Overview

It is estimated that 250,000 Palestinians have been injured in the Gaza strip since the beginning of the first intifada in 1988. Over the last 13 years, Gaza has endured four wars, numerous air raids, and incursions. This webinar will discuss the challenges facing the humanitarian sector between continuously responding to the exigencies of recurrent emergencies and trying to build capacities in a system that is distorted by the complexity of war injuries. The practical imperative of requiring access to Gaza through Israeli controlled crossings and the moral imperative to advocate against the oppressor and bear witness to an illegal siege have forced the humanitarian sector into an uneasy silence around the siege of Gaza, which forces the population to live under inhumane conditions. The webinar aims to explore these competing and contradictory prirotities based on first-hand account of working in the Palestinian health sector during these four wars and with the humanitarian sector since the first intifada.

• How did Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah experience the most recent war in Gaza?
• What does it mean to prepare for the “forever emergency”?
• How do chronic wars distort public health priorities?
• Should the humanitarian sector attempt to alleviate the suffering in a prolonged siege? Or does it contribute to its longevity?