The ceasefire agreement in Gaza has now held for a month. There have been critical moments and violations, but the mediators have so far managed to keep the deal alive.
This has allowed many of the 1.9 million displaced people to move back to areas they had fled from, easing the strain on southern and central Gaza which had hosted large makeshift camps without the necessary infrastructure.
The ceasefire has certainly brought a sense of relief to the Gaza Strip, which has endured unimaginable suffering for 15 months. But for the families who have survived the relentless bombing and destruction, the battle is far from over.
They face a new war – one against poverty, hunger, homelessness, and despair. Homes lie in ruins, hospitals are overwhelmed, and schools are either destroyed or still shelter the displaced and homeless. Gaza has been set back by decades.
Over the past weeks, we have seen aid access ramp up significantly into the Strip, particularly the north, which was besieged for months. But significant challenges remain.
On the ground, colleagues and friends report continued difficulties in accessing food, water, medicine and supplies. Distribution remains a key challenge due to damaged infrastructure, but it is not the only problem.
There are also still barriers to the entry of various essential items. The blocking of trucks carrying tents, mobile homes and heavy machinery for clearing rubble brought the ceasefire deal to near-collapse last week. Due to the absence of proper shelter, many Palestinian families continue to suffer harsh weather conditions across the Gaza Strip, but especially in the north, where the rate of destruction of civilian buildings is the highest.
Many of our colleagues are saying they have yet to see any sign of blankets or tents. They’re still exposed to the elements, unable to properly carry out their life-saving work.
Some of our beneficiaries share that they have stopped bathing their children because of the harsh cold. Sara*, a mother of three living in Deir el-Balah, told our team earlier this month that she used to bathe her children in the sea, but she can no longer do that because she fears they may fall ill. With the continuing lack of medicine, this could be a death sentence for a little child.
Although a large amount of food has entered the Strip – especially compared with a few months ago – there are still considerable challenges in meeting Palestinians’ nutritional needs.
Aid packages are filled exclusively with pantry items. Oil, flour, ghee, rice, tinned beans and tomatoes, and tuna. There are no fresh fruits, vegetables, meat or eggs. The long-term health effects of 15 months without fresh food will surely only be understood in the coming years.
Worse still, these aid packages are still not enough and do not reach all people who are in need. In fact, for most of the population in Gaza, access to aid hasn’t seen any notable improvement since the tentative ceasefire came into effect.
Fatima*, a 21-year-old mother of two, says she is still suffering under the same conditions she faced months ago. Her tent leaks in the rain and topples in the wind. She hasn’t had a tearless night in 16 months. Her children, however, have no energy to cry any more. They have been starved and made ill. Even though aid is increasing into the region, she still can’t find the food and nutrients they need to survive.
Gaza requires 600 trucks of food daily for at least four consecutive months to address acute malnutrition. Hundreds more will be needed every day to return to a humane living standard, and for years to come.
Many of the food items like eggs, chicken, fresh fruit and vegetables are now available in some parts of Gaza, but they are for sale. That is because a significant portion of the trucks that have entered Gaza are not aid. They carry commercial goods, including food, that are then sold to the few Palestinians who can afford them at exorbitant prices.
Humanitarian agencies have largely sworn off purchasing resale goods for fear of pushing the already soaring prices even further out of reach of civilians. But even still, there are reports of eggs costing $40, $50, even $60 for a carton of 12. In the south, where supplies are supposedly easier to reach, bags of flour can go for as much as $100.
It is clear the current humanitarian response cannot provide what the Palestinians of Gaza need to begin to rebuild their lives.
Gaza has been scorched. Most of its farmland has been destroyed and parts of it covered in rubble or toxic residue – remnants of a violent bombing campaign on a civilian population. Nothing will grow for years to come.
The economy of the Strip is all but destroyed. The vast majority of working-age people are unemployed and have no hope of securing employment in the near future.
Palestinian families simply cannot survive on packages of flour, rice and canned fish.
With aid distribution faltering and dignity being stripped away, the urgency for a new approach has never been clearer. People in Gaza need a more dignified way to receive support that can help them recover in the long run.
Seeing the inadequacies of the current humanitarian response, our organisation decided to launch its “Extend Your Table” initiative, which is rooted in solidarity, compassion, and shared humanity. Rather than relying on the often inconsistent and inadequate aid that reaches Gaza, we are empowering people around the world to make a tangible difference by twinning with families in Gaza.
Through monthly donations, people can directly support a Palestinian family, providing not just food but also dignity and hope for a better tomorrow. Beneficiaries will receive cash vouchers enabling them to decide how to meet their own needs – a choice which hasn’t been provided to them since the start of the horrors in Gaza.
Providing families the dignity of choice in how to care for themselves does not even begin to address the issues, but it will be a start. We hope this initiative will help restore agency, foster connections, and ensure that basic needs are met for Palestinian men, women and children, who have experienced unimaginable suffering and devastation.
Such a holistic approach can not only provide immediate relief, but support economic recovery, education, and health.
We very much hope other organisations will also adopt different, more efficient strategies in Gaza that offer more dignified and humane support for Palestinians. The road to recovery will be long, but we can be part of the solution.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
