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Gaza still recovering one year after Israeli attacks

Parent looks after his injured daughter in January last year

Staff at the Anglican Ahli Hospital in Gaza are still dealing with the after-effects of an intensive Israeli assault in January 2009.

USPG and other agencies sent emergency funding to the hospital, where bomb blasts blew out windows so that staff had to perform operations in the cold.

Since last year’s assault, the hospital has been reaching out to hard-pressed families who were already struggling to make ends meet.

Reporting on the situation in Gaza, the Diocese of Jerusalem said: ‘Life is an ongoing crisis for many. At Ahli Hospital, comfort and care provide relief and restore hope and faith in a community struggling to maintain civil order amid the ruins of last January’s conflict.

‘While we hope the world will continue to help Haiti, we also hope none of these people in Gaza will be forgotten as the urgency passes and extreme hardships remain.’

The diocese’s report continued: ‘With infrastructure, homes and businesses badly damaged, and severely restricted supplies getting through official border crossings, the goods that are available in Gaza’s markets are not affordable for most residents.

‘Families make tough decisions each day about how to feed family members. Sickness is prevalent, given substandard housing and a lack of sanitary water and facilities.’

Healthcare programmes expanded

Thanks to the support of agencies such as USPG, Ahli hospital has been able to maintain and expand a range of healthcare programmes, including a mobile clinic and a nutrition programme targeting children, the elderly and chronically-ill women.

The hospital also launched a new cancer-screening programme and a mental health outreach programme to deal with post-traumatic stress.

The report concluded: ‘We commend the hospital director and her staff for their ongoing heroism, love and care of their neighbours in Gaza.’

Due to increased global-sources of funding being directed at the Ahli Hospital, the Diocese of Jerusalem’s hospital in Nablus, in the West Bank, has experienced a short-fall in donations. Please support St Luke’s through USPG, and ensure that Palestinians facing hardships in the West Bank continue to receive high-quality healthcare.

Posted on 22.02.2010

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