Title:Gaza families pushed deeper into poverty as aid dries up

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: Samia Hassan used to have enough money to feed her two dozen children and grandchildren. Now she spends much of her time worrying about food, scouring Gaza's vegetable markets for end-of-day discounts or walking miles for a pot of free gruel from a soup kitchen.   Large numbers of Gaza families have been pushed deeper into poverty in recent months by Palestinian political infighting and the freezing of US aid. Life is tougher than ever for most of the 2 million Palestinians locked into tiny, blockaded Gaza, where electricity is off most hours of the day, unemployment approaches 50 percent and the Islamic militant group Hamas rules with a tight grip.    "It's a perfect storm,"  said Hilary DuBose of the Catholic Relief Services, which has had to forego emergency food distributions because the Trump administration is withholding funds.  "At the same time that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is worsening, humanitarian aid is disappearing."    Growing despair in Gaza has helped drive recent Hamas-led protests against the border blockade by Israel and Egypt. The closure was imposed after Hamas, branded a terrorist group by Israel and the West, seized Gaza in 2007, driving out forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.   The escalating crisis also spotlights the lack of a coherent Gaza policy by the external players trying to shape its future. Israel and Egypt say they need the blockade to contain Hamas, but have not offered a viable plan for Gaza. The international community wants the blockade lifted, but hasn't said how it would deal with Hamas, which refuses to disarm or renounce violence.   Hassan — who shares her unfinished cinderblock home with seven of her 12 adult children, three daughters-in-law and 16 grandchildren — said she joined the border protests repeatedly, intentionally getting close to the fence in hopes of getting shot and killed by Israeli troops.    "Death is better than this life,"  she said to her sons' astonishment as the family gathered for the meal breaking the dawn-to-dusk fast of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.   Hassan said she only pulled back because she realized she could end up crippled rather than dead and become a burden. In the past two months, more than 115 Palestinians have been killed and close to 3,800 wounded by Israeli fire in near-weekly border protests, with some facing lifelong disabilities.   Hassan, who wears the black robe and full-face veil of ultra-conservative Muslim women, is angry at Hamas, which has fought three cross-border wars with Israel.    "It's because of them,"  she said of her family's hard times.   In the last war in 2014, the family taxi, an important source of income, was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike on a neighbor's house. After the war's devastation, her sons only found work sporadically and one — a father of six — is now in jail for being unable to pay his debts.   The family suffered a new blow after Abbas ordered his West Bank autonomy government to curtail its regular support payments to Gaza, in hopes of pressing Hamas to hand over authority.   The Hassans used to get $500 every three months from Abbas' Palestinian Authority, but haven't been paid since the beginning of the year, along with tens of thousands of Gaza welfare recipients, said Social Affairs Ministry official Khaled Barghouti.   Meanwhile, some 60,000 former civil servants, paid by Abbas since 2007 to ensure their loyalty, have received only a fraction of their salaries since March.   With barely any money coming in, the Hassans increasingly rely on charity.   During Ramadan, Samia Hassan often walks five kilometers (three miles) to another Gaza City neighborhood to line up for wheat gruel cooked in a large cauldron over an open fire.   Hassan said her sons won't make the trip, embarrassed to be seen asking for handouts, but that she doesn't mind because her face is veiled.   On a recent afternoon, dozens of people jostled, pushing their aluminum or plastic food containers to be filled. The huge pot was empty within 10 minutes.    "The situation is difficult for everyone,"  said Walid Hattab, 50, who owns a small coffee-and-spice store and cooks the free meals as Ramadan charity. Demand is up from last year, he said, noting that merchants have stopped selling on credit.   Along with the Palestinian Authority, the UN has been instrumental in propping up Gaza's fragile economy. About two-thirds of Gaza's residents are eligible for health, education or welfare services from UNRWA, the agency that aids descendants of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war over Israel's creation.   Need has grown exponentially, with some 1 million people in Gaza now receiving UN food aid, compared to 80,000 two decades ago, said agency spokesman Chris Gunness.   At the same time, the Trump administration has blown a $305 million hole into the agency's annual $1.2 billion budget — the result of a decision earlier this year to suspend most aid to the Palestinians until further notice. Washington has said it's linking future funding to UNRWA reforms.   UNRWA has raised more than $200 million from other donors, but is still struggling. Money for Gaza food distributions could run out in a couple of months, Gunness said.   With the exception of the funds already spent this year, all US assistance to the Palestinians is under review. This includes projects funded by USAID and the State Department, including health, education, good governance and security cooperation programs.   There is no indication the review will be completed any time soon, if ever, and it appears to be driven in part by Abbas' decision to boycott Washington's Mideast peace efforts as well as Palestinian moves to assert themselves at the United Nations.   Charities such as Catholic Relief Services rely heavily on US support. In Gaza, its operations have been underwritten by a five-year, $50 million USAID grant. This year, the charity should have received about $10 million, but hasn't gotten any money so far, said DuBose.   As a result, 20,000 Gaza families aren't receiving food vouchers and about 2,200 people eligible for job-creation programs are staying home, she said.   Muslim countries such as Qatar, Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have stepped up aid during Ramadan. Qatar is distributing 1 million meals for the month and Iran 11,000 per day.   But it's not clear if such aid will be sustained after the holy month.   On a recent evening, Samia Hassan and two dozen family members sat on the straw mat-covered floor of their home. Salad and leftover gruel from the day before had been laid out. Just before iftar, volunteers from a nearby mosque sent over a tray of rice with one chicken.    "It came at the right time,"  said daughter-in-law Samah, holding a toddler in her lap.   Such uncertainty is tough for Samia.  "Our situation has never been like this,"  she said.

