Emergency Relief in Palestine

Anera is closely monitoring the escalating crisis across the Middle East, which has already caused deaths, displacement, movement restrictions and heightened public concern. Military activity and closures are affecting daily life for civilians and humanitarian workers alike. Anera is taking active steps to protect staff and adapt operations to sustain essential services for communities in need.

Our Gaza operations remain stable with our staff and volunteers in Gaza still able to work. All crossings permitting aid into Gaza closed for several days and now there are partial reopenngs. Overall, interruptions to the flow of aid will deepen existing shortages.

Families who were already experiencing a lack of resources, hunger and displacement will struggle even more in light of the newest crisis in the Middle East. The escalation over the past several weeks does not mean a pause in our work. In fact, it means that vulnerable families across Gaza need humanitarian assistance even more than before.

Currently, our team is focused on distribution of food for Ramadan. Even as our teams are now actively meeting new urgent needs, our Ramadan programming has not stopped. Where possible, our staff are delivering food aid directly, and when travel is restricted our teams are coordinating remotely and working through trusted local partners to ensure there is no interruption to families receiving nourishing, balanced meals. 

Despite challenges, our team is Gaza is doing great work. To illustrate our work in Gaza, here is a snapshot of recent efforts between Februrary 28th through March 5th.

• The Anera Gaza team continued delivering large-scale food assistance to displaced families across the south and central areas of Gaza. In Khan Younis and the middle area, the team prepared and distributed 300 pots of hot meals, serving approximately 7,500 displaced people daily, six days per week. Across community shelters, an additional 17,151 hot meals were distributed over a two-day period, along with 246 fresh produce parcels 4,534 ready-to-eat meals and bags of wheat flour and 1,135 boxes of high-energy biscuits.

• A livelihood initiative led by a team of seven women and a chef also launched a pastries and bread project, producing and distributing 400 meals.

• The team worked to expand access to safe water and sanitation in shelters and displacement sites. Anera delivered 70,534 gallons of potable water to community shelters in Gaza City and Khan Younis. To improve sanitation conditions, the team installed 10 latrines, conducted 13 health and hygiene awareness sessions reaching 294 participants, and installed five steel water tanks serving camps in southern Gaza. A waste management team of 56 day workers collected 52.19 tons of solid waste from seven camps, carried out sterilization campaigns to reduce insect-related health risks, and filled in nine hazardous sewage pits.

• Anera’s health teams continued providing essential medical care through six clinics across Gaza, reaching 6,137 patients during the week. Primary healthcare services at clinics in Khan Younis, Deir Al Balah and Nuseirat treated 3,357 patients, while 2,780 patients received maternal, pediatric, psychosocial support, and nutrition services at mother-and-child health clinics in Gaza City, Khan Younis and Al-Zawaida.

• The Gaza team also distributed children’s clothing kits to 584 vulnerable families, while 2,000 children received ‘joy kits’ filled with treats across six locations in southern Gaza and two in the north.

• Education programming continued in shelters, with 956 students registered and attending learning activities. Psychosocial support programs reached more than 350 children and 57 parents through recreational activities, counseling sessions and positive parenting workshops, helping families cope with the ongoing crisis.

Continuing onwards amidst compounding crises and extreme uncertainty is not easy. Yet, time and time again our team in Gaza has demonstrated that even in the face of dire challenges, we cannot give up on families in need. We must continue to focus on the very tangible impact that we can create for families, on what we can accomplish together. Thank you for your support which makes this work possible.

Links:

• Visit our Gaza and West Bank Response Log for updates
• Visit our website