The Red Cross has succeeded in getting its first truckloads of supplies into the Gaza Strip. Six trucks arrived into Gaza carrying drugs and disposable materials provided by the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

They include spare parts for ambulances as well as essential medical equipment such as blood-pressure machines, heart-rate monitors, patient ventilators, plastic sheeting, 322 food parcels and 350 hygiene parcels.

A Red Cross -chartered aircraft carrying enough items to cover the needs of 500 war-wounded people is due to leave Geneva for Tel Aviv and then on to Gaza without delay. A surgical team from Geneva is also expected to arrive in Gaza in the coming days to support the treatment in local hospitals of people wounded as a result of the conflict.

Mr John Roycroft, Secretary General, Irish Red Cross said that according to the Red Cross office in the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian situation remains alarming and amid fierce fighting, the Red Cross is moving swiftly to assist Gaza's hospitals, which were already overburdened before the sudden influx of casualties.

“Reports from Palestine indicate that over 310 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded, with 180 of them suffering serious injuries. Our Red Cross colleagues in Gaza say the situation in hospitals is chaotic. Medical teams have been dealing with a constant influx of wounded since 27th December and are stretched to the limit. They are completely overwhelmed by the number of people coming in with very serious injuries and further medical supplies are urgently needed,” he said.

Some neighbourhoods are reported to be running short of water, either because the water network was damaged in the attacks or because of power shortages.

The civilian population is living in fear as attacks continue. Civilian casualties, including children, continue to arrive in local hospitals.

One local Red Cross member described the situation at his home in Gaza: "We have nowhere to hide. We gather the children in the living room and sleep there on mattresses. We have to leave the windows open so that the glass won't break when bombs hit nearby. It gets very cold and the children cry when we hear the bombs exploding."

Long queues are forming in front of bakeries, and it is becoming more difficult to find certain food items. The price of fuel – used mostly to run private generators – has almost tripled in price.

Red Cross medical, water and sanitation specialists have visited Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The hospital currently treats most injured patients in the Gaza Strip. Its intensive care unit now has 43 beds. Once patients are in a stable condition or have been operated on, they are moved to other hospitals.

Shifa Hospital remains overcrowded and very busy, most windows in the surgical block and emergency room were shattered by bomb explosions at a nearby mosque. Water tanks on the roof were also damaged and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) plans to help repair them.

Other hospitals in the area are mostly depending on generators for their electrical power, as the regular supply is only available for a few hours a day. It is feared that the maintenance and repair of the generators could become a problem.

The International Committee of the Red Cross currently has eight international staff and about 65 local employees working in the Gaza Strip. However they have been unable to move freely inside the Gaza Strip due to the continuing attacks. The organization is in regular contact with both conflict parties and with hospitals and other public services.

Red Cross activities

• The main priority is to assist hospitals in Gaza. The organization has so far provided kits sufficient to cover the needs of 200 wounded persons as well as intravenous fluids.
• Three trucks carrying blood units, spare parts for hospital generators, and other supplies entered Gaza on 29th December.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross also succeeded in bringing five additional ambulances into Gaza for use by the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
• In the coming days the International Committee of the Red Cross will try to bring into Gaza additional medical items, including blood units, syringes, gauze and adrenaline, and two generators for hospitals.
• They are preparing for the possible deployment of additional staff, including a surgical team.
• Security permitting, Red Cross staff will visit Shifa Hospital in Gaza City this week to conduct a first-hand assessment of the situation there.
• It is exploring the possibility of bringing humanitarian assistance from National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies into Gaza.
• The International Committee Red Cross continues to cooperate and work closely with the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

Notes for Editor

The Irish Red Cross can arrange interviews with Mr Noel Wardick, Head of the International Department, Irish Red Cross

Contact: Dave Curtin 086 283 2123 or Pia Ward, Communications Assistant, Irish Red Cross 01 642 4612 communications@redcross.ie