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Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Opportunity

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A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will save at least dozens of lives daily. However, it is unclear what will actually change in the humanitarian situation on the ground. Without free and safe deliveries of medicines, food, and other goods that have been unavailable in recent months, the Gaza Strip will remain the center of a humanitarian disaster. “The ceasefire is just the beginning. It’s giving us a chance to help truly effectively,” comments Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart of the Polish Medical Mission.

Reports of an already agreed ceasefire between Hamas and Israel have raised hopes that the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip will finally receive an adequate response. So far, aid on the ground has been hindered. In the last quarter of 2024 alone, the UN made 165 attempts to enter the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and Israel blocked as many as 149 of them. There were also cases of looting of convoys that were allowed to cross the border.

“In recent months, we decided that as long as the situation did not change, our aid in the Gaza Strip would be exclusively medical. We had no certainty that material aid could reach those in need on time,” comments Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart, Director of the Humanitarian Aid Program at the Polish Medical Mission.“Our doctors also suffer from a lack of supplies. Skills and knowledge alone are not enough if you don’t have disinfectants, sutures, or basic medications for chronic diseases.”

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Whether the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will also mean a broad opening of borders and safe access to basic goods will only become clear in the coming weeks. Such access is essential to begin an effective response to the humanitarian disaster on the ground. “Disaster” is an apt term, as the numbers are relentless: 9 out of 10 people in the Gaza Strip can be considered internally displaced persons, and as a result of the war and the destruction it caused, over 70% of Gaza’s residents live in camp tents. Even with a permanent ceasefire, many of them will have nowhere to return. The UN Satellite Center estimates that 69% of the buildings in the Gaza Strip are damaged.

“Even if the ceasefire holds, returning to a state of relative normalcy will take years,” comments Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart of the Polish Medical Mission. “Hospitals haven’t conducted planned surgeries in months; doctors only handled emergencies. People lost their homes, loved ones, and health. If opportunities arise, the Polish Medical Mission will certainly engage in providing prosthetics to those who lost limbs in this conflict.” According to the Gaza Strip’s Ministry of Health, 46,707 Palestinians have died since the escalation of the conflict (although research published in The Lancet suggests the number of victims could be as much as 40% higher). It is estimated that about 75–80% are civilian casualties. On the Israeli side, more than 1,700 people have died, nearly 50% of whom were civilians who fell victim to the attack on October 7, 2023.

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