At the time of writing, there is growing optimism across the Gaza Strip. Hamas and Israel are exchanging hostages even as serious cracks in the ceasefire are already starting to show.
Israel has reneged on its commitment to release the celebrated leader Marwan Barghouti and has orchestrated the assassination of yet another journalist, Saleh al-Jafarawi. Meanwhile, Hamas moves against armed gangs for control of the streets that profited during the chaos.
These are the first days of what President Donald J. Trump has declared as the “new dawn,” a ceasefire that the President insists will lead to a lasting peace for Gaza and the region. Dare we hope for a lasting peace? Can this be the new dawn, or is it just another false dawn? Only time will tell.
Before this most recent conflict, which several international human rights bodies have deemed a genocide, Irish Friends have stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Gaza. For more than twenty years, through our partners in the Palestine Trauma Centre, Nour Al Marifa
Association, the Ethar Centre for Community Development, and the Gaza Christian Mission, as well as well-placed individuals known to Friends, IQFA has helped the people of Gaza survive in conditions described as the world’s largest open-air prison.
Throughout this current phase, Irish Friends have not been found wanting. We have helped the PTC deliver trauma counselling to men, women, children, and families when they needed it most. Friends have helped displaced people receive food parcels, cash supplements,
clothing, and shelter in addition to dedicated learning places for children when studying was possible. In 2024 when potable water was very scarce in the Nuseirat refugee camp, IQFA helped the Nour Al Marifa Association purchase desalination equipment, so that they could
supply the surrounding communities with water on a cottage-sized industrial level.
The horrors of war have not spared our partners. Each community has suffered dearly; offices and homes have been destroyed, and hundreds of loved ones have been lost. As the calm of the ceasefire takes hold, communities have the chance to take stock of the number of orphans left behind.
Friends have already contributed to the needs of 50 orphans who have lost siblings and parents within an infrastructure in dire need of our continued support.