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The ICRC continued to closely monitor the humanitarian consequences of the ongoing military operations in Gaza, working to ensure the safety of civilians and medical services.

In the West Bank, the ICRC is particularly concerned about problems experienced by Palestinian farmers accessing privately-owned land located in the "seam zone" (the land located between the Green line and the West Bank barrier).

In Israel and the occupied and autonomous territories, the ICRC regularly visited detainees covered by its mandate to monitor their conditions of detention and their treatment, and it submitted its observations and recommendations to the authorities in charge on a confidential basis.

Promoting respect for the civilian population

In the Gaza Strip, the ICRC intervened regularly to promote respect for civilian persons in the course of the ongoing military operations. It managed to coordinate access into the "buffer zone", in order to allow the repair of water pipes and electrical connections, which had been destroyed as a result of armed clashes.

In the West Bank, the ICRC made representations to the Israeli authorities about the humanitarian consequences of the illegal routing of the West Bank barrier through the occupied territories. The organization is particularly concerned about the difficulties Palestinian farmers are experiencing in reaching their land in the "seam zone" (the land located between the Green Line and the West Bank barrier), and the problems faced by some of the isolated communities living there. The ICRC also continued to monitor the humanitarian consequences stemming from the restrictions on movement imposed on Palestinian civilians by the Israel Defense Forces.

Visits to detainees in Israeli places of detention

In May, the ICRC visited 20 Israeli places of detention. These included provisional detention centres, police stations and prisons as well as interrogation centres, which are visited on a weekly basis.

Visits to detainees in the Palestinian territories

ICRC delegates visited prisons, police stations and other detention facilities run by the Palestinian authorities in Ramallah, Jericho, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jenin, Tulkarem, Nablus, Salfit, Tubas and the Gaza Strip.

Family visits and messages to detainees

The ICRC's family visit programme enables families from the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Occupied Golan to visit relatives held in Israeli places of detention. In May, more than 13,700 persons travelled to 27 Israeli places of detention and visited some 6,000 relatives in detention.

The Israeli authorities suspended the ICRC family visit programme for families from Gaza on 6 June 2007. This suspension remains in effect and affects around 900 detainees from Gaza held in Israeli prisons.

Exchanging Red Cross messages is another way for families to remain in touch with their relatives in detention. The ICRC collected and delivered over 2,800 messages between detainees and their families. The ICRC also made several hundred phone calls to family members to inform them of the whereabouts and welfare of their detained relatives.

Relief for families whose houses have been destroyed

In the West Bank and Gaza the ICRC distributed food and other essential items to 28 families whose houses had been totally or partially destroyed by the Israeli army.

Hebron assistance programme

In the old city of Hebron, the ICRC distributed food parcels and hygiene kits to more than 1,300 families affected by street closures, and over 8,600 kg of wheat flour.

Emergency aid

In the West Bank and Gaza, the ICRC provided emergency aid to 109 families, in the form of 286 food parcels, 191 hygienic kits and 78 tarpaulins.

Cash for work programme and livelihood support

The ICRC paid for 1,830 days of work on various infrastructure or agricultural projects across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

ICRC livelihood-support programmes have helped 69 households develop new ways of generating income despite the restrictions on movement due to closures, settlements and the West Bank Barrier. The ICRC provided trees and agricultural items in Awarta Village in Nablus District and Al Zubaidat Village in Jericho District.

Health

The ICRC delivered around 8 tonnes of medical supplies to 18 general hospitals run by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza and the West Bank.

The ICRC continued to monitor the health-care system through networking and through its presence on the ground, paying particular attention to the critical situation of hospitals in Gaza in light of the fuel shortage.

In the West Bank and Gaza, the ICRC participated in presentations for staff in 11 hospitals, as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the need to protect medical services. It also closely monitored hospitals’ needs, focusing on the availability of medical equipment, spare parts, drugs and disposable items.

Water and Habitat

In the West Bank, the ICRC continued to run 10 water-supply projects, including the construction of a new well, a pumping station, two water main lines and six tanks, which will give 83,000 people access to clean water.

In the Gaza Strip, the ICRC worked on the construction of a permanent pumping station and an additional settling lagoon for sewage evacuation and partial water treatment in Khan Younis, which will benefit around 150,000 people. It also repaired and supplied, as needed, vital electromechanical components (boiler, softener, generators, cooling and air-conditioning systems) to hospitals in Gaza. In Rafah, the ICRC is assessing the possibility of constructing a waste water treatment plant that would benefit 150,000 people.

The World Red Cross Red Crescent Day on 8 May was celebrated across the Palestinian territories in small community events organized by the PRCS.

The ICRC sponsored the participation of an MDA staff member to attend an eight-day National Disaster Response Team training event, organized in Bosnia-Herzegovina in cooperation with the local Red Cross society and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

It is the responsibility of all those involved in armed conflict to comply with international humanitarian law. The ICRC encourages them to do so by raising awareness of that law and of its own role and activities.

A presentation on the ICRC and the basic principles of IHL was given to the top command of the Israel Defense Forces' Etzion Brigade operating in the Bethlehem district.

Other sessions on ICRC activities and the basic principles of humanitarian law were delivered to religious leaders, students, members of women's centres, non-governmental organizations, medical staff and security forces, and Palestine Red Crescent Society staff and volunteers in the West Bank and Gaza.