ActionAid is present in Gaza via Austcare (which is in the process of becoming an affiliate of ActionAid and will be changing its name to ActionAid Australia later this year). Austcare has an office in Jerusalem and the West Bank with highly experienced staff in the fields of emergency humanitarian response. It also works with local partners in Gaza.

We spoke to Nichola Krey, Austcare’s director in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza:

What are the main challenges facing Gaza right now?

There are many huge challenges for the people of Gaza. As well as a desperate need for food and shelter it is very difficult to even move around the territory at the moment because of unexploded ordnance. Two children were killed in this way since the ceasefire just the other day. It is a big concern.

There is a huge need which will be ongoing for many months. It is estimated that 1.9 billion dollars worth of infrastructure has been damaged – that will take years to rebuild not to mention the damage to people’s livelihoods. Many people are hugely traumatized. In one assessment almost 95 per cent of those surveyed said that their children were traumatized and were displaying symptoms like being unable to sleep or bedwetting.

What are the biggest needs?

Even before the recent offensive, most Gazans depended to some extent on humanitarian aid for basic essentials. The recent fighting has left people without enough food, water, medicines, and fuel. Cooking gas was last allowed into the Gaza Strip on 8 January, while diesel last entered on 7 January.

Another priority is to resume schooling and to free up the 44 schools that are being used as emergency shelters.

What will ActionAid be doing in Gaza?

ActionAid, Austcare and its partners on the ground will be distributing items such as tarpaulin, mattresses and candles. We will be starting cash for work programmes and carrying out protection work. We are currently carrying out an assessment through our partner Asala which is a micro-finance institution that provides micro-loans for women’s businesses.

Currently, Asala has over 1,266 loans distributed to women who run small grocery store, bee-keeping, agriculture and livestock businesses. Asala is currently visiting each borrower to measure damage sustained to their business. If there is damage they will be granted a 12 month period to recover their damaged businesses before being obliged to repay their loans.

Will you be working to help those who have been traumatised?

Yes, that is one of our priorities and we will be providing psychosocial care activities for vulnerable groups, particularly women and children in partnership with the Gaza Community Mental Health Program which is a long standing and well respected psycho-social organisation focused on children, women and victims of torture. It has 150 employees and seven branches spanning the length of the Gaza Strip. Their main premises have been severely damaged.

How many people are still displaced?

Preliminary estimates show around 80,000 people were displaced by the fighting in Gaza. Many of those have now returned to their homes and are trying to rebuild their lives. However there are still more than 18,000 people who cannot go home – either because they are too afraid or because their homes have been destroyed. They are in desperate need of food and shelter.

Read more about ActionAid's Gaza crisis appeal