More than six weeks since the beginning of the crisis, civilians in Gaza are facing acute shortages of medical supplies, water, food and fuel, leading to an unprecedented situation with life and death implications for the 2.3 million people living there. In desperate conditions like these, the risk to children under five is particularly acute.
CARE Welcomes Gaza Deal to Pause Fighting, Release Hostages
CARE welcomes the announcement of a deal that includes the freeing of civilian hostages, a four-day pause in the fighting, and the entry of critically needed humanitarian aid, medical supplies, water and fuel into Gaza.
“The deal provides hope which, after 46 days of conflict, is so desperately needed for the over 2 million men, women and children of Gaza. We hope that this pause leads to a sustained ceasefire”; said Hiba Tibi, CARE West Bank and Gaza Country Director.
“I am especially hopeful about the news that hundreds of aid trucks will be allowed into Gaza. This is a critical opportunity for safe and sustained aid to reach Palestinian families, at a scale commensurate with the skyrocketing needs following the utter decimation of critical infrastructure and life support. Food, water, fuel, medical supplies, and services are needed now at scale to prevent further loss of life. Critically, a restoration of power is urgently required. The people of Gaza need to get clean water running, to get bakeries operational, and importantly get hospital generators powered up to meet the immense needs of those that rely on them, including for the premature babies, the injured and critically ill,” added Ms Tibi.
CARE urges all parties to facilitate the safe distribution of aid throughout the whole of the Gaza Strip. We call for rapid, safe, unhindered, and sustained humanitarian access; the release of all hostages; respect for international humanitarian law which mandates the protection of civilians, including humanitarian and medical workers, and civilian objects such as hospitals; and a lasting ceasefire.
In the interests of transparency to CARE Australia supporters we have not launched a restricted emergency appeal at this time, given the incredible challenges of getting humanitarian aid through into Gaza.
As part of CARE International we continue to work in the West Bank and are preparing for a direct humanitarian response in Gaza when the prevailing security and access environment allows . If you’d like to support our humanitarian work with a gift to our Global Emergency Fund – donate here.
