Fwd: New update about the situation in Gaza

Dear David,

I would like to share with you an email I received from our partner in Gaza, Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR), to give you an update on this unprecedented humanitarian crisis. I've included it for you below.

After more than three weeks of bombing, basic water, sanitation, healthcare, and services have all been decimated. Israel has cut off all food, water, fuel and electricity, jeopardising the survival of more than 2 million people in the Gaza strip.

Hospitals, clinics and churches have been attacked. At least 42 per cent of housing in the Gaza Strip has been destroyed or is uninhabitable, and there are an estimated one million people who have been forcibly displaced, internally.

We continue to stand with our long-term partners, the Near East Council of Churches (NECC) and DSPR, who, despite their own individual losses are working tirelessly to provide vital humanitarian assistance and protection to the people of Gaza.

As soon as the opportunity arises, Act for Peace and its partners are ready to respond with life-saving interventions and to work alongside Gazans to restore dignity and hope. There are plans in place to deliver food parcels, water tanks, hygiene kits, medical supplies, and psychosocial support to the most vulnerable and affected families.

Please, if you can, show your support and compassion to our partner and the people of Gaza with a generous gift today.

--- Original message ---

From: Nader | DSPR
Date: 25 October 2023 at 17:10:20 AEDT
Subject: New update about the situation in Gaza

Dear Partners and Friends,

This update is based on the communication we managed to reach from DSPR/NECC Area Committee and leading the staff there.

It’s obvious that the attacking of Gaza is continuing and uninterrupted. The number of casualties is accelerating, the basic needs for life are almost exhausted, and the news about water and food arriving to Gaza are not even a drop in a sea of needs. And the biggest concern is the fear and horror people are going through where there is no possible safe place anywhere in Gaza, and those who are still alive, they live only by God’s mercy.

The level of destruction is unbelievable. One of our colleagues said that “They changed the face of Gaza, you can’t recognize the locations and you feel that this is a strange place, as if you never been there”. No further damage happened in the DSPR main building, but our clinic in {redacted} is impacted and the hall used for the children’s activities is totally burned. No news about the other clinic in {redacted}, we lost contact with people there. {Redacted} clinic has not been hit, but not functioning so far. We daily discuss the security status of that clinic, and we are waiting for the moment that we can function there without jeopardizing the safety and security of our staff. Our staff there are coordinating with UNICEF have the centre functional, with some support from them to offer services to the people there, including food and water distribution, but the area is still under attacks and airstrikes.

We tried to get detailed information about our staff, but communication is not possible with many of them. When we last made contact three days ago, all of them were alive – we pray and hope that this continues to be the case. Since then, many have scattered, almost all of them are dislocated.

Resources are scarcer now. The only source of power is from generators which run on fuel, which is no longer available. It’s still possible to find some shops with some remaining food and some other materials, but it’s so scarce and about to run out. The food, water and medical supplies that reached Rafah in southern Gaza were 2 trucks of water, 3 trucks of food and 15 trucks of medical supplies. As mentioned above, it’s very little amount for around 2.5 million. Israel is preventing any other supplies reaching northern Gaza.

Some psychosocial support is offered to some people, especially to those who lost family members in the church. It’s not easy task to be done by anybody, but people are trying to be as supportive as possible to each other.

It’s extremely difficult time in Gaza. You are called on by our colleagues in Gaza to pray for their safety. They keep telling us to pray for their safety and the safety of all people in Gaza.

Nader
Department of Services to Palestinian Refugees

Names of places and clinics have been redacted for safety reasons.