Famine looms in Gaza, and nowhere is safe for civilians

It’s now been a year since the devastating attacks on Israel and the escalation of the conflict that has led to relentless and intolerable suffering in Gaza and the wider region

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Last updated 24 October 2024

What is happening in Gaza: the latest news

It has been one year since the attacks in Israel and the escalation of the conflict which has caused a devastating humanitarian crisis. On 7 October 2023, 1,195 people were killed in Israel and 251 taken hostage. 

Since then, more than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza and many more injured. Hostages are still being held, and innumerable survivors are traumatised. The picture today is catastrophic.

Summary of events 

• Conflict shows no signs of slowing and the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorates by the hour
• More than 40,000 people have died in Gaza, and a further 719 in the West Bank
• At least 97,000 people have been injured in Gaza and a further 5,500 in the West Bank
• The healthcare system is on the edge of collapse, entire neighbourhoods have been destroyed, and families have been torn apart
• In Israel, 1,195 died following the attacks on 7 October 2023. A further 5,432 have been injured
• Families of those held hostage in Gaza remain caught between hope and despair as they desperately await news of their loved ones
• Fighting has intensified in the wider region, particularly on the Israel-Lebanon border, where tens of thousands of people have been displaced.  

What is happening in Lebanon and Israel? The Lebanese Red Cross is responding

Palestine Red Crescent Society response over the past year

For the past 12 months, staff and volunteers from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) have been working tirelessly to provide life-saving support in Gaza. In the face of immense challenges, losses and risks to their own lives, PRCS has distributed 1.6 million emergency relief items, and supported over 345,000 people with health services as well as other vital support. Tragically, 21 PRCS colleagues have been killed in Gaza and the West Bank in the last year.

Gaza is unrecognisable, with homes, schools, and hospitals having been reduced to rubble. There is not enough food or clean water, and the healthcare system has all but collapsed. 

Almost every single person in Gaza, including our own staff and volunteers, has fled their homes. But there is nowhere safe left to go. 

Magen David Adom response since 7 October 2023

In the first moments after the attacks on 7 October, Magen David Adom mobilised 1,500 ambulances and over 10,000 first responders. Tragically, six Magen David Adom colleagues were killed while responding.

Over the following weeks, teams treated more than 4,000 patients and collected more than 192,000 blood donations. Magen David Adom continues to support communities, particularly those living near the borders with Gaza and Lebanon, by answering emergency calls and dispatching ambulances and paramedics. 

The plight of hostages remains a priority

The families of over 200 hostages endured months of terrible suffering, and for more than 100 hostages and their families, the ordeal continues. A year on, the plight of the hostages taken from Israel remains a priority and we call for their immediate and unconditional release.

The British Red Cross reiterates what the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said from the outset of the crisis: that those taken hostage must be released immediately, and the ICRC must have access to check on their health, the conditions they are being detained in, and their treatment.

The lack of access being granted to the ICRC is causing extreme distress and concern, particularly for families in Israel and beyond who have been desperately waiting for news.

How your donations are helping

Is aid getting into Gaza?

For months now, the Rafah border, a critical lifeline for humanitarian aid into Gaza, has been closed.

The Rafah border crossing was one of the largest and most important aid crossings and though some aid has continued to enter Gaza, the closure is exacerbating an already dire situation. Only a trickle of aid is reaching the area, leaving the PRCS teams in Gaza delivering lifesaving aid with much reduced resources.

We need safe, unimpeded, and sustained humanitarian access into and throughout Gaza. Land-based delivery through the south of Gaza remains the most effective way to deliver aid. These roads are the main arteries for aid delivery and so have the greatest capacity.

• Explainer: how is aid getting into Gaza?

Is there a famine in Gaza?

The lack of aid access has had devastating effects for the people of Gaza, who have endured critical food insecurity and face the prospect of famine.

The independent and internationally recognised Integrated Food Security Phase Classification warned in March that famine was imminent in the north of Gaza, and also possible later in the south in the worst-case scenario.

• Explainer: what is food insecurity and why it is a threat?

What's happening in the West Bank?

The rapidly deteriorating security situation and rising violence in the West Bank is deeply concerning - 2023 was the deadliest year in the West Bank in over a decade. 

According to UNOCHA, it has so far led to the deaths of more than 719 people, more than 5,500 injuries and the displacement of over 3,000 people due to the demolition or confiscation of homes and structures.

