MECA worked with five local partners to distribute 2,782 food parcels to families all over Gaza to date. Though the main roads in Gaza have all been bombed, cutting off each city from the rest, our local partners have reached families from Beit Lahia in the north to Rafah in the south with essential food supplies. We have given priority to displaced families who are sheltering at schools and also who are staying with relatives, in empty garages, etc. while also trying to reach families who are just in need of this vital support while they are terrified in their homes.

We began distribution of food parcels on the very first day of the Israeli attacks and we were the first to provide relief to displaced families at the schools and other make-shift shelters throughout Gaza.

Since the ceasefire, MECA has delivered an additional 7044 food parcels to families in need including families whose homes were partially or totally destroyed, people who are day laborers and were unable to earn an income during the attacks, and any large families with the parents unemployed.

MECA partner Youth Vision Society has provided thousands of bottles of water to displaced families at 20 schools in the Gaza area while a more long-term solution can be found. Due to Israeli attacks, many water networks have been damaged and there is only electricity for a few hours a day which means that water purification units that treat Gaza's polluted water are not functioning. 97% of water in Gaza is unfit for human consumption.

Due to a lack of spare parts because of the siege of Gaza and extensive damage to the water networks, thousands of families still have no water at home. MECA provided 100 families with new water tanks filled with clean drinking water and larger tanks with water for domestic use.

Soap, diapers, toothbrushes, feminine hygiene products are all urgently needed to keep families healthy in the make-shift shelters. MECA partners distributed hygiene supplies to 28 shelters in northern Gaza and Gaza city areas. This was requested by families when we did the distribution of food and we acted immediately.

We have also provided hygiene kits to nearly 1000 displaced families who are not in the shelters. They are staying with friends or relatives or even in empty garages. Many of them left their homes quickly and without their belongings while Israeli bombs dropped around them.

During the Israeli attacks, MECA sent funds to Al-Awda Hospital located in Jabalia, in northern Gaza to purchase essential items for their emergency room and surgical theater. 50% of all injuries from the Israeli attacks have been in northern Gaza and the hospital was running low on supplies.

Then after the attacks, we sent funds to a nonprofit private hospital in Khan Younis to sponsor 100 pediatric operations for patients whose treatment has been postponed because of the emergencies and they can't afford care at private hospitals.

In partnership with PaliRoots, we also provided funded for emergency needs to Ard Al-Insan who run clinics focused on treating child malnutrition. They have purchased medications, vitamins, and fortified milk for children plus special milk for children with PKU.

We are also procuring a new ambulance for Al-Awda Hospital to continue providing vital emergency services to Palestinians in Gaza.

48 staff and volunteers from our partner centers in Gaza are undergoing an intensive training in how to support traumatized children in their communities.

While training is underway, we have begun a special project called The Musical Caravan Project. These outdoor concerts with local musicians aim to relieve some of the psychological stress of children living under occupation and siege in Gaza. The first show was in a MECA playground in Khuza'a village and brought joy to many kids.