Scottish Catholic aid agency says help is needed quickly after Gaza ceasefire
LEICESTER, United Kingdom – After a tentative ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, aid workers are hoping to have better access to the battled population in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza, attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking over 200 more as hostages.
Since that time, Israel has launched a war against Gaza, where the health minister says over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed.
A three-phase deal was negotiated last week by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, and 33 Israeli hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are scheduled to be freed over the ceasefire’s 42-day first phase.
“This ceasefire is the news we’ve been waiting and praying 15 long months for,” said Lorraine Currie, the chief executive of SCIAF, the international aid agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland.
“As we’ve said before, Palestinians have been starved, with the vast majority of much-needed humanitarian assistance blocked from reaching them for well over a year now. Hospitals have been raised to the ground and people’s homes and livelihoods decimated. Families too have been ripped apart,” she said.
“This welcome ceasefire gives us the chance to get aid in – and without delay. We also welcome the beginning of the release of Israeli hostages, back to the embrace of their families and hope this process continues,” Currie continued.
The situation in the Middle East has become more interesting with the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. He was inaugurated on Monday.
Trump says he is a strong supporter of Israel, and lifted sanctions imposed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden. However, even before he took office, Trump pressed Israel to take the peace deal with Hamas.
The new president has also pledged to deliver peace to the Middle East, and is pushing Saudi Arabia to align with the Abraham Accords, under which the United Arab Emirates and other Arab countries forged ties with Israel during his first term. However, the Saudis have said they will only join if an authentic road map is made to give true freedom to Palestine.
“SCIAF calls for all parties and international actors to re-double their efforts towards a two-state solution, underpinned by international law,” Currie told Crux.
“On behalf of all the innocent people caught up in this war, we cry for peace and the ceasefire to hold. We call on international partners and those on both sides of the conflict to work towards this solution so that peace and reconciliation can begin,” she said.
“The Holy Land needs a strong and lasting peace where all its citizens are recognised as equals and can live their lives with dignity and respect,” Currie continued.
Even after the peace deal in Gaza, violence has happened in the West Bank, where Israel still holds much authority and as established many settlements.
“In the West Bank, life has been increasingly difficult for Palestinians. It’s a life under occupation, with a backdrop of war. There has been an increase in violence and human rights abuses, many Palestinians have been jailed without trial and settlers have continued to take control of land – at least 43 illegal outposts have been established since October 7, 2023,” Currie told Crux.
She noted the Israeli people suffered a horrific during the 2023 attack, “and this has had a profound effect on them.”
“It has also been extremely traumatizing for the hostages who were taken and their families, trying to get on with life, not knowing if their loved ones are alive or dead,” she said.
“Many Israeli soldiers and some civilians have also been killed and whole communities displaced from their homes, particularly in the north as a result of the conflict with Hezbollah,” she added.
Currie said SCIAF is trying its best to support the people in need, but added the “levels of devastation and need are enormous.”
“Even with a ceasefire, there will be challenges in the delivery mechanism of food and aid. The infrastructure of Gaza, including roads, has been severely impacted by the bombing over 15 months, so there will be challenges ahead,” she told Crux.
The all-but flattening of Gaza has impeded the roads and areas in the North of Gaza remain very hard to reach and some areas remain totally cut off. The winter weather may also present problems. At the moment, there is no functioning government to co-ordinate the aid effort,” she said.
She said looting is also a possibility, “as quite simply the people are desperate.”
Currie said healthcare in Gaza is in a crisis – half of their hospitals have been destroyed and the others are only partially functioning and many medical staff killed.
“It will be challenging to provide aid in these circumstances, but it can be done via mobile clinics etc. SCIAF has been working with the local Caritas who have had mobile clinics in the north for the last 15 months to deliver essential health care and other essential aid such as food, tents, water etc. We welcome the ceasefire so as we can work closely with our Caritas local partner to begin to scale up their health and aid responses,” she said.
She also lamented the fact two laws are about to be enacted by the Israeli Government at the end of January to ban UNWRA, the United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees.
“UNRWA provides what aid it can to 1.2 million people; its complex network represents 60 percent of the aid imported into Gaza each month. It remains the backbone of humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza and the West bank and the wider Middle East regions,” Currie told Crux.
“Other humanitarian actors are not as large and rely heavily on UNWR’s knowledge and experience of the region, infrastructure and coordination abilities to ensure aid is delivered in a timely, efficient and humane manner. The banning of UNWR will really delay the delivery of aid into Gaza considerably and with the population on the brink of Famine this could have catastrophic consequences,” she said.
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