Critical shortages of medical supplies, food, water, and hygiene products are
compounded by the imminent threat of a polio outbreak, with the first case
confirmed in August 2024 by the Ministry of Health in Gaza, underscoring the
dire health and humanitarian crisis.
The ongoing violence, which began escalating in early October 2023 has spiraled into a devastating humanitarian catastrophe for Palestinians and air workers. Essential services have completely collapsed, delivery of aid is severely obstructed, and the civilian population is trapped in a state of near total destruction with nowhere safe to go.
9/3/24 UPDATE: 90% of Palestinians are displaced. Humanitarian workers face immense safety and security risks and operational difficulties due to the deteriorating security situation, prohibitive entry requirements, and cash shortages, making it increasingly difficult to secure aid and deliver the small amount that has reached Gaza.
New displacement orders issued by Israeli authorities have forced another mass movement of families and humanitarian workers from areas in Deir al-Balah - one of the only remaining areas in the occupied Gaza Strip with essential infrastructure and warehouses storing aid supplies.
Despite the incredibly challenging access issues, Mercy Corps has been able to deliver lifesaving aid inside Gaza, reaching more than 160,000 people to date.
Mercy Corps is working to distribute essential items to meet the urgent need in Gaza. Despite the restrictions and limited access, our teams on the ground, work tirelessly to ensure that critical relief is reaching families in desperate need. Most recently, on August 23, after a four-month delay, four Mercy Corps trucks carrying 1,000 food kits and 1,000 hygiene kits arrived in northern Gaza.
All supply kits include items for a family of four:
1) Food kits include a variety of ready-to-eat, culturally appropriate items.
2) Hygiene kits include sanitizing and cleaning supplies, water containers, and personal hygiene products like toothbrushes, toothpaste, and diapers.
3) Shelter and winterization kits include a sealing-off kit to maintain warmth, a winter bedding set with mattresses and pillows, and winter clothes.
The scale and fluidity of this crisis, ongoing security concerns, and unpredictable humanitarian access may shift our outlined activities as the needs in Gaza and surrounding regions evolve.
Your support will go where it is needed most, helping us mobilize our teams in response to humanitarian crises around the world. Mercy Corps teams are already on the ground where help is most needed. We work in more than 40 countries alongside communities as they prepare for, protect against, and recover from crisis.
