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In the period following the beginning of hostilities in early October 2023, Oxfam has supported local partner efforts to distribute cash, food, and hygiene items to people in Gaza. In early 2024, Oxfam began working with our partners to provide clean, desalinated water from wells in southern Gaza with solar-powered pumps, trucking water to areas hosting displaced people, and installing latrines.

By working closely with our partners in Gaza, Oxfam has helped reach more than 776,917 people with humanitarian assistance.

Aid for families in Gaza

Cash

Since October 2023, Oxfam partners have distributed cash to 3,383 households (19,628 people). Our monitoring shows that recipients use the cash primarily to buy food, water, medicines, and hygiene items. Providing cash rather than goods respects people’s right to prioritize their spending based on their circumstances and preferences.

Food

• Oxfam worked closely with six partner organizations to procure and distribute 18,709 ready-to-eat food parcels, with items such as beans, peas, tuna, sardines, dates and dried apricots. These parcels supported 91,173 people. These parcels supported people in Rafah, Khan Younis and Deir el Balah areas of Gaza.
  
  
• Oxfam partners also distributed 31,207 fresh vegetable parcels (including tomatoes, onions, potatoes, lemons and peppers) to 187,242 people. The vegetables were sourced from farmers in the West Bank, Rafah, Khan Younis and Middle Area, and distributed by our partners Economic Social Development Centre of Palestine and Agriculture Development Association to displaced families and host communities in Rafah, Khan Younis, and Deir el Balah.
  
  
• Oxfam assisted 300 farmers in Khan Younis and Deir el Balah with essential agricultural inputs such as soil sterilizers and fertilizers, while two nurseries were given support packages consisting of a solar power system, small equipment such as kitchen tools, and raw materials for food processing. Three women-led food businesses were also given raw materials and small equipment to continue their production of affordable food.
  
  
• Oxfam and partners have provided cash and cooked meals to people from Gaza working in the West Bank, or there temporarily receiving medical treatment. Many have been stranded there for many months. Oxfam provided meals to these workers and patients, reaching 227 people, each receiving two to three meals a day. Oxfam and Rural Women’s Development Society distributed $200 cash grants to 421 stranded patients and their companions.
  

Water, sanitation, hygiene

Since October 2023, Oxfam and partners have delivered life-saving water and sanitation services to 587,136 people.

• We supplied water by truck to people in Gaza City, Middle Area, Khan Younis and Rafah, reaching 152,213 people.
  
  
• Oxfam managed to bring in five desalination units which were installed at wells across Rafah, Al-Mawasi, and Khan Younis in coordination with Palestinian Environmental Friends (PEF). The units operate with solar power for six hours daily, providing three liters of clean drinking water per person per day, reaching 48,422 people.
  
  
• Oxfam, together with Gaza’s Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, rehabilitated 15 damaged water networks in Gaza City, the Middle Area, and Khan Younis. This has given 309,129 people access to water. Damaged wastewater networks in 23 sites were also rehabilitated, supporting 143,000 people.
  
  
• Oxfam supplied latrine slabs, latrine superstructures, tap stands, and handwashing stations that enabled partners to build 216 latrines that supported 27,107 people.
  
  
• Together with partners PEF and Palestinian Medical Relief Society, Oxfam distributed 6,407 hygiene kits and 12,136 jerry cans and Oxfam buckets, supporting 62,802 people. The kits included items such as soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, menstrual pads, toothbrushes and toothpaste. Alongside supplying the kits, partners ran campaigns to inform communities about basic hygiene practices.
  

Protection

As part of our psychosocial support response, with a specific focus on psychological first aid, Oxfam partners conducted awareness-raising sessions for 5,040 adolescent girls in the south of Gaza. The sessions provided adolescent girls with a space to share their needs and concerns about risks they face, including support for survivors of gender-based violence.

Other protection work carried out by Oxfam partners included:

• Identifying and registering unaccompanied and separated children in health facilities and shelters in Rafah. The children, especially those who were exposed to heightened safety risks, were referred to relevant services.
  
  
• Distributing assistive devices to 227 people with disabilities, and personal and medical supplies to 335 people with specific needs in Rafah.

Oxfam and PEF distributed 12,775 female protection kits, including clothing, such as head scarf and dresses, and personal hygiene and self-care items, such as deodorant, menstrual pads and baby wipes. The kits were distributed to the same people who received hygiene kits.

Advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza

In the United States, Oxfam is working with allied organizations to urge the U.S. government to support an immediate permanent ceasefire as essential to preventing further civilian loss of life, the immediate return of all hostages, and delivery of humanitarian aid. Nearly 1 million people in the United States signed a petition delivered to the White House in late November 2023 that urged President Biden to help end the fighting.

“We need a permanent ceasefire in order to enable humanitarian organizations to deliver much-needed aid safely and securely,” said Scott Paul, Oxfam’s associate director of peace and security. He called for “an end of the siege of Gaza, full humanitarian access, and the safe return of all the hostages to Israel.”

Ceasefire now: Sign the petition

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• Join Oxfam in urging the Biden administration to stop arms transfers to Israel, prioritize a permanent ceasefire, secure the release of all remaining hostages, and allow unimpeded access for humanitarian aid to reach the civilians who need it right now.
  
  
• Learn more: For updates on the situation, visit the UN OCHA website.
  
  
• Donate to our Gaza and Israel Emergency Appeal.

Oxfam's position on the conflict

We condemn all attacks, violence, and targeting of Palestinian and Israeli civilians. Attacks that deliberately target civilians are never justifiable. Parties to the conflict must respect international law and return all hostages. We have witnessed the deadliest day for civilians in the history of modern Israel and the deadliest year in the West Bank since UN records began. The protection of all civilians is paramount.

We call for an immediate ceasefire. Civilians are experiencing unimaginable suffering. Israel is entitled to defend its people against armed attacks. It also has a duty to ensure the safety of people under occupation in Gaza. The cycle of violence must end in order to bring real security for Palestinians and Israelis.

Humanitarian aid and commercial goods must be allowed to flow, in safety, to those people most in need. All humanitarian operations are effectively frozen during hostilities. Ordinary civilians are bearing brunt of the violence and are cut off from vital humanitarian aid, basic commodities, and public services.