In the Crossfire: Needs Persist in Gaza

Intesar, 18, is the eldest of eight children in a family that lives in Al Mawassi, an impoverished area of cement houses and sand dunes in southern Gaza. Her father can no longer find sufficient work in nearby farms to provide for the family. Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps delivered food aid to 317 impoverished families on July 26, part of a continuing effort to ease humanitarian needs in a situation the UN says continues to deteriorate.

Recent Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, triggered by the kidnapping of one of its soldiers, has exacerbated an already-bad humanitarian situation there. The economy is grinding to a halt; no exports have been allowed out of the main cargo crossing into Israel since June 23, and Israeli naval vessels off the Gaza Strip continue to prevent Palestinian fishing along the coastline, according to the UN.

On July 8, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan appealed for "urgent action to alleviate the desperate humanitarian situation of the civilian population." Electricity and water shortages imperil Gaza's food supply and public health.

Intesar, 18, is the eldest of eight children in a family that lives in Al Mawassi, an impoverished area of cement houses and sand dunes in southern Gaza. Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

Even before the latest fighting, thousands of families were beset by temporary fuel shortages, a lack of essential drugs, scarce economic opportunities and rising lawlessness and strife, according to the UN. In June, 70 percent of Gazans were unable to cover daily food needs without assistance, according to the World Food Program.

Mercy Corps already has reached more than 6,000 of the most vulnerable Gazans with direct humanitarian aid, including more than 430 people with disabilities who received vital medical supplies, and 780 destitute families who received food packages of flour, sugar, rice, vegetable oil and other rations.

International donors suspended payments to the Palestinian Authority in the wake of Hamas' victory in January elections, while Israel responded by not transferring taxes it collects on behalf of the Palestinians, and by virtually sealing its borders to protect innocent civilians from militant attacks.

As a result, most of the 73,000 government workers in Gaza haven't been paid since February, and the flow of vital exports has been severely curtailed. Israeli authorities have closed the main terminal for goods exiting Gaza for 43 percent in the first five months of 2006 because of security concerns, according to the United Nations. A May 31 emergency appeal by the agency reports that access to food, jobs and basic services in Gaza are "seriously under threat."