ICRC REPORTS HARSH CONDITIONS IN GAZA

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002394 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/WATERS/SINGH E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2017 TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV IS SUBJECT: ICRC REPORTS HARSH CONDITIONS IN GAZA Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles for reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) Summary. ICRC Head of Delegation Christophe Harnish and Gaza Office Director Tony Dalviel said Gazans face a steady decline in health, reduced services, decaying infrastructure, and an intensified sense of isolation. They said the building-blocks for a large-scale humanitarian disaster are being set in place, but ICRC and other humanitarian agencies are having difficulty preparing to respond. End Summary. Gazans Feeling Isolated; Their Infrastructure Declining -------------- ¶2. (C) In a November 14 meeting ICRC Gaza Office Director Tony Dalviel, who has lived in Gaza for nine months, described it as living in "a police state." The Hamas Executive Force is heavy-handed, but efficient, in imposing law and order, he said. ICRC Head of Delegation Christophe Harnish said Gazans' feeling of isolation is growing as people seeking medical treatment or education outside Gaza are denied permits. Dalviel reported little success in securing permits for medical cases or importing materials needed to repair infrastructure. Every decision to import materials, even one washing machine for a hospital, must go to senior MoD officials, he said. In October, ICRC received 1,200 requests from Palestinians seeking medical treatment outside Gaza; of those, 780 people have not left Gaza. ¶3. (C) Dalviel said GoI restrictions on the movement of people and goods have intensified Gazans' dependency on international assistance. Diets are limited mostly to WFP and UNRWA handouts, negatively impacting the population's health. Dalviel said rolling blackouts exist throughout Gaza. He noted that already-fragile health, sanitation, agriculture, and education infrastructure continues to decay. Accordig to Dalviel cement is completely unavailable inGaza, and the construction industry has shut down, eaving engineers and laborers unemployed. He cocluded that the private sector, except for compaies distributing food, medicine, and fuel, is toally incapacitated. ICRC Tries to Prepare for Hmanitarian Crisis -------------- ¶4. (C) Harnish and Dalviel said Gzans are surviving for now, but the building bloks are being put in place for a large-scale humaitarian disaster as vital infrastructure decays. However, as needs increase, ICRC's capacity to respond diminishes for the same reasons, Harnish sai. "We cannot plan sine we cannot import what we need for a crisis; we annot even get in what we need now," he said. Harish noted that definitions of "humanitarian criss" vary, so we may only know that there is a criis when we see it. WALLES