ActionAid: Humanitarian workers face obstacles in implementing the response in Gaza

Gaza - Ma'an - Humanitarian workers in Gaza have continued to provide life-saving assistance to people in need, despite enormous challenges as conditions continue to deteriorate. Staff from ActionAid's partner organizations have described how they are delivering humanitarian support despite the difficulties and continuing to face imminent danger, as they continue to provide much-needed support amidst severe shortages of food, fuel and key supplies. ActionAid's partners have managed to provide food to thousands of people in recent weeks despite enormous challenges. The Ma'an Center distributed hot meals in Deir al-Balah, Al-Aqsa Sports Club provided vegetable baskets to families in Nuseirat, and youth volunteers from the Palestinian Women's Development Studies Association distributed vegetable baskets to families in Khan Younis. Meanwhile, staff in hospitals run by ActionAid's partner in Gaza, Al-Awda, continue to save lives and deliver babies despite severe shortages of medicines and fuel. The Wifaq Associa tion for Women and Children's Care (Wifaq) was able to distribute health bags to those in need, in addition to maternity bags for women about to give birth, containing hygiene supplies and clothing for both mother and newborn. This is despite the difficulty of obtaining basic materials inside Gaza, as there is little available in the market and prices are very high. 'We got these supplies, although the prices are high, but only the most expensive supplies are available,' says Buthaina Sobh, director of Wefaq. Wefaq had to temporarily suspend its services in early May when the Israeli army launched its ground invasion of Rafah, forcing staff to flee. Colleagues were unable to communicate with each other for almost two weeks, before they were eventually able to resume their services in Deir al-Balah. But nowhere is safe in Gaza, and the team still lives under the constant threat of attack. There is shelling everywhere, and we work under the threat of death, under fire. 'Now that the evacuation orders are in pla ce we don't know what to do… There is nowhere to go because the Israeli army is still bombing Gaza and continuing its invasion of Rafah… What can we do?' The amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza remains alarmingly low: 840 humanitarian trucks have been allowed in so far this month, according to UN figures, while Gaza needed at least 500 trucks of aid a day to meet people's basic needs even before 7 October. Twenty trucks carrying ActionAid supplies, including menstrual products and hygiene kits, have been stuck in Egypt for at least two months due to a backlog of aid trucks caused by restrictions at crossing points into Gaza. Efforts to coordinate the entry of aid are ongoing. The trucks are among 1,500 UN and international NGO trucks bound for Gaza currently waiting in Egypt, according to a rapid assessment published by ActionAid International and other international organizations. 'There is a shortage of all humanitarian supplies. We are overwhelmed with these urgent needs and requirements… People are starving because of the lack of aid… 100% of the population is dependent on humanitarian aid… It is the worst situation we have experienced during the nine months of the Israeli war on Gaza,' said Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGO Network, an ActionAid partner organization of 30 Palestinian NGOs. Sahar Yaghi, head of the Palestinian Women's Development Studies Association, said the fuel shortage makes delivering aid even more difficult. 'Transportation is one of the main obstacles we face,' she said. 'A litre of diesel costs 90 shekels [£19.15] these days and there is no petrol available. Transporting between camps and displacement centres in a safe way for both staff and aid workers is a difficult and dangerous task.' The Palestinian Women's Development Studies Association has continued to provide vital psychosocial support and protection services to women facing violence in Gaza, although it is currently unable to support survivors of gender-based violence in court due to the collapse of the ju dicial system. 'There are no legal departments to deal with cases of gender-based violence and provide protection,' Sahar said. 'The authorities that would normally deal with these cases are now non-existent in Gaza. 'For women facing extreme violence, who may be living in life-threatening situations, there are no shelters specifically for women that can provide protection… Women have almost no privacy… We have no safe spaces to speak as women in displacement camps.' ActionAid Palestine's Communications and Advocacy Officer, Reham Jafari, said: 'Our staff and partners in Gaza are doing an extraordinary job to deliver vital assistance despite having to work in almost impossible conditions, with risks and fears for their safety. Over the past nine months, they have had to adapt their response time and again as circumstances change rapidly, and they have proven to be remarkably flexible and creative when it comes to serving their communities. The courage and resilience of our partners in the face of completely unimaginable circumstances is astonishing, but no one should operate this way. More aid must be allowed into Gaza, and there must be a lasting ceasefire now.' Source: Maan News Agency