After 15 months of devastating conflict, a temporary ceasefire came into effect in Gaza on 19 January 2025. This means there is a pause in the conflict. This collapsed when Israeli forces resumed airstrikes on Gaza on 18 March, 2025. Hundreds of people have been killed, and many more injured. Hospitals are overwhelmed.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of Palestinians in the region, many of whom have just returned to their devastated homes, are on the move again, searching for safety.
Up to 1.9 million people are currently displaced across Gaza. Access to water, food and medicine is very difficult. It’s made worse by fuel shortages.
Without electricity, people cannot use lights in the dark evenings, keep warm, or cook food. 2.2 million people are at imminent risk of famine.
The ceasefire in Gaza has collapsed. On the 18th March, 2025, Israeli airstrikes resumed on Gaza.
The fragile ceasefire had brought hope to vulnerable families in desperate need of safe shelter, food, water and medical care. Now, people are once again left searching for safety. Many people who had just returned to their destroyed homes are once again being displaced.
People have only just been able to return home, or to what’s left of them, under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. Now people are being told to move again under new evacuation orders as ground operations resume.
Our partners PARC and MAP are continuing to distribute ShelterBox aid that we got into Gaza before the blockade. Items like tarpaulins and rope that are being used to create temporary and portable shelters. A permanent ceasefire and end to the fighting is the only way to ease the immense suffering on Palestinians in Gaza and protect their human rights.
Read this recent article from Jack Bailey, our programme manager for Gaza, on why a ceasefire is fundamental.
Learn why Gaza needs ceasefire
The Gaza Strip is located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north.
Gaza is one of the most densely populated places in the world. 2.3 million people live on this narrow strip of land, measuring just 141 square miles (41km wide by 10km wide).
Families are unable to leave. Forced to move again and again in search of safety. But land, sea and air bombardments are making that near impossible. There are large areas cut off and people are continuously on the move.
Humanitarian aid into Gaza is being blocked. Israel is blocking supplies of food, shelter, and medical care for an entire population reliant on aid for their survival.
Throughout the crisis, getting aid into Gaza has been slow and unpredictable. The January 2025 ceasefire created hope for better access for aid into, and through, Gaza.
However, since 2 March 2025, Israeli authorities have halted the entry of essential supplies like food, medicine, and fuel into the region. This has led to a worsening humanitarian crisis, with aid trucks stranded outside Gaza and resources like food and medicine deteriorating.
We have more aid in Jordan and Dubai ready to go, and enough tents to shelter thousands of people, but we can’t move it because of the restrictions.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza have been without adequate shelter. Getting aid into Gaza remains extremely challenging. ShelterBox has been working with local partners, who were already present in Gaza, to source and distribute essential aid.
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We have been providing tents and other emergency items to support war-torn communities in Gaza. Together with MAP (Medical Aid for Palestinians) we sourced aid items in Egypt and Türkiye, which we were then able to distribute in Gaza with the help of MAP and local organisation the Social Development Forum (SDF). This included items such as tarpaulin, rope, tape and plastic sheeting to make shelters watertight, as well as kitchen sets, bedding and hygiene kits.
We have also been distributing tents in Gaza, and more are on the way. Tents are being distributed by MAP and SDF alongside another partner PARC (the Agricultural Development Association).
Our incredible supporters make all this possible. Thank you.
