The ceasefire agreement in Gaza is now a month old. There have been times and critical violations, but the mediators have so far managed to maintain the agreement alive.
This allowed many of the 1.9 million displaced people to return to the areas they had fled, supporting pressure on the south and the center of Gaza which had hosted large makeshift camps without the necessary infrastructure.
The ceasefire has certainly brought a feeling of relief to the Gaza Strip, which suffered unimaginable suffering for 15 months. But for families who have survived incessant bombing and destruction, the battle is far from over.
They face a new war – one against poverty, hunger, homelessness and despair. The houses are in ruins, the hospitals are exceeded and the schools are either destroyed, or still a shelter of displaced and homeless. Gaza has been fell by decades.
In recent weeks, we have seen aid to access considerably in the band, especially the North, which has been besieged for months. But important challenges remain.
In the field, colleagues and friends bring difficulties continuously accessing food, water, medicines and supplies. Distribution remains a key challenge due to the damaged infrastructure, but this is not the only problem.
There are also obstacles to the entrance to various essential articles. The blocking of trucks carrying tents, mobile houses and heavy machines to clean the rubble brought the agreement on the ceasefire almost the use of last week. Due to the absence of appropriate shelters, many Palestinian families continue to suffer from difficult weather conditions through the Gaza Strip, but especially in the North, where the rate of destruction of civil buildings is the highest.
Many of our colleagues say they have not yet seen a sign of covers or tents. They are always exposed to the elements, unable to properly carry out their rescue work.
Some of our beneficiaries share that they have stopped swimming their children because of the hard cold. Sara *, mother of three children living in Deir el-Balah, told our team earlier this month that she used to bathe her children in the sea, but she can no longer do it because She fears that they will fall ill. With the lack of continuous medication, it could be a death sentence for a small child.
Although a large amount of food has entered the band – especially compared to a few months ago – there are still considerable challenges to meet the nutritional needs of Palestinians.
The aid packages are fulfilled exclusively with pantry articles. Oil, flour, ghee, rice, beans and canned tomatoes and tuna. There are no fresh fruit, vegetables, meat or eggs. The long -term health effects of 15 months without fresh food will surely be understood only in the coming years.
Worse still, these aid packages are still not sufficient and do not reach all the people who need them. In fact, for most of the Gaza population, access to aid has had no significant improvement because the provisional cease-fire has entered into force.
Fatima *, a mother of two children of 21, says that she is still suffering under the same conditions that she was confronted months ago. His tent leaks in the rain and switches to the wind. She did not have a tear -free night in 16 months. Her children, however, have no more energy to cry. They were hungry and made sick. Even if the aid increases in the region, it still does not find the food and the nutrients they need to survive.
Gaza needs 600 food trucks per day for at least four consecutive months to combat acute malnutrition. Hundreds of others will be needed every day to return to a human standard of living and for the years to come.
Many foods such as eggs, chicken, fresh fruits and vegetables are now available in parts of Gaza, but they are for sale. Indeed, a large part of the trucks that have entered Gaza are not an aid. They carry commercial products, including food, which are then sold to the few Palestinians who can afford them at exorbitant prices.
Humanitarian agencies have largely sworn to buy gender goods for fear of pushing the prices already further out of the reach of civilians. But even again, there are egg reports costing $ 40, $ 50, or even $ 60 for a 12 -year -old box. In the south, where supplies are supposed to be easier to reach, bags of flour can go up to $ 100.
It is clear that the current humanitarian response cannot provide what Palestinians from Gaza need to start rebuilding their lives.
Gaza was burned. Most of its agricultural lands have been destroyed and parts of these covered with rubble or toxic residues – remains of a violent bombing campaign on a civilian population. Nothing will grow up for the years to come.
The strip economy is almost destroyed. The vast majority of people of the working age are unemployed and have no hope of obtaining a job in the near future.
Palestinian families simply cannot survive on packets of flour, rice and canned fish.
The distribution of assistance to weaken and dignity being withdrawn, the urgency of a new approach has never been clearer. Residents of Gaza need a more worthy way to receive support that can help them recover long -term.
Seeing the inadequacies of the current humanitarian response, our organization has decided to launch its initiative “extend your table”, which is rooted in solidarity, compassion and shared humanity. Rather than relying on the often incoherent and inadequate help that reaches Gaza, we dressed people around the world to make a tangible difference by combining families in Gaza.
Thanks to monthly donations, people can directly support a Palestinian family, not only offering food but also dignity and hope for a better future. The beneficiaries will receive good cash allowing them to decide how to meet their own needs – a choice that has not been provided to them since the start of horrors in Gaza.
Providing families with the dignity of choice in the way of taking care of themselves does not even begin to solve the problems, but it will be a start. We hope that this initiative will help restore the agency, promote connections and ensure that basic needs are met for Palestinian men, women and children, who have experienced unimaginable suffering and devastation.
Such a holistic approach can not only provide immediate relief, but support economic recovery, education and health.
We hope very that other organizations will also adopt different and more effective strategies in Gaza which offer more dignified and human support to the Palestinians. The path to recovery will be long, but we can be part of the solution.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.