October 17, 2023
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The war between Israel and Hamas is a humanitarian disaster for the civilian population of the Gaza Strip. In this closed area without escape, basic needs, including drinking water, are running out. In addition, Israel has called for over a million residents of northern Gaza to leave their homes. Caritas Jerusalem has long been active in Gaza.
Unexpected escalation
The tragic attack by Hamas gunmen who infiltrated Israel from Gaza on Saturday, 7th October, was unexpected. More than 1 400 residents lost their lives in the brutal massacre. Israel responded with retaliatory bombing of the Gaza Strip, where 2.3 million Palestinians are crowded into an area the size of Bratislava. Thousands of people have lost their lives on both sides, and the situation continues to escalate and threatens to grow into a new regional war. Clashes are also occurring in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The continued bombing has caused a catastrophe in Gaza, which has long been facing a humanitarian crisis. It has trapped over two million Palestinians in a systematically bombed territory, from which there is nowhere to escape. "People are trapped in this densely populated strip of land at the mercy of intense air bombardment with nowhere to flee for safety," expressed their concerns a representative of Caritas Jerusalem, which operates on the ground.
An unprecedented humanitarian disaster
Gaza is under a long-standing Israeli blockade. Moreover, Israel has now cut off humanitarian aid, drinking water and electricity supply to the occupied territory. "The humanitarian situation in Gaza, already critical, is fast becoming untenable," said UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths. Gaza is also running out of medicine and fuel, and hospitals, swamped by thousands of wounded and dead from massive bombing, lack the supplies to provide much-needed aid. Israel's demand that the residents of northern Gaza evacuate to the south of the area has only dramatically worsened an already alarming situation. It concerns more than a million residents, many of whom, such as the elderly, the injured or the sick, cannot leave their homes or hospitals. The people of Gaza, including children, who comprise around half of the total population, are now facing collective punishment for Hamas attacks as Gaza is systematically flattened. "Civilians living in Gaza are in utter shock and despair; they have nowhere to run, and basic needs are running thin; no humanitarian corridor is open," said a representative of Caritas Jerusalem.
Caritas had to suspend aid
Our sister organisation, Caritas Jerusalem, has long been active in the Gaza Strip. Its primary focus is on providing a range of primary health care services, health and nutrition education, or trauma care. However, due to the extensive and ongoing bombing, it has had to temporarily suspend its assistance for security reasons. However, its staff remain in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, Caritas Jerusalem is preparing to resume its health services and provide out-patient trauma care and essential primary health care in its clinic once a ceasefire comes into effect. Caritas Spain and Caritas Germany also support the Palestinians by helping West Bank residents.
Long-term conflict
Gaza, a narrow strip of land on the south-eastern Mediterranean coast, is largely bordered by Israel, which controls the impermeable border. The only non-Israeli border crossing is into Egypt, which lies in the south of Gaza but is impermeably closed. The territory has always been inhabited by Muslim and Christian Arabs who joined the emerging Palestinian national movement in the early 20th century. The conflict between Palestinians and Israel dates back to the establishment of the state in 1948. The UN plan to partition the then British-administered Palestine into two states - Palestine and Israel - was firmly rejected by the Arabs. This unleashed decades of violent conflict. Gaza came under highly problematic Israeli military occupation due to the 1967 Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbours. During that occupation, serious human rights violations were committed against the Palestinians there, including expulsing residents from their land and destroying their homes. The Israelis withdrew from Gaza nearly 20 years ago.
The looming spread of conflict
Israel is intensively preparing for the next phase of the war and a ground operation in Gaza to destroy the Hamas militant organisation. But such an operation is impossible without disastrous consequences for the civilian population trapped in this densely populated strip of land. At the same time, there is a risk that other neighbouring Arab states, such as Lebanon and Jordan, will become involved in the conflict. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said that the Middle East is on the brink. Caritas stands ready to engage in urgently needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza as soon as the security situation allows.
The photos used were taken by Caritas Jerusalem in Gaza during the escalation of the conflict in the spring of 2021.
