Gaza and West Bank Response Log | May 2025
by Anera
In this log, Anera provides updates on unfolding war in Palestine and our response. In some cases, additional activities may be added retroactively to the daily entries as we receive additional program reporting.
May 14, 2025
How do you help when there’s nothing left to give? With high energy biscuits and lipid-based nutrient supplements no longer available as the siege grinds into a third month, our health and nutrition staff are getting creative to find ways to continue supporting children and pregnant and nursing women even as supplies are exhausted. Working with a shared urgency, our multidisciplinary team sought an alternative with ingredients still at hand – and hit upon utilizing date paste to make date balls. Crafted by our nutritional experts, the sweet morsels provide an alternative form of nutritional support. Today we prepared and served 500 plates of the date balls to 214 children, pregnant women and mothers of infants. Each portion provides approximately 420 calories, including 115 grams of carbohydrates, and a rich supply of natural sugars, fiber, potassium, magnesium, and iron. Our team is determined to demonstrate that even when traditional relief supplies are exhausted and scarcity becomes pervasive, our commitment to reaching the most vulnerable continues.
And in Khan Younis, our field primary healthcare center hosted wound management, general surgery, dermatology, gynecology, and on-site and shelter-visit physiotherapy clinics, seeing 407 patients. Yesterday, the center operated wound management; ear, nose and throat; internal medicine; deworming; nutrition; noncommunicable disease; and physiotherapy shelter visit clinics, serving 381 patients.
May 13, 2025
With support from a private family foundation, we made and distributed date pastries to children today.
In Deir Al Balah, through these first 13 days of the month of May our field primary healthcare center hosted wound management; pediatric; gynecology and obstetric; dermatology; internal medicine and noncommunicable disease; ear, nose and throat; orthopedic; therapeutic nutrition; and general surgery clinics, providing treatment to 1,689 patients.
May 12, 2025
In the last three days, we have provided 2,024 families in Qarara area, Mawasi, Khan Younis with parcels containing yeast and salt. These items are the only food items left in the World Food Programme warehouses. We no longer have cooking oil to distribute. Many people expressed frustration to us that only yeast and salt remain. We await the urgently-needed reopening of the crossings to allow us to resume distributing proper food parcels to mitigate the collective hunger and starvation.
And at our mother and child health clinics, supported by Americares, we continue to provide maternal health, pediatric and general medical services, seeing 285 patients since Saturday. In response to rising demand, we also introduced breastfeeding counseling and mental health and psychosocial support for children and pregnant and nursing women. We diagnosed seven children with moderate acute malnutrition and 32 women with malnutrition. We also distributed 1,675 feeding and therapeutic nutritional items. The new mental health and breastfeeding counseling services enhance our integrated approach to maternal and child health, ensuring that both physical and emotional well-being are addressed in a safe and supportive environment.
And we are very pleased to have successfully retrieved critical zero-stock medications today from our medical aid distribution center. Despite the extreme danger due to ongoing military operations, we made the trip to the center to access our remaining supply of medications, enabling us to continuing treating our patients. This mission was risky, but we were driven by the urgent needs of our patients and our duty to save lives.
May 11, 2025
Today, our field primary healthcare center in Khan Younis hosted wound management, laser therapy, urology, physiotherapy (including tent visits to patients at their place of shelter), and nutrition clinics, serving 200 patients. And yesterday, we hosted wound management, dermatology, internal medicine, deworming, noncommunicable disease, and shelter-visit physiotherapy clinics, seeing 501 patients.
And in Gaza City on just its second day of operations, our field primary healthcare center hosted wound management; orthopedic; general surgery; and ear, nose, and throat clinics, serving 187 patients.
Today, with support from Dubai Cares, Anera’s team in the south of Gaza distributed 39,626 gallons [150,000 liters or 150 cubic meters] of potable water to 50,000 people and 1,800 hot meals, helping to feed 5,400 people.
May 10, 2025
Today, we have opened the Gaza City branch of our field primary healthcare centers. In our first day of operations at the new center we hosted wound management, internal medicine, pediatric, and urology clinics, seeing 133 patients.
With support from a private family foundation, Women Can participants have baked pastries which we have distributed to malnourished children at the Friends of the Patient Hospital.
Today, with support from Dubai Cares, Anera’s team in the south of Gaza distributed 36,192 gallons [137,000 liters or 137 cubic meters] of potable water to 43,333 people and 1,800 hot meals, helping to feed 5,400 people. The team in the north distributed 23,776 gallons [90,000 liters or 90 cubic meters] of water to 30,000 people.
May 9, 2025
No activities reported.
May 8, 2025
Today, with support from Dubai Cares, we distributed 34,342 gallons [130,000 liters or 130 cubic meters] of potable water to 43,333 people in the south of Gaza and 5,400 hot meals. And we distributed 23,776 gallons [90,000 liters or 90 cubic meters] of water to 30,000 people in the north.
May 7, 2025
With support from the World Food Programme, yesterday and today we distributed cooking ingredients to 3,494 families in the Qarara area of Mawasi, Khan Younis. The parcels contain only yeast, salt and cooking oil — the last remaining items in the World Food Programme’s stores.
