The humanitarian response provided to residents of the Gaza Strip meets no more than 25% of actual needs, according to the Network of Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisations, amid continuing Israeli restrictions on aid entry and the closure of crossings, as shortages of food, shelter, water and essential services grow.
Displacement puts pressure on housing and families’ needs
Journalist Ghazi al-Aloul reported that the current situation is placing hundreds of thousands of people in harsh living conditions, as displacement continues and families’ ability to meet their daily needs declines. Gaza residents are living amid overcrowding and deteriorating housing conditions, concentrated in only about 30% of Gaza’s area. On the coastal road in Gaza City, Mohammed was forced to sit by the roadside with his daughter after the places available to them for displacement became too limited.
His family is living in a dilapidated tent in the port area that does not provide sufficient protection from the weather. Mohammed said his wife is pregnant and preparing to give birth, while his daughter needs breastfeeding, care and warmth. He added that the tent does not protect the family from rain, and that insects, mosquitoes and ants are spreading inside it, making daily life more difficult and worsening the family’s suffering.
In another tent, the elderly Saleh is waiting for conditions to improve for himself and the hundreds of thousands who were forced into displacement by the war after losing their homes and sources of income. Alongside the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly, Saleh appealed to the international community to consider the conditions in which displaced people are living.
Saleh said the place where he is staying is unfit even for animals, questioning how children can endure such conditions. He criticised the level of aid reaching displaced people, stressing that it does not meet their needs and barely makes a difference to their daily lives, as shortages of essential supplies and services continue.
Humanitarian organisations face growing demand
Humanitarian bodies say the aid available does not cover the population’s actual needs, while the list of requirements is expanding across multiple sectors. An official and spokesperson said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely complex, and that organisations working in the humanitarian field were unable to respond to rising demand for food, shelter, water, and health and education services.
The official added that Israeli forces allow only between 25% and 30% of the agreed aid to enter, noting that restrictions on bringing humanitarian necessities into the Strip are continuing. He explained that these restrictions are reducing organisations’ ability to meet residents’ needs at a time when the number of people requiring assistance is rising because of ongoing displacement and the loss of homes and livelihoods.
United Nations data show a wide gap between the scale of humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip and what actually reaches residents, as shortages of food, shelter materials and other essential supplies continue. Displaced families are struggling to secure water, healthcare and shelter, in addition to their daily food needs.
The aid provided remains below the level of growing needs, while displaced people are living in tents and temporary accommodation under harsh conditions.
Calls for increased aid flows
Calls continue for increased aid flows and the lifting of restrictions on its entry, enabling humanitarian organisations to expand their response to residents of the Strip.