加沙地带：萨米亚·哈桑过去有足够钱养活她的二十几个孩子和孙子。现在，她花了很多时间在担忧食物，冲刷加沙的蔬菜市场，以获得每天的折扣或步行数英里从汤厨房买一壶免费粥。

近几个月来，巴勒斯坦的政治斗争和美国的援助被冻结，使加沙的大批家庭陷入更深的贫困。对被困在加沙地带被封锁的小规模200万巴勒斯坦人来说，生活比以往任何时候都更加艰难，那里每天大部分时间都停电，失业率接近50%，伊斯兰激进组织哈马斯控制力度很高。

“这是一场完美的风暴，”天主教救济会的Hilary Dubes说，由于特朗普政府扣留资金，不得不放弃紧急分发食品。"在加沙的人道主义局势不断恶化的同时，人道主义援助正在减少."   

在加沙，日益增长的绝望情绪促成了最近哈马斯领导的反对以色列和埃及边境封锁的抗议。封锁是哈马斯强加的，以色列和西方为恐怖团体打上了烙印，于2007年占领了加沙，迫使效忠巴勒斯坦总统马哈茂德·阿巴斯的部队。不断升级的危机还凸显了试图塑造未来的外部势力缺乏一贯的加沙政策，以色列和埃及说，他们需要封锁以遏制哈马斯，但没有为加沙提供一个可行的计划。国际社会希望解除封锁，但没有说它将如何与拒绝解除武装或放弃暴力的哈马斯打交道。

哈桑，她与7名成年子女、3名女婿和16名孙子孙女共住在她未完工的社会街坊，她说她多次加入边境抗议活动。故意靠近围栏，希望被以色列部队开枪打死。“死亡比生命好，”她惊讶地说，全家人聚在一起吃顿饭，打破了穆斯林神圣的斋月黎明到黄昏。哈桑说，她只是意识到自己最终会陷入瘫痪，而不是死亡，并成为一种负担。

在过去两个月中，以色列在近每周的边界抗议活动中开枪打死了115多名巴勒斯坦人，造成近3 800人受伤，其中一些人面临终身残疾。

哈桑身穿黑袍，面纱超保守的穆斯林妇女。哈桑对哈马斯很愤怒。哈马斯与以色列进行了三次跨界战争。在2014年的最后一场战争中，家庭出租车是以色列空袭邻居家摧毁的重要收入来源。战后，她的儿子们只是偶尔找到了工作，一个六岁的父亲因无力偿还债务而坐牢。

阿巴斯命令西岸自治政府削减其对加沙的定期支助付款，希望迫使哈马斯移交权力。

哈桑人过去每3个月从阿巴斯巴勒斯坦权力机构获得500美元，但自年初以来一直没有支付，还有成千上万的加沙福利领取者，同时，阿巴斯自2007年以来为确保忠诚度支付了约6万名前公务员，自3月以来只领取了一小部分薪水。由于几乎没有任何资金到场，哈桑人越来越多地依赖慈善机构。

在斋月期间，萨米亚·哈桑经常步行5公里（3英里）到加沙市另一处附近，在一场开火的大熔炉里排队购买小麦粥。哈桑说，她的儿子不会去旅行，因为看到她们觉得难堪要求施舍，但她并不介意，因为她的脸是面纱。最近的一个下午，数十人挤了起来，把他们的铝制或塑料食品容器挤满了，10分钟内这个大罐子空了。

他说：“形势对每个人来说都是困难的，” 50岁的Walid Hattab说，他拥有一家小小的咖啡香料店，为斋月慈善机构做饭。

联合国与巴勒斯坦权力机构一道，一直在支持加沙脆弱的经济。大约三分之二的加沙居民有资格获得近东救济工程处的医疗、教育或福利服务，该机构帮助巴勒斯坦难民后裔，自1948年战争以来为以色列的建立提供帮助。该机构发言人克里斯·冈尼(Chris Gunness)表示，需求成倍增长，目前加沙约有100万人接受联合国粮食援助，而20年前，这一数字为80,000人。

与此同时，特朗普政府向该机构的年度12亿美元预算注入了3.05亿美元缺口，这是今年早些时候决定暂停对巴勒斯坦人的大部分援助直至另行通知的结果。华盛顿说，它已将未来的资金与近东救济工程处的改革挂钩。近东救济工程处已经从其他捐助方筹集了2亿美元以上，但仍在苦挣扎。加沙粮食分配的资金可能在几个月内用完。除了今年已经花费的资金外，美国对巴勒斯坦人的所有援助都在审查之中。这包括由美援署和国务院资助的项目，包括保健、教育、善政和安全合作方案。没有迹象表明审查将很快完成，如果有的话，这似乎部分来自于阿巴斯抵制华盛顿中东和平努力的决定，以及巴勒斯坦争取联合国利益的举动。天主教救济服务等慈善机构严重依赖美国的支持。

DuBose说，在加沙，它的业务已经得到五年期的资助，有5 000万美援署赠款，今年慈善机构本应收到约1 000万美元，但迄今尚未得到任何资金。她说，结果，20,000个加沙家庭得不到食品券，约2,200名有资格参加创造就业机会计划的人住在家里。

卡塔尔、伊朗、土耳其和阿拉伯联合酋长国等穆斯林国家在斋月期间加强了援助，卡塔尔为每月分发100万顿饭，伊朗则每天分发11 000顿饭。但不清楚这一援助是否在神圣的一个月之后会持续下去.

最近的一个晚上，萨米亚·哈桑和两十名家庭成员坐在他们家盖在草垫上的地板上。放学前一天撒了沙拉和剩的粥，在叉车前，附近清真寺的志愿者把一只小鸡送到一盘大米上，“它适时到了”，萨玛儿带着一个蹒跚学步的小孩在膝上说。这种不确定性对萨米亚来说非常困难。她说：“我们的情况从未如此。