The Ministry of Social Development in Gaza said, on Friday, that 94 families in the Gaza Strip have been affected by the Israeli bombing of the Strip, by 535 people, stressing that the occupation aggression increases the suffering of tens of thousands of poor families who depend on daily work.
The ministry’s spokeswoman, Aziza Al-Kahlout, stated in a press conference that the social development provided these families during the past days with 268 various assistance, with a total value of $26,100, of which $18,200 is cash assistance and $7,900 is non-cash assistance.
Al-Kahlout emphasized that the Israeli aggression comes in light of difficult living conditions and an applied blockade that has been in place for more than 16 years, as the majority of the population in the Gaza Strip suffers from many forms of deprivation that prevent them from obtaining their rights and perpetuates their poverty.
According to the Ministry of Social Development, the poverty rate in the Gaza Strip has reached 60%, and 64% of Gazans are food insecure, and the unemployment rate has reached 44%.
Al-Kahlout stated that the aggression increases the suffering of tens of thousands of poor families who depend on intermittent daily work due to the occupation’s attacks on everything. This makes them unable to provide for their families’ basic needs.”
He added, “What increases the suffering of the poor families who are exposed to the attacks of the occupation and the blockade are the WFP’s directions towards stopping food aid to poor families on the first of June, which will increase their food deprivation.”
Al-Kahlout continued, “The suffering of the poor in Gaza did not stop at this point. Rather, they suffer in light of the irregular and divergent periods of cash assistance disbursement to more than 460,000 individuals, or 80,000 poor families.”
He added that despite the occupation’s attack on the Gaza Strip, the staff of the Ministry of Social Development are present next to the owners of destroyed homes, the martyrs and the wounded in order to provide urgent and various relief, along with its partner institutions.
Al-Kahlout went on to say, “The process of distributing aid and counting the lives of those affected continues in cooperation with the various partner institutions, and the work teams in the child protection networks of the Ministry have provided psychological first aid services to children, women and the elderly.”
He added, “So far, it has provided various services at a value of about $20,000, and work is still going on in terms of inventorying and providing services,” calling on all international and human rights bodies to work jointly towards demanding international protection for children, women, and the elderly in accordance with international humanitarian laws and the provisions of agreements. international.
Al-Kahlout urged all international and local institutions to provide relief to those affected, and to strengthen the steadfastness of poor families due to the occupation’s aggression on the Gaza Strip, calling on the World Food Program (WFP) to work to stop its decision regarding depriving poor families of foodstuffs, which is scheduled for the first of June.
The partners of the World Food Program called for the need to work to mobilize international efforts to provide funding for the World Food Programs, calling on the European Union, the World Bank and the national authority to disburse cash assistance to poor families on a regular basis.