Salim Oweis, a communication officer with UNICEF, has described the level of destruction, suffering and displacement in Gaza caused by the Israeli military operation as “way beyond what you can imagine when you’re looking at a TV screen or any digital platform”. 

After a recent visit to hospitals in Gaza he said conditions are crowded, with wounded and sick children “everywhere”. Some of the children have chronic illnesses such as cancer or other complicated conditions that require specialised care that is not available in Gaza’s hospitals. 

“You can see children and their families in hallways, being treated in hallways, waiting in hallways. The screams and the agony [are] very, very present there.”

UNICEF together with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Palestine refugee, UNRWA, are gearing up for a campaign later this month to vaccinate roughly 500,000 children against polio, which was recently detected in samples taken from areas in the middle and south of Gaza. Deadly Airstrikes Kill Hundreds & Polio Lurks the Land in #Gaza

Salim Oweis said:

“But, all this effort is really dependent on access of the vaccines and to the ability to distribute and administer those vaccines to children wherever they are around the Gaza Strip.”

Islanders in Orkney who meet in a vigil in support of the people of Gaza every Saturday from 1 to 2pm on the Kirk Green, Broad Street, also help to fund Hope and Play – an organisation which operates in the villages and refugee camps under occupation in the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip, and in Lebanon. It builds physical play spaces, offers learning opportunities, and provides trauma support for Palestinian children living in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. Most of these children are denied the core rights of hope and play because of who they are, and where they live.

Hope and Play Emergency support to Gaza

The scale of what we are currently witnessing in Gaza is unfathomable. Our focus is on emergency activities in Gaza, which we will continue to run until we are able to re-start our trauma programme and other regular activities. Read more about our Emergency Support to Gaza activities.

Orkney also had a visit by Diline, a Palestinian now living in the UK, who came to share her stories and love of cooking at an event held last Friday.

She then joined the vigil in Kirkwall on the Saturday where the islanders have been meeting for over 10 months calling for an immediate ceasefire, the return of all hostages , and the unhindered passage of humanitarian aid.

In the recent report from the relief organisation UNRWA, published 9th August 2024,  1.9 million people (or nine in ten people) across the Gaza Strip are internally displaced, including people who have been repeatedly displaced (some up to 10 times). Since 7th October 205 UNRWA workers have been killed.

UNOSAT published findings that estimate that 63 per cent of structures in the Gaza Strip are assessed as destroyed or damaged (severely, moderately or possibly).  Its latest findings showed an increase in damage and destruction of buildings across Gaza compared to its analysis from May. For example, the governorates of North Gaza and Rafah have experienced the highest increase in damage, with around 17,300 new structures damaged.  Following the Israeli military operation  in Rafah city (that started on 6 May), the total number of buildings assessed as damaged now stands at 13,237 structures, 76 per cent of which (10,100) have been newly assessed as damaged.  

The health system is barely functioning with 90 hospitals and health facilities no longer functioning at all.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, as of 7 August, at least 39,677 Palestinians have been reportedly killed in the Gaza Strip since 7 October. Another 91,645 Palestinians have been reportedly injured. As it is unknown how many people lie beneath the rubble of buildings the number who have been killed is an underestimate. Possibly 186 000+ deaths in #Gaza since Oct 7th 23

The islanders in Orkney extend a welcome to all those who wish to join them in their vigil on the Kirk Green, St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall on Saturday 10th August from 1 to 2pm.

Fiona Grahame