Remembering older people in Gaza
21st December 2023
Alison Marshall, CEO at Age International, reflects on the situation facing older people in Gaza and the importance of efforts to resolve the conflict.
As we approach Christmas and a season of festivities for many, a time associated with hopes for peace, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza continues to confront us. After over two months of intense conflict, at least 20,000 citizens have been killed – many of them older people. Vital infrastructure lies in ruins, and essential services such as healthcare and telecommunications have all but collapsed.
Now Gazans face not only airstrikes and artillery attacks, but also starving to death. Many are dying through dehydration and disease. Many thousands more will die without access to life-saving support. Humanitarian organisations need to be able to distribute supplies safely and in meaningful quantities.
Around 110,000 older people live in Gaza. Yet, in so much of the news, older people are left out of discussions about emergency humanitarian support. They are a group in desperate need of the most basic supplies, such as food and clean water, medical assistance, as well as safe places to shelter. Getting this support to them is a matter of life and death.
Older people in Gaza have already endured many years of tension and challenge. The current situation is leading to increasing levels of trauma for all age groups. Nine out of ten older people in Gaza have at least one disability, which can make it harder to manage in a crisis. When advice was given to Gazans to flee the conflict areas, older people were least able to and were most likely to be in hospitals and residential care facilities that could not be evacuated. Furthermore, eight out of ten have long-term health conditions, and need regular medication to manage their symptoms and pain.
Age International is working with our local partners in Gaza on plans to deliver age-focused emergency support as soon as it is safe to do so. We hope to provide emergency shelters for older people and their families who have lost their homes. We also plan to provide medical assistance and care for those unable to leave their homes. And, we aim to provide mental health support, so that older people and their families can start to process the trauma.
One of our partners working in Gaza is ‘Juzoor for Health and Social Development’. Since the outbreak of hostilities, they have managed to respond to some of the needs of older people. But without new emergency supplies reaching the organisation, their ability to help is decreasing fast. Juzoor staff are still working around the clock to deliver what dwindling medical supplies they can to Gazans in need. Their commitment to humanity, their extraordinary resilience, and their courage in the face of adversity, is an inspiration to us all.
As we approach the end of 2023, and wish for a brighter year ahead, please hold in mind the older people of Gaza. Indeed, let's remember those older people throughout the world caught up in wars and disasters of all kinds. And in Gaza, please join us in our efforts as we continue to call on the UK Government to work for a ceasefire. A ceasefire is desperately needed so that humanitarian supplies can begin to reach all those most at risk – including older people.
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