JERUSALEM (Jan. 7, 2009) — Save the Children continued to provide vulnerable communities in northern and southern Gaza with life-saving food supplies today, working before and during a brief cease-fire that brought little relief to families in need.

The agency delivered food parcels containing two-week supplies for households of up to 10 people in Khan Younis, Middle Camp and Rafah in the south. In the north, 100 families in the Bedouin camp of Umm Al Nasser received food parcels.

Donkey carts were used to deliver food parcels in Umm Al Nasser because truck drivers were afraid to venture to the area in their vehicles.

While a three-hour cease-fire allowed families the opportunity to leave their homes, Save the Children staff in Gaza reported that few had the confidence to do so.

"A three-hour window for delivering aid to an extremely frightened population is an insufficient approach to providing humanitarian assistance," said Annie Foster, Save the Children's team leader for the Gaza emergency. "More than 15,000 people have been displaced from their homes. One million people — more than half of them children — lack both water and electricity. After 12 days of conflict, families are faced with dwindling or little food and water, and few remedies to finding it."

Even before the latest outbreak of violence, 50,000 Gazan children were malnourished; more than two-thirds of all children suffered from vitamin A deficiency and almost half of children under age 2 were anemic. Lack of access to food, clean water and medical supplies exacerbates threats to children's health and well-being.

Despite the danger to staff and the people they are trying to reach, Save the Children has reached about 7,000 people, including more than 3,500 children, with food assistance since Sunday, January 4.

Save the Children is calling for a peaceful solution to the current crisis that endangers the lives of nearly every child in Gaza, and the lives of Israeli children in areas subject to attacks.  Save the Children is calling for a cessation of hostilities by all parties including air and ground assaults from Israel and rocket attacks from Gaza. The agency is also seeking free access for humanitarian assistance to allow aid agencies to provide much-needed relief to vulnerable children and help families access essential services.

On Dec. 31, Save the Children, which has worked in the region for more than 30 years, launched a $10 million fundraising appeal for Gaza as the humanitarian crisis deepened for thousands of children affected by the conflict. Of the 1.5 million people living in Gaza, a large majority of families are dependent on food aid from agencies like Save the Children.

DONATE NOW

Save the Children needs your support to help us meet the most critical needs of children and families in Gaza. Your donation will help us provide drinking water, improved sanitation, food distribution and other necessities.

Learn more

Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org) is the leading, independent organization creating lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. For more than 75 years, Save the Children has worked to improve the lives of children and their families through programs in health, education and economic opportunities, and during times of crisis and conflict. Save the Children USA is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, a global network of 27 independent Save the Children organizations working to ensure the well-being and protection of children in more than 100 countries.