Gaza facing hard days ever

It had been 20 days now since Israel decided to put its strong closure ever on Gaza Strip. For the first time in its history, Gaza suffers huge shortage in all basic needs. Nothing had entered Gaza Strip during this period except some few trucks once 10 days ago for UNRWA. Situation has badly developed in terms of food and other supplies. All bakeries in Gaza city are closed due to the absence of flora. Population in Gaza city (around 550,000) are the most infected and influenced population among Gaza Strip population in other areas. Population in Gaza city receives electricity 2 or 3 hours a day. Linking to the power supply, water supply, especially for multi-story and high buildings, is 4-6 hours a week. Water and sanitation facilities are badly operating and their components can suffer huge catastrophe at any moment. Hospitals and medical care centers suffer from shortage in power supply all the time. Many patients face the danger and risk of death at any moment due to their need of using relying on medical equipments, especially those in intensive care units. All international NGOs and UN are worried about the situation and have declared many times that this closure must end and they made many coordination and contact with Israel to make the Israeli re-determine and re-consider their strong and hard actions which are considered as collective punishment to the Palestinians in Gaza. However, Israel has not shown any flexibility in dealing with Gaza Strip and claims all the time that its lands and people security are threatened. Few reports did mention that Palestinian fractions had received an Egyptian offer to keep the truce and stop launching rockets on Israeli nearby cities for the price offered by Israelis to re-open trading crossing points as they were before 20 days. However, it does not seem that such offer is validated or agreed yet. The situation is badly deteriorating and its results and outcomes are unpredictable and no one knows what would be the coming scenario of the coming days.

Gaza under more stricky closure conditions

After more than 10 days of full closure of the Gaza Strip crossing points, unconfirmed reports said that nearly 33 aid trucks carrying humanitarian equipment, food and medications will be let to enter into the Gaza Strip. The mentioned trucks are all UNRWA aids. These reports were published by Israeli media outlets Monday morning despite an earlier decision by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to keep crossings closed. Barak gave the order late Sunday evening, after trucks carrying medical supplies and emergency food were turned away from Gaza crossings.
Israeli sources reported that the Defense Minister had instructed the Israeli border guards and military establishment in control of the Gaza Strip to keep the goods crossings closed on Monday.
Sunday saw a series of homemade projectile launches executed by Palestinian resistance factions towards Israeli targets, though no injuries on the Israeli side were reported. Early in the day Israeli air forces carried out an air raid killing four activists, and in the early evening explosions were heard in Gaza, though the Israeli army denied any further strikes. However, despite all the media of retaliation, says of all involved parties claimed that everyone is concern to keep the truce and not to keep going on military and violence actions.

Truce in Gaza & elections in Israel

It seems that Israeli army is on the way to breakdown the truce that was agreed with Palestinian fractions in Gaza. Early morning yesterday, Israeli forces killed four Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip near the town of Al-Qarara on Wednesday, medics on confirmed. Medics said they found the bodies of four-Hamas affiliated fighters in the area. Witnesses said Israeli warplanes fired two missiles during fighting between the armed men and Israeli tanks who had invaded. One missile was fired at a mosque, and the other exploded near a school, where the fighters were located. Other witnesses reported that three missiles landed near houses belonging to two families named Aal Muhanna and An-Naja, and another landed near the Al-Islah mosque. This operation was part of an Israeli incursion that took place on Wednesday, as Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers invaded east of Al-Qarara, sparking clashes with Palestinian fighters. Witnesses said the invading forces are approached houses approximately 300 meters away from the border line. Israeli military sources claimed that they had thwarted an attempt by Palestinians to cross the border fence near the Kisufim crossing and plant a bomb. The military also said that three mortar shells and an explosive device were fired at Israeli forces in the area.Israeli military vehicles often patrol a 150-meter "buffer zone" inside the Strip's eastern border, usually avoiding direct clashes with Palestinian fighters. Such operation will surly through the truce into question, taking into account that another operation was made few days ago and the Israeli killed 5 Hamas members during it to the east of Deir Al – Balah area. It may look like such operations are made to empower some of Israeli leaders who are willing to win the coming Israeli elections. Palestinian card is been used in every Israeli elections and this one of course is not an exception. Such operations send messages to the people of Israel that include some certain names to be chosen and voted for as the most bloody and aggressive Israeli leaders. No one knows what would be the outcome of such operations; will it be the end of the calm and truce? Or they're just minor incidences that both sides can leave behind.

Gaza in the Dark again

Gaza has gone dark yesterday evening. The crisis of the fuel shortage is repeating itself but this time is related only to the only power plant that Gaza has. For one week, only 40% of the needed industrial fuel that is needed to operate the power plant had been supplied by the Israeli side through Nahl Oz fuel transfer point. This means that power plant is running at only 40% of its regular capacity for almost a week officials warned that power outages could follow. Palestinian officials said that the electrical current is been cut off for about 30% of Gaza Strip population. According to them, within 18 hours the power plant will completely stop leaving Gaza city without any electrical supply and leaving nearly 600,000 capita with no electricity. The other main source of electricity is the Israeli electrical company that supplies nearly 70% of the Gaza Strip needs. However, transmission lines and transformers on the Gaza Strip side are suffering huge deterioration, as the shortage in spare parts is huge due to the closure circumstances. This leads to instability and non-uniform cutting of the current for long hours during the day in many areas of Gaza Strip (mainly eastern and southern parts of Gaza Strip.

