Raising the voices of people living under bombardment in Gaza
Image: Motaz Azaiza, Gaza, January 2024
In late 2023, one month after a scale-up of aggression on Gaza, Ground Truth Solutions (GTS) and Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD) set about talking to people in Gaza to find out what the humanitarian situation looked like from their perspective. Access challenges for large agencies were well known, but how were communities been supporting each other? What does aid access look like to people on the ground, and what are people’s main priorities? What do they want the international community to know? Our research, combining surveys with discussions, is being shared globally and in the region to help inform humanitarian decision-making.
Millions of Palestinians have long struggled to live with dignity under occupation, facing coercive practices and political divisions. On 7 October 2023, Palestinian armed groups attacked multiple locations in Israel, killing about 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals. In retaliation, constant and indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza since 7 October has displaced 1.9 million people, or nearly 85 percent of the total population of Gaza, and attacks have continued as people have fled to seek safety.1 This comes on the heels of 15 years of near-complete closure of the Gaza Strip, multiple wars, and skyrocketing unemployment rates.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “no-one and nowhere is safe in Gaza,” with UNICEF calling it the most dangerous place on earth to be a child. Challenges for community survival and aid efforts are well-publicised. Frequent communications blackouts, border closures, severe access constraints, fuel shortages and insecurity have crippled humanitarian operations. The health system is on the brink of collapse, with more healthcare facilities out of action with each passing week.
International humanitarian law has been flagrantly and repeatedly ignored, with frequent attacks on schools, shelters, and hospitals. Hundreds of aid workers have been killed. UN special procedures experts urge that the Palestinian people are at grave risk of genocide.
Against this backdrop, the international community has been facing extreme conditions while attempting to deliver humanitarian assistance to the population, UN agencies and other international organisations expressing grave concern about their inability to deliver life-saving goods and services. This, in addition to the almost depleted economic and natural resources, forces Gazans to maximise self and mutual help and community-based initiatives, while the majority of the population is at risk of famine and disease.
Our work
In late 2023, Ground Truth Solutions (GTS) and Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD) set about talking to people in Gaza to find out what the humanitarian situation looked like from their perspective. Access challenges for large agencies are well known, but how have communities been supporting each other? What does aid access look like to people on the ground, and what are people’s main priorities? What do they want the international community to know? Our research, combining surveys with discussions, is being shared globally and in the region to help inform humanitarian decision-making.