It is hoped that the recent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas will help ease restrictions on the movement of people and goods in Gaza. It is still too early to assess the impact on the ground, but ICRC staff are closely monitoring the situation.

The strict closure of Gaza for the past year has had devastating effects on every aspect of daily life, including employment, health and access to water. This has brought the area to the brink of economic collapse.

"Fuel and raw materials are essential to local industry. While humanitarian assistance does make a difference to a lot of people in Gaza, local production and trade must resume if the situation of the civilian population as a whole is to improve significantly," said Katharina Ritz, head of the ICRC's mission in Jerusalem.

Dire need of spare parts for hospitals and water pumps

Essential items required to keep industry running and repair infrastructure, such as building materials, have not entered Gaza in over a year. Hospitals and water-pumping stations especially are in dire need of spare parts to maintain and replace equipment. Doctors and nurses are struggling to provide safe treatment in the absence of items ranging from simple light bulbs to sterilization machines and monitoring equipment for operating theatres.

Worse harvest in years

Farmers and fishermen, who can no longer export anything, are barely able to eke out a living on the local market.

Ahmed Mohammed el Kilani, a potato farmer, faces his worst harvest in many years. Yet it is difficult for him to sell the few potatoes he does grow as there is no fuel to bring them to market in the city, and the price of donkeys has gone up.

"I don't know if I'll grow anything at all next year. What's the point if I can't sell it?" he said. Before the closure, he earned more by working in Israel as well. Now that he and his family can no longer survive on his income, they depend entirely on humanitarian aid.

Fuel crisis

Since October 2007, there has been a gradual decrease in the supply of fuel, whether diesel, gas or benzene, and the living conditions of civilians have steadily deteriorated as a result.

Hospitals, wells and water-pumping stations are extremely vulnerable during power cuts as their back-up generators operate on fuel. Access to clean water is especially precarious.

Fuel shortages have also affected the sewage-treatment system, which had a limited capacity even before the closure. More sewage is now being dumped directly into the sea. Alleviating this problem is among the ICRC's main priorities. In Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, the ICRC has set up a sewage-treatment project benefiting some 150,000 people.

Assisting farmers and fishermen

The ICRC is striving to improve the lives of poor farmers and fishermen by helping them to rehabilitate land and repair boats. It is also supporting small businesses, such as hair salons and car-repair shops. However, it has faced difficulties in getting essential items into Gaza in recent months, in particular spare parts for boat engines, meaning that aid has not always reached those who need it in time. Lack of fuel has also led to the suspension of a land-rehabilitation programme for farmers.

"With the easing of restrictions, we hope to begin helping farmers and fishermen again soon," said Katharina Ritz, who stressed the growing price paid by the population. "Over the past six months, we have seen an increase in the number of civilians killed and wounded in Gaza and also in Israeli towns and villages bordering it. Every effort must be made to put an end to the rising death toll."