By Raefah Makki in Beirut
In support of the response of the Palestine Red Crescent Society to the ongoing emergency in Gaza Strip and West Bank, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) provided today funds through its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) for 228,474 Swiss francs, to support the National Society in meeting the growing needs of the affected people.
The allocated funds will provide medical assistance for emergency needs of 10,500 people for a period of three months and to ensure that services in medical facilities are not erupted.
Since the onset of the emergency, the Palestine Red Crescent Society has activated its emergency operation rooms and deployed immediately its staff and more than 400 volunteers to respond to the humanitarian needs mainly in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Since the beginning of the emergency, mid-June, 208 people have been killed and more than 2,800 wounded between West Bank and Gaza, according to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The National Society has provided emergency medical services to more than 2,425 injured in West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as distributed non-food items to main branches where sub-warehouses are located, each distribution can reach 5,000 families. The society's hospitals in Jerusalem, Hebron and Gaza, continue to provide attention to injured people.
The IFRC is present in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt) to support the Red Crescent's development and to promote enhanced and coordinated Disaster Preparedness in case of disasters and emergencies in addition to longer term organizational development, capacity building and resilience.