While the ceasefire has brought a sense of relief to the people of Gaza, the need for humanitarian assistance is critical, particularly during these winter months when most of the population is homeless.
MCC has provided waterproof tarps for 500 families in Gaza this winter, but much more assistance is needed. An official from the Palestinian Authority has estimated temporary housing for Gaza’s population of more than 2 million will cost $6.5 billion, even before long-term reconstruction begins.
Winds off the Mediterranean Sea are especially cold for those living in makeshift camps. The rain and the chilly temperatures at night can be miserable, says Seth Malone, an MCC representative for Jordan, Palestine and Israel.
*Names withheld for security reasons
Like 90 percent of the population in Gaza, Nael*, his wife and seven children have been displaced multiple times as they fled the Israeli military invasion. Their house was destroyed, so they eventually set up their shelter on a relative’s land in a remote area of central Gaza.
Nael built a shelter out of blankets and fabric to try and protect his family from the elements. When staff from Al-Najd Developmental Forum, an MCC partner organization, found Nael’s family late in 2024, they realized immediate help was needed.
“Life in their improvised shelter was grim,” says an Al-Najd staffer. “The family lived without sufficient food, a safe place to stay or protection from the elements. Rainwater seeped through the thin layers of fabric, further deteriorating their harsh living conditions.”
Al-Najd field workers gave the family a food basket and installed a durable, waterproof canvas tarp over a wooden frame for them. “For Nael and his loved ones, this intervention brought not only physical relief, but also a renewed sense of dignity and hope for the future,” reports the Al-Najd staffer.
Under the ceasefire terms, Israel is required to allow at least 600 truckloads of aid to enter Gaza each day of the initial six-week ceasefire, including 50 carrying fuel. Half of those trucks are supposed to go to Gaza’s north, which has near-famine conditions.
Despite numerous obstacles, MCC is diligently working to deliver food shipments to Al-Najd to support 4,000 families in northern Gaza. Since the ceasefire, many people are returning north to camp where their homes once stood. The food is funded from MCC’s account at Canadian Foodgrains Bank and includes matching funds from the Government of Canada and the Humanitarian Coalition.
“We are dedicated to meeting immediate needs and providing what we can to help people through the initial phase of recovery,” says Malone. “But the road to reconstruction is going to be long, and it’s an even longer road to peace and justice.”
*Only first names are used for security reasons.
Receiving food and shelter goes a long way toward helping people have hope for the future despite their suffering. MCC partner Al-Najd built a shelter for 21-year-old Ahmed*. He was caught in a bombing in December 2023, while on the way to the grocery store. Both of his legs had to be amputated.
Tragedy has since followed him. During his stay at the hospital, his wife and their young son and daughter visited him, but as they walked home, more shelling occurred. A driver, who lost control of a car in the chaos, hit and killed their young son.
After Ahmed was released from the hospital, he, his wife and daughter found a place to stay close to the Mediterranean Sea, where Al-Najd built a shelter for them.
“I can’t thank them enough,” he says repeatedly. “My wife, daughter and myself would have been soaked. They brought me covers, blankets, bedding. Thank God. May God reward them with everything good.”
Despite the calamities he and his wife have endured, Ahmed hopes to walk again with prosthetic limbs and get a job so that his wife no longer needs to be the sole provider.
“First and foremost, I wish the war would stop and our lives would change for the better and improve. We want to live. We are human beings. We want to live, by God, nothing more. We want to live.”
MCC’s advocacy staff is working with legislators and in collaboration with other humanitarian agencies to ensure a permanent ceasefire, to support a Palestinian-led reconstruction of Gaza and to champion new opportunities for peace and justice for both Palestinians and Israelis.
*Only first names of project participants are used for security purposes.
By Linda Espenshade for MCC
Mennonite Central Committee: Relief, development and peace in the name of Christ
Mennonite Central Committee is a global, nonprofit organization that strives to share God’s love and compassion for all through relief, development and peace. MCC is committed to relationships with their local partners and churches. As an Anabaptist organization, they strive to make peace a part of everything they do.
While some of those in Gaza may need relief, you negotiate to recognize the horrific atrocities committed by the Gazans against Israel. Many in Israel have also been displaced. The comments are couched in a tone of “Israeli invasion”, where is your concern for those butchered just for being Jewish. The people of Gaza voted for Hamas, they chose to live with the consequences of an evil regime. Choices have consequences.