Geneva, 7 April 2024: It's been six months since the horrific day of violence in Israel. It’s been almost six months (and counting) of ever-escalating violence in Gaza, where the situation is desperate, and worsening. 

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has supported both Magen David Adom (MDA), in Israel, and the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) through months of catastrophic and ever-escalating violence and hunger.  

Our calls 

We take no side other than the side of humanity. This means:  

• Unhindered access for aid into, and to all parts of, the Gaza Strip – including the north. We welcome recent news that the Erez Gate/Beit Hanoun crossing will be reopened. This reopening needs to be permanent and lead to a massive increase in aid deliveries.  
• The protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, healthcare workers and their facilities.  
• The unconditional release of all hostages.  

Our losses   

Since October, the IFRC has lost 18 members of our network. Fifteen staff members and volunteers of the PRCS have been killed and 3 from MDA, the IFRC’s National Society member in Israel. These deaths are devastating and unacceptable. Humanitarian workers should always be protected.   

Facilities too have been destroyed. Both PRCS-run hospitals, Al Quds in Gaza City and Al Amal in Khan Younis, were forced to close after coming under bombardment, costing the lives of patients and denying care to thousands more.    

Our work   

And yet, despite the challenges and awful circumstances, the PRCS has continued to bring life-saving aid to people in Gaza. This has included: 

• Establishing 14 camps, providing shelter to 5,100 families (about 30,000 people). 
• Treating nearly 20,000 casualties, establishing medical points, and providing community health services and psychosocial support to almost 200,000 people. 
• Helping to distribute aid, even though not nearly enough has been allowed into Gaza. 

Meanwhile, MDA in Israel: 

• Has mobilised more than 10,000 staffers and volunteers, answering more than 20,000 calls with 2,300 emergency medical vehicles.  
• Continues to be at the forefront of the humanitarian response in Israel through its emergency medical services, blood and human milk collection services, and ongoing support to evacuated communities. 

Enough is enough 

The situation in Gaza is dire.  Humanity has been all but abandoned.   

Famine is imminent. Healthcare is close to non-existent. Hostages remain imprisoned. 

It’s against such a backdrop that the Secretary General of the IFRC makes the following appeal.   

Jagan Chapagain says:   

"The current humanitarian situation for the civilians in Gaza is beyond catastrophic. Millions of lives are at risk of hunger. An urgent and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid must be ensured to reach those in need. Not tomorrow, but now.” 

Six months is an awful milestone. We must reflect. And demand change. 

Contact information: 

For more information or to request an interview, please contact: [email protected] 

In Beirut: Mey El Sayegh, +961 03 229 352 

In Amman: Nicole van Batenburg +962 7 9998 2327 

In Geneva: Mrinalini Santhanam: +41 76 381 50 06; Andrew Thomas, +41 76 367 65 87