By Lauren Rutledge | Senior Manager
Urgent Need
More than 2 million people in Gaza are facing an urgent health crisis and risk of famine, as ongoing hostilities and a blockade prevent food, medicine and other essential aid from reaching civilians.
One in five people in Gaza is facing starvation while truckloads of aid wait across the border, including 4 tons of medical aid from Americares.
Americares supports trusted partners in Gaza, with a history of providing health services to those in need. Already, since the hostilities escalated in October 2023, Americares has delivered 35 tons of essential medicine and medical supplies to Gaza, including enough medicine to fill more than 350,000 prescriptions. Americares has also supported medical care for over 43,000 patients in Gaza and supported mental health programs that have reached 16,000 people.
The medical aid Americares has staged at the border includes prenatal vitamins and safe birthing supplies, ready to deliver as soon as the blockade is fully lifted. Additional medical aid shipments, including shipments of antibiotics, pain relievers and desperately needed cancer medications, are in the pipeline.
“Health facilities in Gaza are running out of critically needed medicines and supplies, hindering the delivery of lifesaving health services. The blockade must be lifted immediately to save lives in this moment.”
– Deputy Senior Vice President of Emergency Programs Provash Budden
Background
Since Israel was violently attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, the ongoing hostilities have escalated, and the health care system in Gaza has collapsed. Due to shortages of electricity, medicine, equipment and personnel and attacks on health facilities, just 22 hospitals are partially functioning for a population of over 2 million people.
An estimated 1.9 million people are now displaced in Gaza — about 90 percent of the population. The blockade that’s prevented food and lifesaving medicine from entering Gaza since March 2025 is leading to malnutrition and a health crisis, and more than1 million childrenare in need of mental health and psychosocial support.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, more than 53,000 people have been reported killed and nearly 120,000 injured in Gaza, and The World Health Organizationreportsmore than 1,500 attacks on the health care system in Gaza and the West Bank. In Israel, 1,200 people were reported killed and more than 5,000 injured.
Our Response
Since the hostilities escalated in October 2023, Americares has ramped up aid deliveries, providing 35 tons of essential medicine and medical supplies to Gaza, including enough medicine to fill more than 350,000 prescriptions; supported medical care for over 43,000 patients in Gaza; and supported mental health programs reaching 16,000 people in Gaza.
Medicine ready to deliver: Americares currently has 4 tons of medicine and medical supplies staged in Jordan, including prenatal vitamins and safe birthing supplies, ready to deliver as soon as the blockade is fully lifted. Additional medical aid shipments, including shipments of antibiotics, pain relievers and desperately needed cancer medications, are in the pipeline.
Emergency funds: In addition to delivering medicine and medical supplies, Americares has awarded $775,000 in emergency funding since October 2023 to meet urgent health needs in Gaza. Funds have been provided for mental health support, medication and medical teams providing essential health care services in Gaza.
Mental health support: Americares continues to play a critical role in the response by funding desperately needed mental health services for children and adults in Gaza. Of our total emergency funding, Americares has provided more than $360,000 to provide mental health and psychosocial support services in Gaza. Combined, these Americares-supported efforts have reached more than 16,000 people experiencing the trauma of war and displacement.
Our current support for mental health provides recreational and arts-based activities for children and structured psychosocial support groups for adolescents and caregivers; mental health and psychosocial services through mind-body self-care workshops and support groups; and psychological first aid, crisis intervention, group therapy and remote counseling to people in Gaza through a hotline staffed by psychologists in the West Bank.
In Israel, Americares worked with multiple organizations after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack to meet physical and mental health needs. Americares funded medical equipment to support United Hatzalah volunteer emergency medical technicians, paramedics and physicians assisting people injured or displaced by the war and through HIAS, supported a mental health hotline and the distribution of household supplies and baby care items. Americares also provided funding to IsraAID, a non-governmental organization that responds to emergencies and humanitarian crises, to provide mental health support and child-friendly spaces for populations displaced within Israel due to the hostilities.
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