Roundup: UN official says "root causes" of Gaza crisis remain unresolved

A senior UN official in charge of assisting Palestinian refugees said Wednesday that the " root causes" of last year's conflict in Gaza, which claimed nearly 2,000 lives and ravaged large swathes of the Palestinian enclave, remain unaddressed despite a growing humanitarian crisis in the area.

In a statement issued earlier Wednesday, Pierre Krahenbuhl, the commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), voiced concern that the "despair, destitution and denial of dignity" resulting from the 2014 war with Israel and from the ongoing blockade remain "a fact of life for ordinary people in Gaza," adding to the mounting humanitarian burden with which they are faced.

"The physical and psychological scars are everywhere to be seen in the Gaza Strip. Countless children live with the traumas endured during the war and over 1,000 live with what will be life- long disabilities," Krahenbuhl declared. "This should be a reminder that conflicts are first and foremost measured by the human cost that they inflict."

Last summer's 51-day conflict killed 1,462 civilians, including 551 children, and injured thousands across the Gaza Strip. Six Israeli civilians, including one child, were also victims of the hostilities, which caused close to 1.4 billion U.S. dollars in direct and indirect damages and 1.7 billion dollars in economic losses to the Palestinian territory, according to the UN.

Meanwhile, Gaza today has the highest unemployment in the world, with more than 60 percent of young people not working. Moreover, food insecurity affects 73 percent of the population. An estimated 80 percent of the population relies on humanitarian aid, mainly food assistance.

Electricity is available only eight to 12 hours a day, affecting water supply which covers a fraction of daily needs. Up to 90 million liters of partially-treated sewage are being discharged into the Mediterranean Sea every day due to electricity and fuel shortages. Finally, maternal mortality rates are estimated to have nearly doubled in the last 12 months.

The hostilities also wrought widespread structural devastation across the Strip. Some 100,000 people remain internally displaced as a result, hosted in temporary accommodation or make-shift shelters. Close to 120,000 people are still waiting to be reconnected to the city water supply. Work is yet to begin on a number of key health facilities.

Krahenbuhl lamented the halting reconstruction of Gaza's homes, noting that 315 days on from the ceasefire, "not a single totally destroyed house, of which there are over 12,000, has been rebuilt. "

"Resolute political action is required on a number of fronts to achieve the necessary change of paradigm in the Strip, starting with a lifting of the blockade, ensuring rights and security for all, allowing increased exports from Gaza to stimulate economic recovery and freedom of movement for civilians," he said. "While some steps have been taken in recent weeks, they fall far short of what is needed to bring about fundamental change in the lives of the population."

Despite the Strip's "dire circumstances," the UN official said, UNRWA's efforts to assist families were unabated, with the first relief packages aimed at helping refugee families to rebuild their homes slated to arrive this week.

"While the numbers are small, and it comes very late, this development could be significant if sufficient quantities and the desperately needed funding can be obtained," said Krahenbuhl. "In an increasingly unstable Middle East, neglecting the needs and rights of the people of Gaza is a risk the world should not be taking."

UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states. It also receives some funding from the Regular Budget of the United Nations, which is used mostly for international staffing costs.

The agency's services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance, including in times of armed conflict.

Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, UNRWA was established by UN General Assembly on Dec. 8, 1949 to carry out direct relief and works programs for Palestine refugees. The UN agency began operation on May 1, 1950.

In the absence of a solution to the Palestine refugee problem, the General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate, most recently extending it until June 30, 2017. Endite