Aid workers in Gaza are fighting for survival too

Almost no aid is getting into Gaza right now.

It’s a harsh reality for all, including humanitarian workers trying to survive themselves while providing much-needed assistance in the coastal enclave devastated by eight months of war.

An aid worker with Mercy Corps, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, told NPR he was originally from the southernmost city of Rafah, but had to flee to Khan Younis, just to the north, three weeks ago because of worsening conditions. He said most of the children in Gaza are suffering from both malnutrition and dehydration — including his own children, who have contracted diseases caused by contaminated water.

“My little child had diarrhea, which caused dramatic weight loss,” he said. “My younger child is suffering from stomach pain and keeps throwing up.”

The doctors suspect the child has hepatitis.

Another aid worker in Gaza, who also asked for anonymity for security reasons, said he’s been on humanitarian missions for a decade, including in Sudan, Iraq and Ukraine. He told NPR that Gaza is the worst he’s ever seen. He said he drove past a massive encampment recently with a makeshift cemetery next door.

What haunted him, he added, was the seven or eight freshly dug holes, ready for the next civilians to die.

Alarm Bells

Humanitarian groups continue to sound alarm bells, as deliveries of aid have been stalled because of rising security concerns in the Gaza Strip.

The U.N. said it would suspend aid operations unless more is done to protect humanitarian workers.

Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the World Food Programme, said the Israeli military needs to make conditions safer for them because the operating environment across the region has become “almost impossible” in the last