Gaza

The amount of water available to people trapped in Gaza will still be just 17 percent of pre-siege levels, despite the Israeli government announcing that two trucks of fuel will now be allowed in each day, Oxfam warned. Current fuel levels have made water treatment, pumping and distribution virtually impossible. All water, fuel and food to Gaza was cut off by the siege implemented by the Israeli government on 9 October.

Reacting to the vote on Malta’s resolution, Oxfam America President and CEO Abby Maxman said: “Today’s resolution does show important progress in the Council in an effort to uphold international law. But at a time when a full cessation of hostilities is required, it falls far short by calling only for extended humanitarian pauses and corridors. Those are not nearly enough while the violence and siege continue. Even as hospitals are bombarded and the UN warns that their fuel supplies for aid have run dry, it is a bitter disappointment that UN Security Council members are still not able to vote for a ceasefire in Gaza."

In response to the escalation of attacks on hospitals in Gaza, Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East Regional Director, said: “Attacks on hospitals packed with civilians in need of urgent treatment and seeking shelter are abhorrent and can never be justified. Children receiving care for cancer, people on respirators, patients in intensive care cannot flee the violence. Indiscriminately firing on civilians in hospitals is not just a war crime, it’s an assault on humanity.  

Today, Members of the European Parliament called for a humanitarian pause in the resolution they adopted on the events in Gaza. In response, Vittorio Infante, Oxfam EU conflict expert said: "This is a timid gesture. While any window to bring in aid to Gaza safely should be seized at this catastrophic stage, this is not the real answer.

Gaza is facing an unprecedented health crisis that risks an outbreak of deadly infectious diseases, like cholera, because water and sanitation services have completely broken down, says Oxfam. 

Ahead of European leaders meeting tomorrow to discuss the unfolding events in Gaza, Vittorio Infante, Oxfam EU conflict expert, said:

All parties must immediately end this violence. Millions of innocent civilians are caught in the crosshairs of this escalation and are set to bear it's brunt.  

In response to the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip with Israeli airstrikes killing 21 Palestinians, closing key crossings and barring critical supplies from entering Shane Stevenson, Oxfam OPTI Country Director said: “Civilians in Gaza are once again paying the price for the failures of political leaders to negotiate a just solution and lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis."

Wheat flour reserves in the Occupied Palestinian Territory could be exhausted within three weeks and the cost of this food staple has surged by nearly 25% because of the Ukraine crisis, warns Oxfam.