In the wake of the Israeli operations in Gaza last December and January, thousands of families are struggling to cope with the loss of their homes, livelihoods and loved ones. ACTED is on the ground providing emergency services to those most in need.  

In the aftermath of this intervention, the population of Gaza is facing a devastating humanitarian crisis. The ongoing needs are immense. Thousands of homes need to be rebuilt, agricultural land rehabilitated, fishing boats repaired and irrigation networks restored. ACTED is on the ground working with local partners to provide cash assistance, access to fresh food and income to farmers whose livelihoods were destroyed in the Israeli military offensive.  

With direct losses estimated at over €140 million, the agriculture sector was one of the hardest hit. The military offensive completely destroyed tens of thousands of dunums of cultivated farm land, around 14,000 dunums of irrigation networks, over 10,000 beehives and nearly 80 wells. Over 35,000 cattle, sheep and goats, and over one million chickens and birds were killed. These heavy damages have placed many people out of work – the agriculture sector accounts for 12% of employment - and greatly reduced access to vegetables and other fresh foods.

Within days of the end of the offensive, and with financial support from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), ACTED was on the ground working with local partners to purchase fresh food from 350 small scale farmers throughout the Gaza Strip. Unable to sell their produce due to the security situation and cash shortages, these farmers were facing devastating economic losses as their produce began to perish. To provide emergency cash assistance to the very poorest, ACTED employed ten long-term unemployed people to package and distribute the food baskets. One of these beneficiaries had been out of work for 8 years. The cash for work beneficiaries distributed 1500 food baskets to poor families of over six members who had lost their homes and all their belongings in the military offensive.

At distribution centers in Northern Gaza and Gaza City districts, men and women arrived with donkeys and carts, or just a succession of children, to carry away trays of eggs, bottles of olive oil and bags of tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, cabbages, onions and potatoes. A beneficiary explained that in addition to five children, he now has to care for the widow of his son killed in the offensive, as well as her one-year-old child. “We really need this food,” he said, “but what I need most is a new home and work.”

The food distribution project is the first step in a long battle to rebuild the lives destroyed. ACTED intends to expand its operations in Gaza to increase food security and support local livelihoods through projects aimed at rehabilitating fishing boats and equipment, and providing income generation items such as small ruminants, home gardens and bee hives to the those most in need.

ACTED & Shelterbox

Les équipes d’ACTED ont déjà procédé à la distribution d’abris temporaires, mis à disposition par la Fondation caritative britannique Shelter Box Trust, pour 200 familles de la Bande de Gaza qui ont perdu leur logement. Cette opération participe plus généralement à un projet soutenu par USAID qui vise à venir en aide à plus de 600 bénéficiaires particulièrement vulnérables en leur distribuant des kits d’hygiène, des couvertures, des tentes ainsi que des ustensiles de cuisine.