Today, with support from Dubai Cares, we distributed 44,909 gallons [170 cubic meters] of potable water to 56,667 people in the south of Gaza and 5,562 hot meals. And in the north we distributed 21,134 gallons [80,000 liters or 80 cubic meters] of water to 26,667 people.
May 6, 2025
Yesterday, our World Food Programme-supported food assistance continued distributing remaining food stuffs in the Qarara area in Mawasi, Khan Younis. This was the second day of distributing yeast, salt and cooking oil to 1,185 families. These parcels lack flour or any other grain. However, the ingredients are still valuable as families can use them to prepare any remaining flour that they have.
”This is a very valuable parcel in such difficult times,” one recipient told us. “Oh my God, cooking oil — and five kilos of it [approximately five liters]. I am so happy,” another said. Others told us that the yeast is good but they need flour. Our program teams continue to communicate to recipients that these are the only remaining food items we have left as the total siege has endured now for 66 days.
Our health clinics continue to operate. Over the last three days, our Americares-supported mobile clinic has provided critical health and nutrition services to displaced families with very limited access to healthcare, seeing 439 people, including maternal and pediatric health services. We diagnosed one child with severe acute malnutrition, 15 children with moderate acute malnutrition and 46 women with malnutrition. These cases of malnutrition reflect an alarming rise in malnutrition and represent a clear sign that starvation has already taken hold among displaced families. We distributed 2,964 feeding and therapeutic nutritional items.
Today, with support from Dubai Cares, we distributed 36,984 gallons [140,000 liters or 140 cubic meters] of potable water to 46,667 people in the south of Gaza and 1,800 hot meals, helping to feed 5,400 people. In the north, we distributed 21,134 gallons [80,000 liters or 80 cubic meters] of water to 26,667 people.
May 5, 2025
We continue work on our Gaza City field primary healthcare center to prepare the space to open to patients.
Also today, we continued delivery hot meals prepared by our community kitchens to displaced families in southern Gaza.
With support from Dubai Cares, we distributed 42,268 gallons [160,000 or 160 cubic meters] of potable water to 53,333 people in the south of Gaza and 5,460 hot meals. We also distributed 200 jerrycans and 600 boxes of soap, with support from UNICEF. In the north, we distributed 18,492 gallons [70,000 liters or 70 cubic meters] of water to 23,330 people.
May 4, 2025
Today, our field primary healthcare center in Khan Younis operated wound management, urology, orthopedic, nutritional, physiotherapy, and laser therapy clinics, seeing 258 patients. Yesterday, we hosted wound management, internal medicine, dermatology, deworming, noncommunicable disease, and physiotherapy visits to patients in their places of shelter, seeing 510 patients.
Also today, our World Food Programme-supported food distribution project continued in Qarara area of Mawasi, Khan Younis. We provided yeast, cooking oil and salt to 830 families. The current market price in Gaza of each parcel of these basic food items is $278 — an astronomical sum. The items in these food assistance parcels are nutritionally unbalanced and deeply inadequate, but we are distributing all remaining ingredients to provide families with whatever calories are left.
With support from Dubai Cares, we distributed 39,626 gallons [150,000 liters or 150 cubic meters] of potable water to 50,000 people in the south of Gaza and 5,505 hot meals. In the north, we distributed 15,850 gallons [60,000 liters or 60 cubic meters] of water to 20,000 people.
May 3, 2025
Today, with support from Dubai Cares, we distributed 39,626 gallons [150,000 liters or 150 cubic meters] of potable water to 50,000 people in the south of Gaza and 7,410 hot meals. With support from a private family foundation, we distributed 1,200 date cookies (ka’ak) in the north. We also distributed 18,492 gallons [70,000 liters or 70 cubic meters] of water to 23,330 people in the north.
May 2, 2025
No activities reported.
May 1, 2025
Through our mental health and psychosocial support program supported by the READ Foundation, we hosted a session on resilience for parents with 30 mothers participating. The women were able to speak about the difficult situations they are facing, feelings of powerlessness, helplessness and desperation. Sharing such feelings and experiences can help the participants learn from each others and manage the stress.
In the last two days, 853 patients were served through our field primary healthcare center in Khan Younis. Today, we hosted wound management; ear, nose and throat; pediatric; orthopedic; urology; and physiotherapy (including home visit) clinics, seeing 422 patients. And yesterday (April 30), we hosted wound management; general surgery; gynecology; dermatology; and physiotherapy (including home visit) clinics, serving 432 patients. And our work on the new Gaza City healthcare center is nearing completion. Today we added some final touches — we’re almost ready to open our doors!
And over the past two days, the Anera mobile clinic has continued to provide essential health and nutrition services — including maternal healthcare, pediatric care and malnutrition assessments and treatment — to displaced families, serving a total of 369 individuals. We diagnosed five children with moderate acute malnutrition, and 31 women with acute malnutrition. We distributed 4,087 nutritional items.
With support from Dubai Cares, we distributed 39,626 gallons [150,000 liters or 150 cubic meters] of potable water to 50,000 people in the south of Gaza and 7,335 hot meals. And with support from a private family foundation, we distributed 1,200 ka’ak plates in the north.
>>> Read October 2024 – April 2025 of the Gaza and West Bank Response Log
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