Now nearly five months in, the situation in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels, with one in four households facing famine levels of food insecurity and severely limited access to safe water. Of the more than 1.7 million people who have been internally displaced by the war, many are staying at overcrowded shelters or on the streets. The United Nations warns that hunger and starvation, dehydration and illness will continue to increase as significant damage has been inflicted upon critical infrastructure and essential health and sanitation services.

“Our mornings begin with a silent check – are the kids, is everyone, alright?” said Mohammad, one of 74 staff members from Global Communities who is still on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank. “Our needs have undergone a profound transformation. The priorities of our past seem distant now; our focus is singular – survival.”

FOOD ASSISTANCE

Global Communities is currently responding as one of the World Food Programme’s main implementation partners. In the first weeks following the escalations, we provided food vouchers that assisted 100,000 individuals. However, voucher redemption rates significantly dropped as markets collapsed. Consequently, Global Communities worked closely with WFP to pivot to in-kind food distributions, supporting affected households living outside United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) centers.

WINTERIZATION SUPPORT

People whose lives have been upended by the war between Israel and Hamas must now cope with the onset of winter. Through funds provided by the Bank of Palestine, we provided winterization vouchers to 1,000 households in early December, enabling families to purchase much-needed clothing to get through the colder months ahead. An additional 3,000 people received winterization materials and hygiene products to help insulate their tents and other temporary shelters and take care of their basic needs.

HYGIENE & PROTECTION KITS

The majority of the Gazan population is now living in a small part of Gaza that was not designed to accommodate the number of people currently living there. Collective centers have four or five times the population they were designed to accommodate, and others are living on the streets or in informal settlements.

DISTRIBUTION NETWORK

Before the escalation of hostilities in October 2023, humanitarian food assistance was supporting over two-thirds of the population. Now, the amount of available aid does not adequately cover the rapidly growing life-threatening needs.

Read the full article about relief efforts in Gaza by Maureen Simpson at Global Washington.