Crisis in Gaza
Gaza is now in the grip of a severe humanitarian crisis as the result of resumed fighting between Palestinian militias and Israel in late December. Hospitals are on the verge of collapse as they struggle to cope with waves of casualties and doctors face critical shortages of essential medical supplies.
The military offensive follows an 18-month blockade on Gaza and its 1.5 million residents. Approximately 80 percent of Gaza families were receiving some form of humanitarian assistance prior to the outbreak of the conflict, which has now been disrupted.
Because of fuel shortages and dangerous conditions, about 70 percent of Gaza’s population has access to water for only a few hours once a week. Lack of electricity has forced five of Gaza’s wastewater facilities to shut down, jeopardizing remaining water supplies.
A trickle of aid has been getting through, but not enough to support countless people who are running out of food and water. Unsafe conditions have also meant that many families are too frightened to leave their homes to get aid.
What Oxfam is Doing
Oxfam’s local partner organizations continue to provide emergency health care in Gaza despite dangerous conditions. A paramedic working for an Oxfam-funded organization was killed on January 4, when a shell struck a civilian ambulance owned by the Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC).
Those members of Oxfam’s staff and partner organizations that are not working in humanitarian health care are taking shelter where they can. For example, one staff person, whose apartment building was damaged by shelling, is staying with his family in the Oxfam office. While safety concerns have prevented Oxfam from conducting detailed assessments, it is clear that Oxfam and its partners have an enormous amount of work ahead.
What You Can Do
- Donate now to Oxfam America's Middle East Crisis Fund.
- Take action: Urge President Bush to call for an immediate ceasefire.
Oxfam’s emergency priorities
Emergency medical care
One of Oxfam’s local partners, Palestinian Medical Relief Society, or PMRS, has expanded its hours of operation at four primary health care clinics to meet the increased demand for their services. PMRS will provide medicine—particularly drugs for chronic diseases—and work to secure exit for patients in need of life-saving treatment unavailable in Gaza. Additionally, PMRS is working to replenish and sustain stocks of medical supplies at its central pharmacy.
Food security
Nearly half of Gaza’s residents were dependent on food assistance even before recent violence resumed. Fighting has hindered attempts to distribute what little food is available and has deterred civilians, fearful for their safety, from leaving their homes to get food. Oxfam is planning to reach 30,000 people in Gaza City who are in urgent need of food assistance. The program will distribute food and offer vouchers to vulnerable families so they can exchange them for fresh fruits and vegetables.
Emergency shelter
It’s winter in Gaza, and thousands of windows have been damaged by bombing, even in buildings not directly hit. Oxfam will distribute plastic sheeting for temporary repairs and will also distribute blankets.
Water and Sanitation
Through one of our local partners, Oxfam will be providing clean drinking water to 28,000 people. We are also distributing basic hygiene kits, including soap and cleaning materials, to help prevent the spread of disease.
The sewage infrastructure, particularly the Beit Lahiya treatment plant, was on the verge of collapse even before violence resumed. Sewage is flooding into the town of Beit Lahiya, onto farmland, and into the sea after five of Gaza’s 37 wastewater pumping stations shut down. It is feared that continued shelling near the Beit Lahiya wastewater treatment plant may breach the side of the sewage lagoon, flooding neighboring communities with about 750 million gallons of wastewater. Oxfam will support a local partner organization’s efforts to replace damaged pipes and other necessary equipment.
Livelihoods
Many of the 1,400 women participating in an Oxfam supported microfinance program have lost their businesses already through bombing and shelling. These are amongst Gaza’s poorest women and Oxfam will provide them with support to reestablish their means of earning a living.
Oxfam recently provided $200,000 to partner Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) for support to strawberry farmers and rehabilitation of greenhouses. These greenhouses have sustained damage, and UAWC will require additional funds for their repair.
Oxfam’s ongoing work in Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories
Oxfam and local partners are working in both Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories to combat poverty and support a lasting peace.
Oxfam's programs in Israel
In Israel, Oxfam is supporting more than 20 partner organizations that are working on a range of issues. These include promoting a sustainable peace and helping the Bedouin—many of whom live in villages that lack basic services—and other minorities to secure their rights.
Oxfam's programs in occupied Palestinian Territories
In the occupied Palestinian Territories, Oxfam is working with partner organizations to protect public health by providing clean water and sanitation facilities, repairing water networks that have been damaged by the conflict, constructing water storage facilities, training public health inspectors, and promoting hygiene and health in schools and with women in their communities. We support primary health care clinics in Gaza and the West Bank, and mobile clinics to provide those living in isolated rural areas with access to primary care services, including specialized services for women.
Oxfam and partners are working to help Palestinians improve their incomes through a range of programs: we are supporting a network of microfinance institutions that helps finance small businesses, with an emphasis on impoverished women; we are assisting farmers to improve the quality of their land and seeds, as well as their access to irrigation water; we are trying to increase income opportunities from agriculture (by helping producers sell their olive oil, for example); and we're working to improve the nutrition and incomes of some of the poorest families by providing them with rabbits, goats, and sheep, and the means to raise household gardens.
Israel, occupied Palestinian Territories, and beyond
Oxfam supports both Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations that monitor violations of international humanitarian law, and we are assisting Israeli and Palestinian women's organizations who are promoting peace. In addition, Oxfam is advocating with governments in the Middle East and around the world for adherence to international humanitarian law and human rights law, as well as for steps that will lead to a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Real Lives
'Our hospitals cannot cope, nor can our doctors'
An interview with Dr. Aeed Yaghi, head of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society. |
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January 5, 2009: Are we not human?
The latest diary entry from Oxfam's Mohammed Ali, reporting from his home in Gaza. |
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New school facilities
Girls from the Raba School on the West Bank enjoy new water and sanitation facilities that are safe and clean. |