Dear Friends,

'I met a mother who was burning paper in order to boil water for her child. She was doing this because she had no milk - maybe she could fool her hungry baby with the warm water?'

'I found it very hard to see people suffering like this, especially the children.

At Islamic Relief we have decided that we have no choice but to deliver food to people - no matter what the dangers, and there are plenty of dangers in Gaza.

As aid workers we can not stand by and watch as people suffer - they have nothing and we have to do something to help them'.

Hatem Shurrab, Islamic Relief aid worker on the BBC (read more here)

PLEASE DONATE NOW - SAFE AND SECURELY - URGENT FOOD AND MEDICAL EQUIPMENT NEEDED!

PLEASE JOIN OUR FACEBOOK GROUP 'GAZA EMERGENCY' FOR LATEST UPDATES, VIDEOS AND PICS FROM OUR GAZA FIELD OFFICE. CLICK HERE

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42133062486



Whats happening NOW?

The pictures keep coming. The blood-spattered young faces, the glazed eyes, the limp small bodies.

The latest figures from Palestinian health officials say 205 children are among some 600 people who have died in the Gaza war. In the chaos, there are no statistics for how many are among the at least 2,900 injured.

As medics work flat out to save as many young lives as they can, child psychiatrists in both Gaza and southern Israel fear some children will never recover from the psychological damage done as the bombs, shells and rockets fall.

(BBC NEWS)


What HELP is needed in Gaza?

Gaza Strip hospitals remain in very short of supplies as part of the aftermath of the blockade of the territory which began 19 month ago, and thus they are not equipped to receive mass casualties. Hospital rooms are still overflowing and essential medicines are in short supply while anaesthetics are nearly all gone.  Hospitals and clinics are understaffed and unable to cope with the continuing high number of injuries as reported in an official statement from staff at the main hospital in the Gaza Strip.


What are Islamic Relief doing to help?

The IRPAL needs assessment team in coordination with MOH and other aid agencies in Gaza continually monitor and assess the urgent needs in the hospitals and primary health care (PHC) centres. So far, the hospitals are not capable of dealing with the increasing number of the causalities in short time. 50% of ambulances are depreciated due to lack of spare parts. "105 type of medicine are not available in MoH stores and also there is still shortage of 225 types of disposables"; said the Minister of Health in Gaza Strip. Considering the chronic medical needs resulted from the previous siege (for medical tools, equipments and medicine), now the needs became more urgent and more critical. 

WHO report shows that from the 27 hospitals in Gaza, 13 hospitals are managed by the MoH (capacity of about 1,500 beds) and the rest are private and NGO hospitals (about 500 beds capacity). From the 56 PHC centres in Gaza, 24 are assigned to work as emergency centres. The amount of fuel available within most of the hospitals will be enough for 1.5 days to 14 days with average of 5 days.

Currently, there are reports of major operations being carried out without any form of anaesthesia due to stocks running out while hospital generators are running out of fuel need to power them and the life saving machines they operate.  Only limited amounts of the emergency aid that has entered the Gaza Strip in past days has actually been distributed to the hospitals due to the logistical dangers posed by the airstrikes.

IRPAL will continue to do its best given the circumstances to restart its work in terms of conducting needs assessments, sharing findings/ coordinating plans of action with others locally, procuring/ arranging all needed logistics and distributing humanitarian aid.


Background information on Islamic Relief Palestine (IRPAL)

IRPAL main work is providing humanitarian assistance to the marginalised people through Emergency & Relief Programmes, Development Programmes (Education, Health, Livelihoods and Water) and Child Welfare Programmes.

IRPAL has a well established and fully functional office in Gaza City and has a network of 7 Field offices in Gaza and the West Bank through which IRPAL is able to promptly react to the emergencies. IRPAL also has a large well-stocked warehouse that allows it to provide immediate distribution and we maintain distribution points throughout the entire Gaza Strip.

Islamic Relief does not operate through partner organisations but has its own field offices on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank which ensures accountability, efficiency and reliability.

IRPAL was the first NGO to intervene in many major emergencies in the region (including Rafah 2003, Beit Hanoun 2005, Umm an-Nasir 2006 and the ongoing Gaza crisis of 2008).

IRPAL delivered aid to more than 500,000 people in 2008 as part of its Gaza Emergency campaign.

The office has established itself as the sole non-UN or Red Cross/Crescent agency that is able to provide immediate aid on the ground in the Gaza Strip.

IRPAL is renowned for its neutrality and transparency. The office maintains a strong internal auditing department in addition to its annual external audits and evaluations.

IR has worked in Palestine since 1994. IRPAL operates a long-running one-to-one orphan sponsorship programme which assists around 6,000 orphans and their families on a monthly basis. We have trained child protection staff and adhere to the NSPCC child protection policies.

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LATEST NEWS

Children hit hard as Gaza toll rises
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7814490.stm

Israel considers broadening Gaza attack
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/07/gaza-israel-conflict

Shopping for 'basic needs' in Gaza market
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7816623.stm

Palestinian aid worker killed in Gaza 
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=81110&sectionid=351021701

Gaza clashes spark 'major crisis'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7813671.stm

(This is how your donations are helping.. right now!)
BRITISH AID AGENCY DELIVERS FIVE TRUCKS OF URGENT MEDICAL AID TO Al SHIFA HOSPITAL GAZA
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/218894/123055448011.htm

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PLEASE HELP NOW!

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