Press Releases & Updates - Latest News - Oxfam Hong Kong
Skip to main content
Start main content

Press Releases & Updates

08 JUL 2015

Crisis in Gaza Update

It has been one year since the Israel-Gaza conflict began, yet the situation in Gaza remains desperate.The Israeli blockade of Gaza has now been in place for eight years. There has been virtually no reconstruction, permanent ceasefire or meaningful peace talks, and the blockade is still firmly in place. According to World Bank estimates, the blockade and enforced separation of Gaza and the West Bank have cost around US$3.9 billion to Gaza's GDP. People's livelihoods have been devastated; 80 per cent of people in Gaza are in need of humanitarian aid.

Latest Situation

  • None of the 19,075 destroyed homes have yet been rebuilt.
  • There remain 100,000 people who are displaced - living with relatives, rented homes, flimsy caravans, or sheltering in the rubble of their bombed homes. More than half of them are children.
  • About 300,000 children and youth are traumatised and need psychosocial support.
  • Overall, 43.9 per cent of people are unemployed - the highest rate in the world. It is even worse for youth - 67.9 per cent of under-24s are unemployed; 40 per cent of graduates are unemployed. Gaza's agricultural output declined by 31 per cent last year.
  • Since last year's temporary ceasefire, there have been at least six Palestinian rockets fired into Israel and at least 700 incidents of Israeli fire into Gaza.
  • There have been more than 300 incidents of Israeli naval fire at or towards Gaza's fishermen. There are now only around 1,000 active fishermen, compared to 10,000 15 years ago.
  • Communities in Gaza face power cuts of 12 hours every day.
  • Around 96 per cent of water from Gaza's aquifer is now unsafe to drink.

Oxfam’s response in the past year

  • Provided assistance to around 700,000 people throughout Gaza.
  • Provided emergency vouchers to help more than 50,000 families buy food.
  • Provided safe, treated water and sanitation to around 300,000 people.
  • Supported health centres and mobile clinics for nearly 80,000 people.
  • Worked with farmers and fishermen who are prevented from accessing their livelihoods.
  • Helped local producers improve the quality of their produce and provide them with access to markets.
  • Helped local civil society to advocate for their rights.
  • Campaigned for lasting peace and security for all civilians, and an end to the blockade.