Dear Supporter,
Welcome to our Emergency Newsletter, an urgent response to the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Today:
Israel has instructed 1.1 million people in the North of Gaza to evacuate to the South. This brings incredible fear to an already traumatised population. It is not possible for those who are elderly, in hospital, or the very young to make any journey, let alone this. There is no safe way to make this journey, the roads are severely damaged, there are unstable and destroyed buildings everywhere, as well as dangers from unexploded ordnance. There is no safe space in the South of Gaza to accommodate this number of additional people.
At midday today Al Jazeera news reported:
- 338,000 internally displaced people in Gaza
- Nearly 220,000 people have taken shelter in 92 UNRWA schools
- Nearly half a million people have lost access to food rations
- Three out of the five water plants in Gaza are out of service due to bombardment and lack of fuel
Conditions:
Israel has cut the electricity and is preventing the entry of fuel, medical supplies, food and water into Gaza. Gaza’s sole power plant ran out of fuel and has stopped functioning, leaving the Strip in a blackout. Since Saturday (7 October 2023) seven key water and sewage facilities serving one million+ people have been hit and severely damaged. In some areas, sewage and solid waste are now accumulating in the streets, posing a health hazard. Communications are almost totally down, it’s very difficult to maintain contact with our WA teams in Gaza.
Hospitals are running on their emergency generators using their last remaining fuel. Hospitals’ morgues are full to capacity. Emergency teams are unable to reach all of the people killed, there are bodies remaining in the rubble of destroyed buildings.
Palestinian hospitals and ambulances have been hit. UNRWA reports that at least 88 education facilities have been struck, including 18 UNRWA schools, two of which were used as emergency shelters for displaced, as well as 70 Palestinian Authority schools. More than 600,000 children have had no access to education in a safe place in Gaza, since Saturday.
The UN is reporting a mass displacement is continuing across Gaza. More than 2,500 housing units have been destroyed or severely damaged and rendered uninhabitable, and nearly 23,000 have sustained moderate to minor damage.
EMERGENCY – Gaza Emergency Appeal October 2023
Humanitarian Response:
Humanitarian agencies face major constraints in providing humanitarian assistance. The ongoing bombardment and destruction of roads is preventing safe access to impacted areas and warehouses. Despite the challenging conditions, humanitarian workers have provided some assistance.
Our Welfare Association teams in Gaza, (although they have also been displaced from their homes), have been providing an emergency response which includes:
- Providing hospitals with fuel
- Providing displaced families with essential items
- And we are continuing to work to provide hospitals with medical supplies, trying to source any remaining stocks that are available within Gaza
* All of this emergency response has been sourced from stocks available within Gaza
