Sunbula Newsletter
Issue #7, January 2008
Crisis in GAZA
Dear friends of Sunbula,
It is with a heavy heart that we started the year 2009. The Gaza Strip, which had been suffering from the extreme shortage of fuel, food, and other essential goods for many months under the Israeli , came under the military operation of an unprecedented scale on December 27, 2008. This has resulted in approximately 700 deaths and more than 3000 injured as of January 8, the 13th day of the operation.
People of Gaza has been living in the horror of relentless attacks from land, air and sea, and under what the international aid agencies call ''. They lack fuel and heat while trapped in the tiny territory where nowhere is safe, including UN-administered shelters. Many people do not have access to water, as the water and sewage system is on the verge of collapsing due to the lack of fuel and spare parts. Hospitals are inundated with the injured while their power and medical supplies are far below adequate. Movement within the Strip is extremely dangerous, preventing workers and engineers to reach sites to repair damages, health workers to report to work, and aid agencies to deliver food hand-out, on which more than half of the population survives.
Sunbula's two partner organizations -- and -- have been closed since the attack began. It has been very difficult to reach them due to the destruction of communication infrastructure in the Strip, but we finally heard from Atfaluna on January 7th.
 |
 |
"...The situation remains extremely difficult as you probably know. We haven't had
electricity for 8 days in a row, people are standing for hours to get food and
water. We are still unable to go back to work because of
the continues air strikes. Atfaluna building was severely damaged due to a huge
bombing next door, almost all windows got shattered, luckily there was no fire. I attached some pictures... We haven't been able to get any threads or fabrics for more than six months
now... Let's hope for this situation to end
soon."
Mohamed Elsharif
Executive Director of |
We would like to keep you posted on our Gaza partners as more information comes in, and will be exploring ways to help them recover from losses and damages.
In the meantime, for those who wish to give immediate support to humanitarian operations in Gaza, here is a link to (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), the largest humanitarian and relief agency in the region.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Gaza.
