The arrival of medical supplies, food, and water carried by a convoy of 34 lorries over the weekend (21/22 October) provides a renewed ray of hope for the millions of people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.
But much more is needed, including fuel for effective aid distribution, for generators to function at hospitals, and for communication.
Over 1.4 million individuals have been displaced, and the volume of goods that entered is a fraction of what is needed after 15 days of complete siege.
Fatalities in Gaza
Intense airstrikes continue across the Gaza Strip and the fatality toll among Palestinians in Gaza exceeded 5,000 on Monday 23 October – 62 percent of the fatalities being children and women according to the UN citing Palestinian authorities.
35 UNRWA staff are among the fatalities.
DCA engagement in Gaza
DCA staff in Gaza are in a UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) shelter from where food packages and relief efforts have been coordinated since the conflict broke out. As of October 20, DCA/NCA had distributed almost 3,000 ready-to-eat food parcels to more than 16,000 people within the UNRWA vocational training facility.
People sheltering outside of the UNRWA facilities have yet to receive humanitarian support and as a result lack access to essential hygiene items, blankets, sleeping mats, drinking water, and food.
DCA is looking to mobilize more funds to expand the support to better meet the massive – and still increasing – humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip.
Why we send humanitarian aid to Gaza
DanChurchAid is a humanitarian organization. We work where the need for help is greatest worldwide.
Both in the West Bank and in Gaza, the local population has been affected by deep poverty and significant humanitarian issues for years. That is why we have been involved in humanitarian work in Palestine since 1954.
We do not take sides in the current conflict. However, as a humanitarian organization, our focus is on providing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in a conflict that is currently costing lives.
DCA works jointly with the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) in Palestine.
