ActionAid responds to the temporary humanitarian pause and airdropped aid in Gaza.
Dr Salha, Al-Awda Hospital, Gaza:
“Since 2 March, Gaza has been under total siege. No food. No medicine. No aid. At Al-Awda Hospital, we used to care for 200 women and children a day, now it’s over 2,000. We simply can’t cope. Malnutrition is devastating mothers and newborns. We’re seeing a sharp rise in caesarean sections, miscarriages, and babies born underweight.
“There’s no formula, no milk. Supplies have run out. We are out of options, and we are running out of time. It has never been this bad. Our staff are surviving on one meal a day. Three colleagues collapsed in our emergency department last week due to hunger, while working around the clock to care for patients. This is a humanitarian catastrophe.”
Jamil Sawalmeh, Country Director, ActionAid Palestine:
“This is a matter of survival in Gaza. Most hospitals are barely functioning. Medical staff are overwhelmed. There’s not enough water, not enough food. Babies are going without milk. Aid distributions sites have become death traps where people are being killed whilst trying to receive aid. Even our own colleagues and partners have been forced to reduce their working hours to just three days a week. The limited aid we may manage to deliver in the coming days is nowhere near what is urgently needed. The long-term impact of war and starvation, particularly on women and children, will be profound and generational.
“More access of humanitarian aid is welcome, but let’s be clear: these are temporary measures. What Gaza needs is an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the unhindered, sustained delivery of humanitarian aid, led by the UN, UNRWA and other international organisations.
“This is a critical moment for the international community to act. We urgently need global pressure on Israel to comply with international humanitarian law, including ensuring safe, unfettered access for aid. Not risky airdrops. Not short-term pauses. We need a real, lasting pause, and safe aid delivery now.”
ENDS
Jamil Sawalmeh, Country Director of ActionAid Palestine and Riham Jafari, advocacy and communications coordinator at ActionAid Palestine, are available for interview. Please contact the press office at media-enquiries@actionaid.org for requests.