Gaza: Humanitarian update from Churches for Middle East Peace

Source: CMEP

Intensified Israeli airstrikes in areas of Gaza where aid organizations are providing services, including Israeli-designated 'humanitarian zones' - have resulted in mass civilian deaths and further shrinking space to deliver life-saving assistance - warn 20 international aid and advocacy agencies, including Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP).

Nearly ten months into the escalation of hostilities in Gaza, Israeli authorities continue to issue relocation orders to Palestinians sheltering in areas previously deemed safe. Civilians are not given sufficient time to flee, and have nowhere safe to go. Recent intensified aerial bombardment in Gaza's Middle Area where civilians previously sheltering in Rafah were told to flee, has been particularly deadly.

All the while, crossing closures and attacks on aid agencies continue to hamper humanitarian efforts. On 13 July, NGO staff were killed, and between 21 and 24 July, both UNICEF and UNRWA came under fire: on 21 July, Israeli forces shot at a clearly marked UN convoy attempting to access Gaza City, despite coordination and approval by the Israeli authorities. UNICEF said that on 23 July, two clearly marked UNICEF convoys were hit by live fire while waiting at a designated holding point in Wadi Gaza as they traveled to reunite five children, including an infant, with their father.

More than 200,000 Palestinians were displaced between 22-27 July after Israel issued so-called 'evacuation orders'. UNRWA has said that some 86% of Gaza has been placed under so-called 'evacuation orders' by Israeli Military forces, meaning that Israel expects Gaza's 2.1 million Palestinians to seek shelter in only 14% of the strip.

The decimation of the health system and continuous relocation orders are causing severe overcrowding and stretching already constrained resources, exponentially increasing the risk of water-borne and infectious disease. On 23 July, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a high risk of the polio virus spreading across Gaza, after traces were detected in six wastewater samples. WHO said that tens of thousands of children under age five are now at risk of contracting polio, and the possibility of international spread beyond Gaza cannot be ruled out.

Rev Dr Mae Elise Cannon, CMEP Executive Director said: "Churches for Middle East Peace stands alongside international humanitarian and aid agencies that have been working diligently to meet the desperate needs of the majority population in Gaza that have suffered numerous displacements, the lack of access to basic services, and consistent bombardment and attacks for nearly 300 days. We call for unrestricted access to all necessary humanitarian assistance for those in need and the opening of an internationally facilitated long-term and permanent peace process."

Read the full report here: https://cmep.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Copy-of-Gaza-Humanitarian-Snapshot-13.pdf?