Starved and under siege, Gaza is both a humanitarian catastrophe and a crisis for our humanity, say Bushra Khalidi, Lawrence Robinson and Awssan Kamal. Ahead of this week’s global food security summit in London, they set out how international law forbids cutting off food to civilians – and why only a ceasefire will allow the massive response Gaza needs to end hunger, both now and in the longer term.
The unfolding water catastrophe in Gaza
The current crisis comes on top of a long-standing struggle for water in Gaza – and demonstrates again how access to clean water is often one of the first casualties of conflict. Bushra Khalidi and Awssan Kamal set out six ways the destruction and obstruction of water supplies is having devastating short- and long-term impacts on civilians.
Why a “humanitarian pause” or “humanitarian corridors” are simply not the answer in Gaza
Why are Oxfam and other humanitarian organisations not welcoming calls for corridors, pauses and so-called “safe zones” to address the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza? Richard Stanforth and Magnus Corfixen explain – and set out why a ceasefire is the only credible solution.
Four ways women can help to end the Middle East’s water crisis
We know women have to be at the heart of designing and delivering the response to the region’s water problems, says Oxfam MENA’s Sally Abi Khalil. She sets out four principles for a fresh, feminist approach to managing water.
Five stages of healing: how we’re tackling gender-based violence in Gaza
In our second blog for this year’s 16 Days of Activism against GBV, Reem Frainah and Rawan Natsheh explain how one local organisation has developed a model that both supports individual survivors while looking to intervene more broadly to shift attitudes among men and communities
In so many places, women’s mental health has been neglected for too long. Here’s how we’re working with communities to change that
In a blog for World Mental Health Day, Julian Kosh looks at a pilot project to support survivors of abuse, trauma and cancer in Kenya and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. At its core is a ‘flexible funding’ approach that gives women’s rights organisations the freedom to test new approaches to mental health in the ways they think best
Pushing for peace in Gaza
Life-saving aid destined for water, sanitation and health care is being blocked from reaching Gaza. Alison Martin reflects on the impact of new restrictions as explained in our joint agency briefing. Last time I was in Gaza I was seven months pregnant and I left hoping that by the time my son was born, things might be better for babies …
Using tech for feedback and complaints in Gaza and the West Bank
Oxfam in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel is trialling the use of a mobile tool to collect, manage and respond to feedback. Nahed Natsheh outlines the benefits of using this technology. Using information communication technology (ICT) for data collection is not new to Oxfam in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel (OPTI), but we have never before used it …
Gaza is dying in front of everybody
Tim Holmes reports back on his recent visit to Gaza and reflects on the challenges people living there face in their daily lives. A powerful smell hit me as I entered Gaza a fortnight ago. Not the smell of burning tyres from the ongoing protests, or the tear gas that has been used in response, but the smell of raw …