GAZA: RESTRICTED FUEL SHIPMENTS AT NAHAL OZ; AID

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000143 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR GOLDBERGER/SHAMPAINE/BELRADE; PRM FOR PRM/ANE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/PASCUAL; TREASURY FOR SZUBIN/LOEFFLER/NUGENT/HIRSON; BRUSSELS FOR LERNER; PLEASE PASS TO USAID FOR KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON KPAL KWBG PGOV PHUM SUBJECT: GAZA: RESTRICTED FUEL SHIPMENTS AT NAHAL OZ; AID SHIPMENTS THROUGH RAFAH REF: A. JERUSALEM 126 ¶B. JERUSALEM 111 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Kerem Shalom and Sufa crossings have been closed since January 23 and 24, respectively. Restricted fuel shipments were transferred at Nahal Oz fuel station on January 28. Gaza City residents continue to experience eight to 12 hours without electricity each day. The Petroleum and Gas Station Owners Association agreed to make fuel deliveries to UNRWA facilities in Gaza, but no such deal has been reached with PA hospitals, which are working to minimize internal electricity use. According to the Gaza Coastal Municipalities Water Utility on January 28, an estimated 40 percent of Gazans are without running water to their homes. End summary. Kerem Shalom and Sufa Crossings Closed -------------- ¶2. (U) WFP logistics contacts said that Kerem Shalom crossing was last open on January 23 and Sufa crossing last open on January 24 and no humanitarian shipments have passed through since that time. Fuel Deliveries Continue; Power Plant Output To Increase -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Palestinian Petroleum Corporation Director in Gaza Mujahid Salama said that the following fuel shipments passed through the Nahal Oz transfer station on January 28: -Industrial fuel for Gaza Power Plant - 315,000 liters -Diesel - 250,000 liters -Gasoline - 14,000 liters -Cooking gas - 200 tons ¶4. (SBU) Salama reported that the following fuel transfers were made at Nahal Oz on January 27: -Industrial fuel - 315,000 liters -Diesel - none -Gasoline - none -Cooking gas - 180 tons ¶5. (SBU) Gaza Power Plant Project Manager Rafiq Maliha said on January 28 that the Plant has enough fuel to produce 45 MW - its output the morning of January 28 (local) - until January 30. He said that, given the expected continued flow of fuel this week at Nahal Oz, the Plant will increase output from 45 MW to 55 MW during the late afternoon of January 28, as Gaza City residents have experienced eight to 12 hours without electricity each day since mid-January. Diesel Fuel Deliveries in Gaza Limited -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Vice Chairman of the Petroleum and Gas Owners Association in Gaza Mahmoud Khozandar told Econoff on January 28 that his membership had delivered 300,000 liters of diesel and 10,000 liters of gasoline to UNRWA facilities on January 27-28. He said that his association has not yet delivered diesel fuel to PA hospitals since the association's work stoppage began on January 22 (ref B). Aid Shipments Pass Through Rafah -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Gaza-based WHO National Health Officer Mahmoud Daher said that 15 truckloads of pharmaceutical drugs, disposables, and food destined for Ministry of Health (MOH) facilities in Gaza City passed from Egypt into Gaza through the Rafah crossing on January 26-27. Daher said that the donated goods came from Egyptian medical associations, and that the MOH in Gaza City was in the process of certifying the drugs prior to their use in PA hospitals. He noted that hospitals continue to greatly limit the use of electricity to save fuel. He confirmed that PA hospitals have not received fuel shipments from Nahal Oz in over a week, saying that PA hospital management talks with the Petroleum and Gas Owners Association have thus far been unfruitful. Forty Percent of Gazans Without JERUSALEM 00000143 002 OF 002 Running Water To Their Homes -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Gaza Coastal Municipalities Water Utility engineer Monther Shoblak told Econoff that an estimated 40 percent of the Gaza population is without running water to their homes on January 28; yet those who have running water only receive it a few hours each day. He noted that most Gaza families maintain one week's supply of water in rooftop storage containers, allowing for continued water flow in their homes despite municipal pump failure. Shoblak said that most municipal generator-driven water and sewage pumps are not operating due to a lack of diesel fuel, while those driven by Gaza Power Plant electricity have continued to function. Shoblak said that 40,000 cubic meters of sewage a day continues to flow into the sea from the Gaza sewage system, as insufficient pumps are operational to deliver all waste to wastewater treatment facilities. DUFFY