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We Will Never Falter
For 56 years, every Palestinian in Gaza has lived under a military occupation, the last 16 under a blockade prohibiting freedom of access to the land, water, and air that surrounds them.
The renewed bombardment of Gaza, that began on October 7, 2023, precipitated mass deaths, the displacement of 1.9 million people and forced enormous need on the entire population. Help was near impossible to secure given a siege imposed with military force.
UPA faced its own crisis: how to protect our 15 staff and their families who were themselves now internally displaced persons (IDPs), while continuing our life-saving programs.
We stayed the course.
Our 45-year emergency preparedness strategy kicked into high gear within 72 hours. Our roots in local communities enabled us to support individual people and hospitals in Gaza through long-standing agreements with local suppliers. UPA executive director Saleem F. Zaru went in person to the region to establish new partnerships to facilitate the transport of UPA shipments to Gaza through Egypt and Jordan.
Palestine’s UN envoy Riyad Mansour described the need this way on December 8th: “Millions of Palestinian lives hang in the balance. Every single one of them is sacred, worth saving.” UPA’s work was critical to 192,800 of those people.
UPA Reach Between October 7th and December 31st
DRY FOOD PARCELS
11,500 people
FRESH FOOD PARCELS
35,000 people
DRINKING WATER
5,700 people
HOSPITAL SUPPORT
24,800 patients
WINTER CLOTHES PROGRAM
4,500 people
CLINICAL SERVICES
40,500 patients
PSYCHOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES
54,000 children
HYGIENE AND DIGNITY KITS
16,800 people NORTH GAZA
GAZA
DEIR AL BALAH
KHAN YOUNIS
RAFAH
GAZA STRIP 11