When the sun set in Gaza on Sunday the Strip was plunged into darkness and no electric lights illuminated Gazan cityscapes. The sounds of small generators were heard around the city so main roads and shops could continue to function. Humanitarian impacts of such situation are huge. 90% of water supplies in Gaza Strip depend on electricity that is provided by the power plant. In addition, sewage pump stations and treatment plants are also depending on power plant supply which means big threats of collapse of the exhausted water and sanitation facilities along Gaza Strip may occur and a catastrophe is on its way to Gaza.

Another boat left Gaza

Another boat has come and gone yesterday from Gaza. Some activists including one parliment member, who is Mostafa Al - Barghouti, was among those who came to break the Gaza seige. Try after try to do so but even though, the siege is still there and the suffering has not ended yet. In addition, all tries were not arabian, even if many of the comers on the boat were arabian. The boat sailed from Europe and it is owned by European. It is a shame that arabs are not ready yet to make such move or even allow to make it from their lands. No body knows for how long they will wait; is it until certian number of people to die (they've have already exceeded 230 in numbers) or may be until the people in Gaza stop screaming or shouting and just die peacefully and quitly. What should the people in Gaza do? should they pray for more rain to fall and more flooding to come so that Gaza sink in the sea and disappear? It seems that those whom are facing very hard situation in Gaza, which is beyond their abilities as human, have nothing to do but diying or working to die so that everybody in this world feel better. Hundreds of promises were given to those poor people that no one would allow the situation in Gaza to badly developed or become a humanitarian crisis. However, it has reached the point of having not one but many crisis at the same time. The promises had been made by arabs, Europeans,..etc, but no one could keep his word and the result is nearly one year and half of such siege that could be partially broken through tunnels and smoglling of goods through them from the Egyptian side.

Surviving Gaza flooding

It was a heavy rain morning when I woke up yesterday and decided to go to work. I live in Khanyounis governorate, in the south district of Gaza Strip; specifically in the north-eastern part of Khanyounis. I woke up early that morning after a very stormy and rainy night. However, I discovered that the heavy rain has just begun when I woke up around 6:45 am.

I could only leave the house after 2 hours when the rain stop. Any way I needed to walk in the flooded streets in my area for 5 minutes in order to reach Salah El-Deen road, which is the main road that connect all Gaza Strip governorates. A cap stopped then to let me ride and start the sailing trip towards Gaza city.

I called it "sailing trip" because I found that the road was completely flooded and huge amount of water waves were flowing over. Many cars were stack in the middle of the small lakes that could be noticed all over the road. Tens of people were waiting along the road to get a cap or a bus so that they could reach their offices, universities, businesses, etc. For me, it was the first time in my life to experience such situation and see such scene. I called many of my friends who work in the field of water and sanitation in the municipalities and other agencies; they were screaming that the situation is completely over their capacities and abilities, taking into account the closure circumstances in Gaza Strip. In all meanings and for the first time in my life, Gaza is slowly sinking and with more rain to come no one knows what would happen.

How to travel from Gaza?

Actually, this is a million dollar question that has no answer since June 2006, the day when the Israeli soldier Gelat Shaleet was kidnapped through a military operation for the Palestinian resistance. Since that time, getting out of Gaza or getting in had become a sort of a Mission Impossible", perhaps Tom Cruz can assist or even make a movie to show us how it could be possible to do so. For more than 2 years, traveling for Gazaians has become a dream. The only available crossing point to travel is Rafah crossing point which was open only 30 times during the last 2 years. Everybody is stuck in Gaza. Sick people, students, ordinary traveler, and anyone is not allowed to travel unless he/she is very lucky to pass during one of the openings that occur one or two time a month. However, you must have strong reason to travel, taking into account that even if you have strong reason to travel no one can guarantee that you are going to pass. This does not require luck only; you need to go and register your name in the Ministry of Internal affairs first and then wait for your name to appear in their traveling list. After that, I mean if your name is in the list, you need to take the first chance of the opening and go for it, taking into account that in that day there will be thousands of people willing to get the same opportunity. In addition, if you're lucky enough to cross, you still need to be luckier to get the approval of the Egyptians to cross as there are hundreds of incidences where people could pass the Palestinian side and Egyptians returned them back without showing any particular reason. Recently, new requirement had been raised due to the conflict between Ramallah government and Gaza government, it is the passport issue. For more than 6 months before now, no passports documents were sent fro Ramallah. Gaza did not receive its regular share because of the conflict. Therefore, another obstacle had occurred. 1 month ago, president Abbas had announced personally that Ramallah will continue sending passports as usual to Gaza. However, Ramallah government ignored that surprisingly and continued to do so. People in Gaza are of course the main victim of all of this. All human rights centers and associations in and outside Gaza have been and still shouting in the media and even begging everyone to solve all these pending issues but nobody is listening. On the Egyptian side, no one cares about Gaza (on the governmental level of course). Egyptians have announced hundreds of times that they will never fail the people in Gaza or let them dawn. However, all the Egyptians actions were minor and had no effective impacts on people's life in Gaza. For how long the current situation will continue, no one knows or even predicts, and the people in Gaza have nothing to do but waiting for a miracle to happen to end up their suffering.