Gaza: One Year Since the Start of the Ceasefire

Temi:

Palestine

Hundreds of thousands of people are still living in tents or makeshift shelters, with limited access to drinking water, medical care and essential supplies.

Attacks continue to cause casualties and injuries, whilst the flow of humanitarian aid remains insufficient.

We are still providing free healthcare in Gaza’s Khan Younis neighbourhood. At two primary care clinics in al-Qarara and al-Mawasi, we see between 400 and 600 patients every day.

Most of them are pregnant women and children. The most common conditions are respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, skin diseases and chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

People no longer know where to take shelter. The first rain of the season caught most people while they were in tents that are falling apart. Fires break out regularly because people burn rubbish to cook. As we approach autumn and winter, rain and low temperatures will lead to further overcrowding and precarious conditions. It is incredibly urgent that the materials needed to repair the tents or build safer shelters are delivered.
Jacopo Intini, EMERGENCY Programme Coordinator in Gaza

Six things you need to know about the current situation in Gaza

According to the most recent estimates, there have been nearly 1,400 fatalities and more than 4,700 people injured since the ceasefire was announced.
Humanitarian aid, including medicines and medical equipment, continues to face severe restrictions on entry, significant difficulties in reaching Gaza, partly due to the restrictions on the entry of materials and goods via the Kerem Shalom crossing. The health impacts are felt most acutely by already vulnerable groups, especially women and children.
Prices of food and essential goods have risen by an average of 207% compared to pre-war levels, whilst many families have seen their purchasing power drastically reduced.
The entry of commercial goods continues to be prioritised over humanitarian aid: according to OCHA data, the offloading rate for UN and partner aid trucks via the Kerem Shalom crossing has fallen from 77% to 70%. At the same time, a significant proportion of incoming commercial goods continues to consist of non-essential items.
The range of food available is inadequate to ensure people receive the nutritional intake they need. The IPC estimates that by December 2026, 1.4 million people will face severe food insecurity.
Compounding the food shortage is the difficulty in accessing clean water, with direct consequences for the population’s health.

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We cut up gauze to treat the wounded who arrive. I am unable to provide iron supplements to the pregnant women I see, an essential nutrient during pregnancy to reduce the risk of anaemia, premature birth, low birth weight, and complications that can endanger the lives of both mother and child. It is impossible to give realistic dietary advice to women with gestational diabetes or malnutrition. The official death toll from bombing over the past three years stands at over 73,000, but this excludes those who did not survive due to a lack of the treatment they needed, and this is devastating. One thing that particularly affects me as a midwife is, for example, the preparation of formula milk. In some cases babies need to be fed powdered milk, and this is very difficult to prepare with contaminated water, exposing children to extremely high risks.
Giulia Folci, EMERGENCY Midwife in Gaza

Children are among those most vulnerable to the consequences of the humanitarian crisis

Children make up nearly half of Gaza’s population. They pay the highest price for the lack of clean water, adequate food, healthcare or safe living conditions.

Hundreds of thousands of Gazans are still living in tents or makeshift shelters, and the arrival of the colder, rainier season will make living conditions even more challenging.

One year on from the announcement of the ceasefire, the civilian population of Gaza continues to live without adequate safety, healthcare or access to essential goods.

The hidden face of war is a woman crying because she cannot find the insulin she needs to treat her diabetes in any pharmacy; it is a nine-month-old baby girl with a heart defect waiting for permission to travel abroad for treatment; it is a child who weighs several kilos less than the norm for his age; it is a man with coronary heart disease who knows there is no longer the equipment needed to save his life. Without regular access to aid and effective protection for civilians, the humanitarian emergency in the Strip is set to worsen dramatically in the coming months.
Silvia Professione, EMERGENCY Doctor in Gaza

EMERGENCY renews its call for a permanent ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid, in accordance with international humanitarian law.