Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

FROM THE FIELD

CWS appeal update: Gaza humanitarian crisis
12 Jan 2009 21:00:00 GMT
 Source: Church World Service-USA
Website: Website: http://www.churchworldservice.org

284081 logo
A Three mobile emergency medical clinics operated by ACT coalition member DanChurchAid have been destroyed in the recent assault on Gaza. Other trucks are being upgraded and will be pressed into service.
Previous | Next
A Three mobile emergency medical clinics operated by ACT coalition member DanChurchAid have been destroyed in the recent assault on Gaza. Other trucks are being upgraded and will be pressed into service.
Photo: ACT-DCA

Background

•  Israeli-Palestinian conflict

MORE >>
Sunday, January 11, 2009

Israeli forces have entered the most populous area of the Gaza strip, Reuters reported today, and medical officials said about half of those killed in the latest fighting, at least 27, were civilians. Hamas officials said they would not consider a ceasefire with Israel until Israel ends its military assault on Gaza; meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel was "getting close" to the goals it set for itself in Gaza, according to the Reuters report. A UN Security Council resolution on stopping the fighting is stalled.

Israeli forces have entered the most populous area of the Gaza strip, Reuters reported today, and medical officials said about half of those killed in the latest fighting, at least 27, were civilians. Hamas officials said they would not consider a ceasefire with Israel until Israel ends its military assault on Gaza; meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel was "getting close" to the goals it set for itself in Gaza, according to the Reuters report. A UN Security Council resolution on stopping the fighting is stalled.

The reported death toll for Palestinians since the Dec. 27 military action in Gaza is more than 870, while 13 Israelis have been killed.

CWS Response Church World Service continues to support efforts as a member of the Action by Churches Together International alliance. ACT efforts include those by the Middle East Council of Churches' Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR), International Orthodox Christian Charities, the Lutheran World Federation and Norwegian Church Aid, all long-time CWS partners. These are initial efforts and will be expanded later as the situation further unfolds.

In latest developments for the CWS-supported response:

Israeli missiles struck a CWS/ACT-supported clinic in Shaja'ih in Gaza City on Saturday (Jan. 10). The clinic is run by the DSPR arm of the MECC. The clinic was totally destroyed, but no one was injured, since the building had been previously evacuated. "The clinic is completely destroyed with all its equipment and medical supplies," Zack Sabella of the DSPR reported.

"Minutes before the missile hit the building, which hosts the clinic," Sabella said,"the Israeli Air Force fired a warning missile next to it, forcing all residents of the building and the adjacent buildings to flee the area. A short while after, the army directly hit the building and razed it completely."

Two trucks with humanitarian supplies provided by the ACT network that had been halted at the Israeli/Gaza border because of a strike of truck drivers, are expected to enter sometime this week. A planned entry for Monday (Jan. 12) has been postponed, ACT reported . Two trucks are ready for transportation of medicines, nutrition supplements and blankets to Gaza, said Liv Steinmoeggen, the ACT representative in the area.

The CWS-supported transport include 12,000 cartons of high protein biscuits; 20,300 liters of fortified milk; blankets and quilts; and nearly $68,000 worth of medical supplies in this first shipment. The delivery across the border into Gaza is coordinated through the UN, which is responsible for transport.

The Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, continues to receive and care for numerous patients each day who are injured, wounded or burned. Up to 40 new patients are seen each day and many of them require hospital admission and surgery.

ACT reports that the increased surgical load is placing additional strains on hospital staff and supplies -- anesthetics, suture material, operating room linens, equipment, bandages and the surgeons themselves. Until additional healthcare personnel are available, members of the hospital staff continue to work long intervals without rest. Some hospital staff are now staying in the hospital around the clock, adding to the hospital's obligations.

In addition, Al Ahli is now receiving up to 15 patients per day that are referred from Al Shifa Hospital, also in Gaza City, ACT reports. Patients are also being seen, especially children, who are experiencing the effects of fear and psychological trauma. According to ACT member staff many Gazans will need psychosocial assistance after the war is over, especially since they have never experienced such violence by the Israeli army up to this current war.

Large-scale efforts are underway to deliver needed material assistance to the Al Ahli Hospital, but the procedures required for safe delivery impose security-related limitations on the amounts of supplies that can be delivered and the time required to get them to the hospital. The hospital is short of fuel which is required to continue operating the electrical generator because little electricity is available in Gaza. Without additional fuel soon the hospital will have no electricity, which would greatly impact its ability to deliver services.

Food remains in extremely short supply in Gaza, as does cash. The Episcopal Diocese is providing the cash necessary for the hospital to carry out its work.




[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Refugees & displacement

•  Working in Relief

MORE >>

Emergencies

•  Israeli-Palestinian conflict

MORE >>

Members

•  Church World Service-USA

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  CWS appeal update: Gaza humanitarian crisis
CWS

•  Congo: New camp, new hope
Oxfam GB - UK

•  ACT: Gaza teenager died from fear
ACT - Switzerland

•  ACT: Gaza -- the poorest lost their only heath care
ACT - Switzerland

•  Protect civilians in Gaza
ActionAid

MORE >>

Latest news

•  FACTBOX-Developments in Gaza fighting, Jan 12

•  Israel: Stop Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza

•  FACTBOX-Key facts about the Gaza Strip

•  Bush backs Israel, Gaza death toll tops 900

•  Boat woes force Gaza activists back to Cyprus

MORE >>

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Background information

Briefings
Israeli-Palestinian conflict - [Who works where]

Topics
Refugees & displacement Working in Relief
Facts & figures
Palestinian territories
Statistics graphs
Human development index ranking (2005)
Chart for Human development index ranking
View more stats >>

Related articles

Breaking stories
 FACTBOX-Developments in Gaza fighting, Jan 12 (1 minute ago)

Israel: Stop Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 Actress Jolie tops AlertNet celebrity do-gooder poll 2008 (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 CWS appeal update: Gaza humanitarian crisis (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 Does media commentary change minds on Gaza or anywhere else? (1 minute ago)

Maps
 Damage Assessment Overview for Gaza City (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-12T192522Z_01_JER50_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER50.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-12T191514Z_01_JER48_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER48.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-12T191504Z_01_JER49_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER49.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-12T191125Z_01_JER47_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER47.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-01-12T184656Z_01_JER46_RTRIDSP_2_PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER46.htm

Israeli reservists prepare to cross the border into the northern Gaza Strip January 12, 2009. An Israeli military spokesman said army reservists had been thrown into the campaign that Israel launched ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Mon Jan 12 21:05:58 2009