Violence Threatens Relief Efforts in Gaza
January 25, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
Fewer aid workers and journalists are working in the dangerous Gaza strip of Palestine, fearing abduction or violence, reports Reuters.
Over the past year, at least 17 foreigners have been abducted from Gaza; all were released. Internal violence between Palestinian groups and conflict with Israel’s military have made the area increasingly volatile—and increasingly in need of international aid. But organizations, faced with steeply rising security costs, have been moving workers to safer locales, either temporarily or permanently.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides aid to more than half the 1.4 million residents of Gaza, has relocated 32 employees to Jerusalem and Jordan over the past 18 months. The organization runs food-supply centers, schools, and health clinics in refugee camps and towns.
