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Press Releases & Updates

28 JAN 2015

Crisis in Gaza Update

More than six months since the Israel-Gaza conflict began, and more than four months since the ceasefire, the situation in Gaza remains desperate. Around 100,000 people - more than half of them children - are still displaced as their homes have been destroyed. People's livelihoods have been devastated. Vital water and sanitation infrastructure, schools and health facilities urgently need rebuilding. A cold winter and flooding has brought further suffering.

Latest Situation

(Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs as of 15 October, 2014)

  • 2,205 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, including at least 1,483 civilians, of whom 521 are children and 283 are women.
  • 71 Israelis have been killed, including 66 soldiers.
  • Over 500,000 Palestinians displaced at the height of the hostilities; Over 100,000 still displaced.
  • Approximately 18,000 housing units destroyed or severely damaged.

Oxfam’s Response

Oxfam has helped more than a third of the population in Gaza, more than 660,000 people. At the peak of the crisis we delivered safe drinking water by truck, installed generators to pump water and repaired damaged water systems. We also provided cash and vouchers to families to help them buy food.

We are now moving from immediate emergency assistance to helping people with longer term recovery, supporting people to find ways to earn a living such as helping farmers rehabilitate their fields and plant new crops. We continue to call for an end to the blockade, which is a barrier to the reconstruction of damaged buildings, and severely limits Gaza’s ability to rebuild its economy in the aftermath of the crisis.

Our works:

  • Delivered tens of thousands of litres of water daily to families and hygiene kits to more than 26,000 people.
  • Support local traders who sell water and provide vouchers to families so that they buy water.
  • Continued support for our health programme, worked with partners to support mobile health clinics, health centres and Al Awda hospital with fuel, water and medical supplies.
  • Supported more than 50,000 families with vouchers so they could buy food and other household essentials. This enabled families to buy what they needed, and also helped the local economy by providing custom to shopkeepers.
  • Work with local partners such as the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, to help farmers rehabilitate their land and access vital irrigation, seedlings and fertilizers.
  • Continue to work with Israeli and Palestinian partner organizations to raise awareness of the impacts of the blockade. Campaigns were conducted in London, Paris and Brussels.