GAZA: QASSAMS POUND NEGEV; ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE KILLS

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 002261 SENSITIVE SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/PASCUAL/RAMCHAND E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KWBG IS PTER PHUM ECON PREF SUBJECT: GAZA: QASSAMS POUND NEGEV; ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE KILLS PALESTINIAN IN NORTH GAZA ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and other militants in Gaza fired 27 Qassam rockets and four mortars into Israel December 17-18. ONE Qassam struck Sderot and injured three Israelis, according to local press. According to Gaza contacts, Israeli airstrikes hit near Jabaliya Refugee Camp, Gaza City, and Khan Yunis late December 17, killing ONE Palestinian and injuring three others near Jabaliya Camp. All crossings were closed December 17-18, and UNRWA halted food distributions indefinitely for lack of foodstuffs on December 18. End summary. 27 Rockets, 4 Mortars Hit Israel; Israeli Airstrike Kills Palestinian -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Palestinian militants in Gaza fired 27 Qassam rockets and four mortars into Israel December 17-18. According to Gaza contacts, most of the rockets were fired by PIJ al-Quds Brigades militants from Bayt Hanun, Jabaliya, and Shuja'iya (south Gaza City),although the al-Aqsa Brigades and PFLP also claimed responsibility for launches. ONE Qassam struck a parking lot in Sderot, causing minor injuries to three Israelis according to local press, and two others hit near Kibbutzim on the Gaza perimeter, causing minor property damage. The other rockets and mortars landed in open areas without causing injuries or damage, according to Israeli press. ¶3. (SBU) According to Gaza contacts and press, Israeli airstrikes hit near Jabaliya Refugee Camp, Gaza City, and Khan Yunis late December 17, killing ONE Palestinian (Salah Abu Uqal) and injuring three others when the balcony of their house near Jabaliya Camp was struck by an IAF missile and collapsed. Palestinian HEALTH officials in Jabaliya told press that a site near the house was sometimes used to fire Qassam rockets, but Abu Uqal was not a militant and no weapons were kept in his house. Palestinian press say two other IAF missile hit empty farmland near Bayt Hanun, and a separate IAF strike in Khan Yunis damaged a building but caused no casualties. GOI Closes Crossings; UNRWA Stops Food Distributions -------------- ¶4. (SBU) UN OCHA reports that all Gaza crossings were closed December 17-18 and are unlikely to open December 19-20 due to Israeli observation of Shabbat. The crossings were open December 15-16 for limited humanitarian supplies, and 130 truckloads of food/supplies, 642,000 liters of industrial fuel and 172 metric tons of cooking gas entered Gaza. According to OCHA, these supplies meet less than 5 percent of the baseline need in Gaza, which they estimate at 3,094 truckloads and 6.5 million liters of fuel per week. OCHA expects the Gaza power plant to keep ONE of its turbines generating 25-30 megawatts of current on December 18, with a complete shutdown early December 19 if no new fuel supplies are permitted. Currently, there are rolling blackouts ranging from 4-12 hours per day across the Gaza Strip. ¶5. (SBU) On December 18, UNRWA announced that, due to shortages of flour and other goods because of the closures, it will suspend food assistance to roughly 750,000 Palestinian refugees. In a statement, UNRWA said they normally distribute foodstuffs to about 20,000 refugees each day, but have exhausted their warehoused supplies in the Gaza Strip. MARCHESE