Dear Friend,

A little boy clings to his mother's body, trembling, tears running down his cheeks. ""Hide me, Mom. I'm scared,"" he cries as a bomb, just blocks away, shakes their apartment building and reverberates through the silence of the night. Briefly, they're able to see neighboring buildings from the flash explosion – otherwise there is complete darkness from the nightly blackouts. Terrified, the mother tries to calm him, praying that their building isn't next.

This is the reality of one family last night in the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.

Although international media has been largely silent, we have been in contact with our partners [ [link removed] ] and allies in Gaza over the last few weeks and wanted to share with you what we've learned.

*There have been nightly airstrikes [ [link removed] ] by the Israeli military for the last 10 days. *
* Gaza's sole power plant can only produce four hours of electricity per day for a population of two million people because the Israeli military shut off fuel supplies [ [link removed] ].
* Israeli authorities have shut down the only commercial crossing to Gaza freezing all access to basic supplies, food, and medication.
* There is a full closure of access to the sea [ [link removed] ]. Palestinian fisherfolk are unable to fish for food for their families and communities. People who may want to walk on the shore to escape the oppressive heat (especially now that they're unable to run fans due to the outages) risk being targeted by Israeli snipers.


*Gaza is facing a human-made catastrophe [ [link removed] ] of epic proportions* – *on top of fears that the COVID-19 pandemic will spread throughout the besieged territory. *
* Ventilators and incubators keeping COVID-19 patients and newborn babies [ [link removed] ] alive are at risk of stopping.
* Insulin is going bad because of lack of refrigeration.
* Chronically-ill patients are unable to receive dialysis treatments and face liver failure.
* Hospitals have had to cancel all surgeries (including cesarean births) and are ill-equipped to deal with emergencies and the wounded.
* Sewage treatment plants are unable to operate, which can lead to other epidemics.
* Drinking water supplies will be interrupted for long periods.


All of this is happening and all of this is completely preventable. This humanitarian catastrophe can be attributed to one source – the Israeli occupation, backed by US taxpayer dollars and military support.

As people of conscience, our hearts break as we hear more and more stories of suffering and pain in the name of the occupation.

We are asking all of you to hold Gaza in your hearts right now. We are diligently working with our partners and networks to figure out the best ways to show our support and solidarity with Gaza. For the time being, we wanted to be sure to share the important stories and information we are hearing from the ground.

*If you would like to remain connected to what is happening in Gaza and how you can take action, please sign-up for our **Palestine Support List* [ [link removed] ]*.*
" [ [link removed] ]"

In solidarity,

Chung-Wha Hong
Executive Director


P.S. To continue receiving updates on this situation as it unfolds, please sign up for our Palestine Support List [ [link removed] ].