Gaza Emergency Strategy: Executive Summary

CRS has supported vulnerable communities in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem since 1961 and has maintained a continuous presence in the Gaza Strip since 1984. CRS has implemented extensive emergency programming in Gaza and the West Bank with funding from the U.S. government and other institutional and private donors, with experience navigating complex compliance and security environments. With 83 staff in the Country Program, including 44 in Gaza, two offices, and multiple distribution points, CRS is well positioned to respond to the current crisis. 

 

This Executive Summary outlines the priority areas of support in Gaza, the West Bank and across the region, in response to the crisis and events that started in October 2023. In the first six months of the crisis (between October 2023 - April 2024), CRS and its partners provided 600,000 people with a range of assistance.

 

CRS has diverse partnerships, including 20 community-based organizations (CBOs) in Gaza, and collaborates with a wide range of international and national nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), U.N. agencies and other coordination forums. CRS has significantly contributed to capacity strengthening of local organizations and has worked with 13 CBOs on emergency preparedness and response. In the Gaza Strip, CRS has a rich history of integrated mutli-purpose cash (MPCA), shelter, WASH, and psychosocial resilience programming, including in response to the 2014 war and successive conflicts.