Since 1967, Caritas been present in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem. Over the past year, our colleagues have reached 1.6 million people with humanitarian aid – despite extreme conditions.

They have lived with the same fear of being killed as the rest of the population. They have had to flee several times, but have maintained their work where they are. They have also called for more emergency response countless times.

Now they say that access to emergency response and commercial goods are lower than ever. There are also rumors that the Israelis are going to cut off access to commercial goods in the south and prepare for a full siege of the north. If this happens, there is a great risk of starvation.

Caritas requires that emergency response and commercial goods are allowed to enter the south and north. The pace of approvals and coordination of emergency aid must increase, as it will take 2-3 years to meet the needs.

Not prepared for winter

It is cold in Gaza in the fall and winter. The rain has started and temperatures will soon drop. At the moment there is no humanitarian aid to prepare people for the winter in the form of shelter, clothing and shoes. This worries us.

In this video, employees of Caritas Jerusalem about the work of the past year, own experiences and thoughts about the future.

A humanitarian disaster

On October 7, several Palestinian groups from Gaza stormed the Israeli village of Be'eri. In a brutal manner, 1,200 people were killed, 3,300 injured and 251 abducted. The attack was cruel and was the start of a violent reaction from Israel that has had enormous humanitarian consequences for the Palestinian population. Figures from the UN show:

• 41,000 civilians killed
• 885 health workers killed
• 295 aid workers killed
• 217 UN staff killed
• 172 journalists killed
• 95,000 injured civilians
• 10,000 missing in the ruins
• 1.9 million internally receivable
• 17,000 orphans
• 1.2 million traumatized children
• 50,000 acutely malnourished children
• 2.2 million at serious risk of famine
• 17 of 36 hospitals partially operational
• 625,000 schoolchildren without access to education
• 650,000 no longer have a home to return to

The suffering in Gaza must end. A ceasefire must be in place – NOW!