Oxfam launches Gaza Crisis fundraising appeal as food predicted to run out within a week

Oxfam launched a fundraising appeal today to provide humanitarian support following the deadly violence in Israel and Palestine this week, and the tightening siege which has cut off all electricity, food, water and fuel to Gaza. Unless aid is let into Gaza, food is likely to run out within a week.

Over 2,000 people have been killed in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory over the past few days, with thousands more injured.

Gaza has already been under blockade for more than a decade, but the complete closure put in place by the Israeli government following the horrifying attacks by Hamas, resulted in Gaza’s sole power station running out of fuel earlier today. The only source of electricity - including for hospital equipment like life-support machines - is now via generators, with dwindling fuel supplies. Essential water and sanitation infrastructure has been damaged by airstrikes and access to drinking water is limited.

Aleema Shivji, Oxfam’s Chief Impact Officer, said “The violence perpetrated on Israeli civilians by Hamas was appalling and Oxfam condemns those attacks in the strongest possible terms.

“Yet innocent communities are trapped in Gaza, one of the most densely populated places on earth, with no safe place to escape the Israeli airstrikes. Over 250,000 people have had to leave their homes, more than two-thirds are now crammed into UN schools with little access to drinking water, food or toilets. We urgently need to raise money so that our team can deliver life-saving essentials”.

Before the escalation of violence, 8 out of 10 people in Gaza depended on humanitarian assistance, due to the ongoing blockade which is now in its 16th year. While Oxfam and other agencies have had to pause operations due to the ongoing airstrikes, pressure is growing for humanitarian corridors to allow access.

Shivji said “The death and destruction is heartbreaking. Oxfam has been working in the region for over 70 years and we stand ready to provide humanitarian support for trapped civilians who bear no responsibility for the violence.”

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For more information and interviews, please contact Lisa Rutherford on 07917 791 836 / lrutherford@oxfam.org.uk and Sarah Dransfield on 07884 114825 / sdransfield@oxfam.org.uk

Notes to editor

Donations to Oxfam’s Gaza Crisis Appeal can be made here

Oxfam has been working in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel since the 1950’s and established a country office in the 1980’s. Oxfam works with the most vulnerable communities in Gaza, East Jerusalem and Area C, the 61 per cent of the West Bank where the government of Israel maintains full military and civil control

In Gaza, Oxfam works with Palestinian women, men and youth to improve their livelihoods and increase their economic opportunities, combat gender-based violence and inequality and ensure access to basic needs and fundamental rights through our humanitarian work.