The word from GAZA: AAI, ANERA speak to Congressional Staff
AAI hosted a conference call on January 5, 2009, with ANERA director in Gaza, Salah Sakka, and ANERA president Bill Corcoran here in D.C., who briefed Hill staffers on the conditions in Gaza, and the reality of a humanitarian crisis there. Salah Sakka was quite frank in his assessment of conditions on the ground:
“The IDF has taken over the entire Gaza strip. The Israeli ground forces have deployed around, as well as refugee camps. The Gaza strip is divided, and moving within the Gaza strip is very dangerous. Delivering humanitarian aid is very dangerous. There is no electricity or water. There are blackouts. Thousands of people have left their homes for safe shelter. There are approximately 5,500 being served by ANERA. An estimated 13,000 people have been displaced, and this number will rapidly increase. There is a lack of fuel, power; water wells are not working, either [because of] damage [to] infrastructure or it is too dangerous for people to do maintenance of the ground. Hospitals are working 24 hours a day. There is very little amount of fuel remaining there. The electricity in the hospitals cannot provide power to all services in the hospital. With regards to food, food is still a problem. Distribution continues to be difficult. ”
