Forward Thinking visit Gaza, 7th – 10th August 2014

The Director and Middle East Programme Manager visited Gaza where they met with some of the victims of the bombardment as well as with political, civil society, and academic leaders.  They found the scale of the devastation  in the towns like Beit Hanoun and Sheja'eya, as in other parts of the Gaza Strip, truly shocking.  Whole regions have been rendered uninhabitable. They also met with the doctors and managerial staff at Shifa Hospital who are caring for many of the injured, and to assess the scale of the medical need which is colossal. The visit provided an insight into the great humanitarian challenge Gaza now faces.Meetings were also held with Israeli officials in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv concerning the recent escalation and the implications this has on the Israeli/Palestinian  conflict and for the whole Middle East North Africa region. Faced with the realities of what happened it is our hope that all sides will see there can be no military solution to this conflict, and that there is an immediate and urgent need to enter into a genuine and inclusive dialogue, which we see as an essential first step in the search for a just and durable peace agreement. Hopefully when the world understands the scale of death, human suffering and destruction in Gaza, it will help to galvanise sufficient political will and courage among the key protagonists to achieve this goal.