Gaza-Israeli Humanitarian Crisis

• Humanitarian access into and around Gaza remains hindered; insecurity, bureaucracy and a near-total blockade – including restrictions on the movement of people and what is allowed to be imported – have severely limited and, in some cases, stopped the delivery of humanitarian aid. More than 100 aid workers have been killed, and thousands more continue to work in increasingly difficult conditions.
• France 24 reported that: “In a seven-day truce in November a total of 105 hostages were exchanged for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.” Two older men being held were rescued overnight on Feb. 11-12, 2024.
• According to the BBC: “Only 11 of the Palestinian territory’s 36 hospitals are still partially functional after four months of conflict, while three are functioning at minimal capacity.”
• When the Gaza border with Egypt is open, some aid convoys of humanitarian relief supplies are entering the territory under the oversight of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society. Canadian International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen recently told reporters that not enough aid is getting through to meet needs, with a lengthy inspection and authorization process leading to extended delays in crossing.

The escalating conflict has created widespread death and destruction. The number of civilians killed in the initial attack and ongoing war continues to increase. Approximately 100 hostages remain in captivity, thousands of children have been killed and scores of families have been torn asunder.

Civilian deaths and injuries are high in both Israel and Gaza. This necessitates an increased need for trauma and emergency interventions.

The population in Gaza lacks access to electricity, fuel, food, sanitation services and water. Health service continues to deteriorate as health care facilities come under attack, shut down and run out of life-saving supplies and medicines.

According to the United Nations World Food Programme, “food aid is required by almost the entire population of 2.2 million people. Gaza is seeing the worst level of child malnutrition anywhere in the world. One child in every six under the age of two is acutely malnourished.”

Hospitals across Gaza are stretched and struggling to respond, with limited access to fuel and medical supplies and with personnel and buildings under attack. The Israeli military has accused Hamas militants of using hospitals as cover, and Israeli soldiers entered the Shifa hospital complex searching for militants and seeking to free hostages they believe to be held there.

Under international humanitarian law, hospitals have special protections and should not be attacked, and this protection extends to the sick, wounded and medical staff.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), these protections do not cease unless the facilities are used by a party to the conflict to commit an “act harmful to the enemy.”

The use of civilians, such as patients or staff within a hospital, by combatants as human shields is also prohibited.

The psychological consequences of the ongoing attacks on Israeli and Palestinian communities can seem invisible, but the trauma and need for psychosocial support for all those affected is real and critically important.

According to UNOCHA, “psychological first aid [is required] for affected persons as well as frontline workers. Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) [is needed] for affected families. Increased levels of distress, fear, anxiety, insecurity, and panic attacks is expected, especially among children and women. Parents and children will require more MHPSS, especially regarding how to help children who suffer from fear and panic.”

Gaza has a younger average than other countries, with 53% of the total population of 2.2 million under 18 years old.

The United Nations reported: “Most crises impact children terribly, they have a casualty rate of children around 20 per cent. But in Gaza, that rate is 40 per cent.”

According to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s Education Cluster, approximately 378 school buildings have sustained damage, and 264 are being used as displacement centers, leaving most children without access to education.

National Public Radio noted, “Researchers say the cumulative trauma of chronic ethnic-political violence has a profound and lasting impact on children’s mental health and development, affecting their functioning and outlook on the world as young adults. Studies show that even youth who seem to become desensitized to the violence around them remain deeply scarred — unless, that is, they are given a chance to recover.”

In the same article, Eric Dubow, professor of psychology at Bowling Green State University, explained, “Both children in Gaza and the Israeli children directly exposed to the Hamas attacks are now at a greater risk of long-term post-traumatic stress and other mental health problems.”

In Israel, weeks after the terror attack and as rockets continue to target population centers that wounded, orphaned and traumatized children, organizations are providing psychosocial and recreational interventions to these young survivors.

According to UNOCHA’s Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, “internally displaced persons [IDPs] are persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized state border.”

Mass displacements continue across the conflict, with inadequate provision of shelters and essential services due to supply, access and security issues. Inside Gaza, UNOCHA reports that displaced Palestinians exceed 1.7 million civilians, or 77% of the population. HIAS reports that an estimated 200,000-250,000 Israelis have been internally displaced.

CDP supports and advocates for principled, accountable and high-quality humanitarian action. Centering people and their needs is the core of effective humanitarian action, guided by the primary motivation to save lives, alleviate human suffering, and protect and maintain human dignity. Humanitarian action is thus guided by the principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality.

Members of the Core Humanitarian Standard Alliance and other organizations will go further and publicly hold themselves to “standards that improve the quality and effectiveness of the assistance they provide.”

Throughout any complex humanitarian crisis, humanitarians will regularly speak to the importance of upholding International Humanitarian Law (IHL). They do this to seek to limit the effects of armed conflict on civilians, to advocate for “the rapid and unimpeded passage for humanitarian aid during armed conflicts, [for] the freedom of movement for humanitarian workers in conflict areas, [and] the protection of civilians (including medical and humanitarian workers) and refugees, prisoners, and the wounded and sick.”

It is worth noting that some humanitarian organizations, “while committed to giving impartial assistance and not taking sides in hostilities, do not consider that the principle of neutrality precludes undertaking advocacy on issues related to accountability and justice.”

CDP’s president and CEO Patty McIlreavy spoke on the complicated conundrum humanitarian neutrality causes for many, noting that: “Humanitarian action’s primary purpose is to save lives and speak out for those most vulnerable to disasters’ impacts. The principle of neutrality serves as a guide on how to do this.”

The United Nations, the ICRC, and many international and philanthropic organizations are currently speaking to the need for all parties to the conflict to respect IHL. This includes, among other things, calls for border crossings to be opened; for civilian infrastructure – schools, hospitals and residences – to be protected and not be targets of attacks; for freedom of movement; and for services to be available to all people throughout any hostilities.