THE CRISIS IN GAZA COVID-19 AND CONFLICT ARE HUGE CHALLENGES FACING THE PEOPLE OF GAZA BY DAVID O'HARE
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A member of staff from Caritas Jerusalem, a Trócaire partner, surveys the devastation in Gaza. Photo: Michelle Hough, Caritas
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he Gaza Strip is a narrow sliver of land, spanning 365 square kilometres (141 square miles), bordered by Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. Its two million residents, half of them under the age of 18, live in one of the world's most densely populated territories. Electricity is only available for about half the day, and many people do not have regular access to clean water. More than 70 per cent of Gaza's population relies on humanitarian aid to meet basic needs. For almost 14 years, Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on the entry and exit of goods and people to and from Gaza. The vast majority of residents do not meet Israel's stringent criteria for travel permits
REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022
and therefore have severely limited ability to travel outside the Strip, including for employment and education, or to visit or reunite with family members living in Israel, the West Bank, or farther afield. Gaza's inhabitants have also been subjected to four wars in the last 13 years in which thousands of civilians have been killed or forced from their homes, with homes and workplaces demolished. This has left a deep psychological impact on the children, women and men who call Gaza home. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to sweep across the Strip, with transmission made easy by the crowded living conditions and low number of vaccines available. During the
fighting in May 2021, the sole laboratory in Gaza that processes COVID-19 test results became inoperable due to damage sustained in an Israeli airstrike. BURDEN ON WOMEN The ongoing blockade and the COVID-19 outbreak have severely impacted Gaza's women and girls. They have led to increased caregiving and household responsibilities such as caring for sick family members and handling additional childcare demands due to the closure of schools and daycare centres. This, in turn, limits women and girls' access to services, including critical health services. Increased caregiving responsibilities
