National Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza 2014-2017_FINAL

313.1 Social SectorSeven weeks of bombardment, seven years of blockade, and 25 years of movement restrictions have taken their toll onPalestinians living in Gaza. Social services, including health and education, are overstretched by historical weaknesses and newlosses. Poverty, food insecurity, and social vulnerability have rocketed as a result of the mass displacement and destruction of thepopulation. Many households in Gaza can no longer live without external assistance, putting additional pressure on the socialprotection system.3.1.1 Social Protection and Social Safety NetsPrior to the AssaultDecades of border restrictions and repeated assaults have destroyed livelihood opportunities and left most families in Gaza highlyvulnerable to further shocks. Eighty percent of people in Gaza depend on social assistance, while social transfers (both cash andin-kind) have become an important source of income for the majority of households, accounting for approximately 16 percentof total household consumption overall and 31 percent among the poorest households prior to the assault. Some 72 percent ofpeople were either food insecure or vulnerable to food insecurity, even when taking into account UN food distributions to almost1.1 million people. For as long as the closure continues, levels of food insecurity will remain high.Impact of the AssaultGaza families have shown marked resilience to these stresses, drawing upon their extended community networks to provideinformal safety nets. However, the aftermath of this assault will strain those remarkable networks, as food prices soar, new familiesfall into poverty, and others are pushed further down. Greater food insecurity now exists, exacerbated by massive displacement,destruction in the agriculture/fishery sector, lack of cooking gas, fuel, and cooking utensils, and limited access to water.Thousands of households have lost income sources (due to the death, disabling, or unemployment of workers) and homes(with tens of thousands of houses destroyed or damaged). Some 1,500 children have lost one or both parents. Over 1,000 newlyinjured people will be permanently disabled, creating greater social and financial responsibility on their family and social safetynets. Psychosocial trauma is widespread, making recovering from loss a longer process for all, particularly children, bereavedfamilies, and inhabitants of the most impacted neighborhoods.