Many in Scotland have watched the increasing humanitarian crisis in Gaza over the last four weeks with horror and grave concern.
The situation is now acute, and the member agencies of the Disasters Emergency Committee have launched a Gaza Crisis Appeal on the basis of massive unmet humanitarian need.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes and are in desperate need of food, water, shelter and medical care. Many displaced families are still in crowded shelters run by the UN and others. 1.4 million people have no or very limited access to water or sanitation, due to damage to infrastructure and the lack of electricity affecting pumping and processing plants; and over 65,000 people have seen their homes severely damaged or destroyed. The UN says the health system in Gaza is on the verge of collapse, with 24 health facilities damaged and acute shortages of medicines and medical supplies. The entire population of Gaza is now without adequate access to health services.
In Gaza, a territory smaller than the island of Arran but with a population of 1.8 million people (larger than the population of Greater Glasgow and the Clyde Valley) there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. 1,843 Palestinians have been killed including 1,354 civilians of whom 415 were children. 67 Israelis have been killed including 3 civilians. DEC member agencies have called on all parties to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law, including not targeting civilians or aid workers. Schools and hospitals should not be used for military purposes and nor should they be military targets.
Services in Gaza were severely stretched even before the conflict, and 80% of the population were dependent on aid. Getting supplies into Gaza has been a challenge over the last seven years because of the blockade, but humanitarian agencies have always been able to get some goods across the border, and even now some aid is getting through border crossings in both Israel and Egypt. It is also possible to buy some supplies in Gaza itself. Any ceasefire, even if only temporary, allows a dramatic increase in delivery of aid.
DEC member agencies (many of whom have worked there for decades) and their partners in Gaza have provided first aid and ambulances, medical supplies to hospitals and clinics, food and water, and provided household items for people who have fled their homes.
• Islamic Relief has provided food to 10,000 people who have fled their homes.
• Oxfam is helping around 80,000 people, including using tanker trucks to provide safe water to over 58,000 people
• British Red Cross partners are supporting emergency medical services.
• Member agencies are already planning to support the restoration of key civilian infrastructure including water and sanitation.
It is clear that the blockade has had a significant humanitarian impact and has greatly increased the vulnerability of the civilian population of Gaza to the shocks caused by any escalation in the conflict. The DEC is a humanitarian fundraising organisation and does not take any advocacy positions. However, Save the Children and many other DEC member agencies as well the UN have called for the lifting of the blockade.
Ultimately, the only sustainable and just solution will be a political one. But for now, this desperate crisis in Gaza requires a huge response, which we hope that many in Scotland will be part of, in order that the basic needs of many thousands of people may be met as quickly and effectively as possible.
To make a donation to the DEC Gaza Crisis Appeal visit http://www.dec.org.uk, call the 24 hour hotline on 0370 60 60 900, donate over the counter at any high street bank or post office, or send a cheque. You can also donate £5 by texting the word SUPPORT to 70000
Statistics from UNOCHA, 6/8/2014
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article