In Gaza City today, civilians are being killed, forcibly displaced and made to endure dire conditions. First responders, including the Palestine Red Crescent Society and Civil Defence, have been working relentlessly to provide relief but their movement and ability to safely reach the civilian population has been severely constrained.
The ICRC will continue to strive to provide support to civilians in Gaza City, whenever circumstances allow, from our offices in Deir al-Balah and Rafah, which remain fully operational. This includes providing medical donations to the few remaining health facilities in Gaza City and doing the utmost to facilitate the movements of first responders. In Rafah, the Red Cross Field Hospital will continue to be a lifeline for the many wounded patients pouring in.
The ICRC has been in Gaza City for decades. Following the latest intensification of hostilities, ICRC teams stayed as long as they possibly could to protect and support the most vulnerable people. The ICRC remains committed to returning as soon as conditions allow.
Over the past two weeks, the ICRC has provided the few remaining hospitals and health-care centres in Gaza City with life-saving medical supplies as they received a surge in weapon-wounded patients. We supported baking facilities in 14 displacement camps that provide 45,000 loaves of bread per day. ICRC teams provided water tanks, trucking services, and supported water and wastewater network repairs alongside local service providers.
Lives can still be saved today. A cessation of hostilities is imperative and urgent. Under international humanitarian law, civilians must be protected whether they stay or leave Gaza City. Israel, as the occupying power, has an obligation to ensure their basic needs are met. Medical personnel, units and means of transport, as well as civil defence personnel must be respected and protected. The rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian assistance must be allowed and facilitated across the Gaza Strip.
About the ICRC
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a neutral, impartial and independent organization with an exclusively humanitarian mandate that stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It helps people around the world affected by armed conflict and other violence, doing everything it can to protect their lives and dignity and to relieve their suffering, often alongside its Red Cross and Red Crescent partners.
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Davies, ICRC Jerusalem, +972 526 019 150, sadavies@icrc.org
Hisham Mhanna, ICRC Gaza, +972 594 205 057, hmhanna@icrc.org
