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OPT: Inside Gaza - Attitudes and perceptions of the Gaza Strip residents in the aftermath of the Israeli military operations

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MAIN FINDINGS

POVERTY

The income poverty rate in the Gaza Strip is 65%. In real numbers, this means that out of an estimated 1,416,543 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, approximately 920,750 live in poverty. Of those, 524,120 are extremely poor. An estimated 8% of households are still above the poverty line,31however they are at high risk of falling into poverty. Poverty forces many families to rely on coping mechanisms, but these alternatives, including selling jewellery and reducing household expenditures, are largely depleted in the Gaza Strip: 72% of families, affecting about 1,019,910 people, do not have any alternative ways to face daily financial hardship, let alone pull themselves out of poverty.

EMPLOYMENT

Before the recent Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, unemployment levels had already reached unprecedented high levels. In comparison to before the latest flare-up in the conflict, unemployment levels in the labour force increased from 36% to 43%. Even the fully employed are not necessarily protected against poverty, as 28% of them belong to households with a monthly average income that falls below the poverty line. The unemployment rate remains high in the agricultural, manufacturing, and construction sectors. This directly and negatively affects the poverty rate of those households whose breadwinners are involved in these sectors. Similarly, self-employed Gazans include a high proportion of unemployed, resulting in many of these families belonging to the poorest in the Gaza Strip.

SECURITY

Over 1 million of roughly 1.4 million, or 75% of the Gazan population, feel insecure for one of three reasons: (i) the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (42%); (ii) Israeli control over borders (27%) which prevents movement of persons and goods; and (iii) inter-Palestinian tensions.

Nearly 40% of the surveyed households were displaced as a result of the Israeli military operations. Approximately, 70% left their homes due to fighting in their neighbourhoods, 15% left because they were warned to leave, and 13% left because their homes either sustained severe damage or were destroyed. A large majority displaced during the 27 December 2008 - 18 January 2009 Israeli military operations, 79%, moved to a family member's house, while 9% sought shelter in a friend's house, and 7% left their homes to an UNRWA shelter. Approximately 2% sought refuge in uninhabited buildings.

The majority of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, 69%, believe that since the ceasefire there is control on the streets. Of these, 37% believe that the situation is tense, while 32% see it as calm. A modest majority of 54% evaluate control in the streets positively.

Since the ceasefire, 32% of the people surveyed have detected remnants of war.

NEEDS AND ASSISTANCE

Security is by far the largest household need in the Gaza Strip, distantly followed by the need for food, electricity, and employment. At the community level, security is identified as the most important need, and is similarly followed by the need for food, social cohesion, and employment.

Less than one fifth of households in the Gaza Strip received assistance during the recent Israeli military operations and in the first week after the ceasefire. By far, UN agencies (39%) are considered the most important source of this assistance; the United Nations is followed by charities (19%), Arab governments (13%), and international NGOs (8%).

Over 60% of the households in Gaza currently need assistance. This need is specifically influenced by the poverty status of households: (i) 82% of extremely poor households require assistance; (ii) 63% of poor households need it; and (iii) 44% of households above the poverty line require some form of assistance. Currently, psychosocial support is the most needed form of assistance in 25% of households, while financial assistance is necessary for 17%, and food aid for16% of households in Gaza.

DAMAGES

Nearly half of the households across the Gaza Strip, 45%, reported damages to their residences as a result of the recent Israeli military operations. The majority of people with damaged homes have shattered windows (67%); 16% incurred damage from bullets or artillery shells; and 12% had the main structure of their residence damaged. Three percent mentioned that their homes had collapsed. In the second week after the ceasefire took effect,4210% of households still did not have access to clean water and electricity.

YOUTH AND CHILDREN

49% of survey respondents view psychosocial support as the most important need for children in their households. Reported signs of stress in children, such as anxiety, aggressive behaviour, lack of interest in socializing, bedwetting, and nightmares, have tripled and in some cases quadrupled since the recent Israeli military operations.

Of the respondents, 40% are witnessed to violence against children in their environment. In the year running up to the most recent Israeli military operations, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the lack of internal security in the Gaza Strip were viewed as the main two sources of violence against children: 41% and 37% respectively. Nowadays, 71% of Gazans consider the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to be the main source of violence against children in the Gaza Strip, while 17% continue to see the lack of internal security as the main source of violence.

The inability of parents to meet the care and protection needs of their children has more than doubled since the Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip: from 26% to 64%. These results not only highlight the diffi cult plight of adults in their households, but also point to a large number of children in the Gaza Strip who remain vulnerable as their needs for care and protection are unmet. In addition, in 82% of households, most adults need psychosocial support.

HEALTH CARE

During the recent Israeli military incursions into the Gaza Strip, 37% of households were in need of primary health care. However, more than one fourth of these households could not access these services. Of those needing medical care, including primary health care, 72% faced problems, as only a mere 18% had health care provided to them without delays or restrictions.

14% of households surveyed include at least one disabled member. Physical impairment is prevalent with 16% of reported disabilities being conflict-related. The most frequently mentioned types of assistance that households with disabled persons need are: (i) rehabilitation and mobility skills (22%); (ii) financial assistance (20%); (iii) aids, devices, and technologies (17%); (iv) adapted employment (11%); (v) access to education for those with special needs (9%); and (vi) psychosocial support (6%).