofs of residential 
high-rise buildings near Al Quds Hospital on January 15.  He 
said that IDF soldiers occupied the third floor of his 
apartment building and were firing from its windows, killing 
several people.  Econoff heard several explosions during 
phone conversions with the contractor, and, following a large 
explosion at 1330 local, the landline disconnected. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Gaza-based sources and press reported that IAF 
airstrikes and IDF shelling killed an estimated 31 
Palestinians in northern Gaza and Gaza City, striking many 
targets in the downtown area.  Targets included several tall 
buildings. Hospitals and clinics were also hit.  One strike 
hit a media compound in Gaza City, wounding at least two 
journalists.  A woman and three children were killed during 
airstrikes in Bayt Lahiya.  Gaza-based contacts told 
ConGenOffs that airstrikes targeted the Rafah border area and 
al-Fukhari (south of Khan Yunis), but there were no signs of 
heavy fighting and airstrikes in central and southern Gaza. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Contacts reported that much of Gaza City lost 
electricity from the grid and water from the mains during the 
early morning hours of January 15.  Gaza City residents have 
generally remained in their homes since the night of January 
14, seeking refuge from the violence.  Mobile phone 
communications were down throughout Gaza most of the day on 
January 15. 
 
Hospital attacked and burned 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) contacts 
reported that two IDF tank rounds hit the PRCS Al Quds 
Hospital in southwest Gaza City, killing the hospital 
director.  A fuel sector executive and USAID contractors who 
live close to that hospital reported that the main building 
and storage warehouse were burning at 1600 local, and 
patients could not be evacuated.  The hospital storage and 
administrative buildings were destroyed by fire as of 1700 
local, according to PRCS contacts. 
 
JERUSALEM 00000145  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶9.  (SBU) ICRC staff in Gaza reported receiving hundreds of 
calls between 900-1100 local from the Tal Al Hawa 
neighborhood of Gaza City, where 25,000 people were trapped 
under heavy tank shelling.  More than 150 civilians, mostly 
women and children, escaped and sought refuge at a nearby 
ICRC compound.  ICRC confirmed that a large residential tower 
located near Al Quds hospital was hit, but ICRC was unable to 
coordinate access for a Palestinian fire brigade.  The 
brigade attempted to approach the tower despite IDF warnings; 
two firemen were reportedly killed in subsequent shelling. 
 
No "Humanitarian Pause" 
----------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The four-hour "humanitarian pause" scheduled for 
1100-1500 local was generally not observed.  Gaza contacts 
reported numerous explosions throughout Gaza City during this 
period. 
 
Grads fired 
----------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Three Grad rockets were fired at Be'ersheva on the 
afternoon of January 15.  One hit a car, injuring seven, one 
seriously. 
 
Crossings 
--------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) January 15:  Kerem Shalom crossing was open, and 
UNRWA received a limited number of aid shipments.  Karni's 
conveyer belt, Nahal Oz fuel transfer station, Erez, and Sufa 
crossings were closed, according to transportation contacts 
on January 15. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) January 14:  UNRWA contacts reported that 102 
truckloads and 150,000 liters of industrial gas entered Kerem 
Shalom.  The Karni conveyor belt and Nahal Oz fuel transfer 
station were closed.  A total of 12 trucks of humanitarian 
supplies entered and 23 medical evacuees exited Rafah.  Erez 
and Sufa crossings were closed. 
 
Electricity/Fuel 
---------------- 
 
¶14.  (SBU) OCHA reported that continued damage to Gaza's 
internal electricity network deprives most Gazans of 
electricity, despite repairs to the power plant and feeder 
lines.  As of January 15, Al Shifa hospital was running only 
on generator power, according private sector fuel contacts. 
 
AMCITS urgently request help 
---------------------------- 
 
¶15.  (SBU) As of January 15, plans to evacuate AMCITs 
(approximately 150 persons) remain suspended.  ICRC maintains 
that it cannot escort any convoys of foreign evacuees during 
the current hostilities.  Consular Section chief reported an 
influx in requests to speed up assistance, including AMCITS 
that lost homes in IDF attacks in Gaza City and are seeking 
shelter. 
WALLES