The violence in the West Bank could have irreversible consequences for communities. It has led to the loss of people’s land and livelihoods as some communities have been entirely displaced.

Movement restrictions, and thousands of square kilometres of unharvested olive groves have caused the complete closure of some cities and villages, and damaged the economy.

The violence has also re-displaced internally displaced people, with damage and destruction taking place in and around refugee camps.

Are any hospitals open in Gaza?

The healthcare system in Gaza has all but collapsed. Only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain partly functional.  

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) continue to provide health services despite immense challenges.

In Rafah, the ICRC has set up a 60-bed field hospital supported by 12 National Societies including the British Red Cross. Medical teams have performed over 14,500 consultations and 600 surgical procedures. Teams have also performed 3,500 surgical procedures at the European Gaza Hospital. 

Health workers have faced unimaginable challenges over the last year.

Since hostilities escalated, hundreds of medical and humanitarian workers have lost their lives while trying to deliver essential medical care and aid. This is unacceptable – medical facilities, health workers and patients, must be protected.

• More about the Red Cross field hospital in Rafah

Are people homeless in Gaza?

A million people have been forced to evacuate Rafah since the start of May, and people have been displaced up to six times. There is nowhere safe in Gaza for people to go, and nowhere that can adequately meet people’s basic needs.

Many have sought shelter in Rafah, having already been displaced multiple times along the way. Men, women and children have walked for days past horrific scenes of death and destruction, sometimes losing family members throughout the journey.

People are struggling to live with dignity in makeshift tents next to waste or sewerage areas; many are sleeping in the open, or trying to cover themselves with cardboard and scraps of wood.

Those able to find a space in a displacement camp have just one square metre per person. Many shelters lack sufficient ventilation and over half are soaked by water and rain - infectious diseases are spreading rapidly, and vulnerable people are dying.

Is there any clean water in Gaza?

There are acute shortages of water as 67 per cent of critical water infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed by the ongoing hostilities. Dehydration is making people extremely ill, with children the most vulnerable.

With no means of removing waste water, the overpowering stench of sewage, rubbish and mould is another reality of conflict in Gaza, along with hunger and dehydration.

Infectious diseases, such as vomiting, diarrhoea and hepatitis are spreading rapidly in Gaza, especially in the overcrowded areas where people shelter. Many of the elderly and sick are at greater risk of dying from these diseases.

How is the Palestine Red Crescent supporting people in Gaza?

The Palestine Red Crescent Society is working day and night, risking, and losing, their lives to deliver assistance. They are mandated to receive and distribute this aid to where it is needed most in Gaza.

In Gaza PRCS teams have:

• received over 22,000 trucks of humanitarian aid for distribution in Gaza
• distributed 1.6 million emergency aid items
• supported over 345,000 people with health services
• provided emergency medical support to over 100,000 people.

In the West Bank PRCS teams have:

• responded to 4,052 injuries
• delivered food parcels to 42,840 people

"We must always have hope": what it's like for Red Cross Red Crescent colleagues responding to the crisis in Gaza

How to help people in Gaza

The best way to help people in Gaza today is by donating to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Middle East Humanitarian Appeal.

When a major emergency occurs overseas, the DEC brings together 15 UK charities – the British Red Cross included – to raise funds for an effective, coordinated response. 

Donations to the DEC Middle East Humanitarian appeal will go towards supporting people who need it most, including in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank.

The DEC and some of its member charities are ready to expand their support in Israel if needed.

• Donate to the DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal

Map of Israel and the Gaza Strip

What is the British Red Cross doing for Gaza?

The British Red Cross is directly supporting our partners in the Movement – including the Palestine Red Crescent Society – to respond to these urgent needs, providing funding as well as expert staff.

We have also deployed logistics and managerial staff to the region to support with the delivery and distribution of aid and humanitarian assistance. 

We will do all we can to support people on both sides of the conflict for as long as we’re needed.

What is the Occupied Palestinian Territory?

The Occupied Palestinian Territory or OPT is an internationally accepted description, used by the United Nations. It refers to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem). 

What is the Gaza Strip?

The Gaza Strip is part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It is an enclave 25 miles long and six miles wide, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, Israel, and Egypt.

More on the crisis in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank

• Teaching resources on the Israel, Gaza and the West Bank conflict

• Teaching resources on International Humanitarian Law