Gaza blockade

Reacting to news today that the humanitarian pause agreed between the Government of Israel and Hamas has ended, with renewed hostilities, Oxfam Humanitarian Director Marta Valdes Garcia said: “While Oxfam welcomes the release of Israeli and foreign national hostages back to their families during the pause, and the reuniting of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in return, more still remain in captivity. 

Gaza is facing an unprecedented health crisis that risks an outbreak of deadly infectious diseases, like cholera, because water and sanitation services have completely broken down, says Oxfam. 

All parties must immediately end this violence. Millions of innocent civilians are caught in the crosshairs of this escalation and are set to bear it's brunt.  

The United Nations and all other humanitarian actors have spent 15 years delivering humanitarian support to 2.1m Palestinians blockaded inside Gaza, and yet, there is still no sustained collective political action or will to resolve it. 

Six years after the establishment of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism, people in Gaza continue to live on the brink of disaster as a result of 13 years of the Israeli blockade. The water, sanitation and health sector remains significantly damaged, with Gaza facing the complete collapse of its wastewater treatment system.

Over half the population of Gaza lives under the poverty line, and one million Palestinians in Gaza don’t have enough food to feed their families.This joint agency briefing calls for an immediate end to the blockade and opening crossings into and out of Gaza.

The prolonged closure of crossings into Gaza could cut Palestinians off from essential goods such as fuel and food, threatening to further deteriorate what is already a dire humanitarian situation.

Without a peace deal based on international law, the US announcement to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move its embassy to the city is a provocative and dangerous move for both Palestinians and Israelis, Oxfam said today.

In Gaza less than four percent of fresh water is drinkable and the surrounding sea is polluted by sewage. Yet the international community is failing to do enough to protect the health and dignity of almost 2 million people who have nowhere else to go. Read the story.