AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is approaching a ceasefire. Tonight, the Israeli government is expected to formally approve the first phase of a plan to end the war. The ceasefire would follow soon after, and then the releases of hostages and prisoners. But this agreement does not immediately change the humanitarian emergency for the people of Gaza. It does give hope, however, that lasting relief may rush in. And so today we reached out to aid agencies who would provide nutritional and medical relief.
Jacob Granger is the emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Gaza. He's been there since late July. And when we spoke this morning, I asked him what the mood was like on the ground with news of a possible ceasefire.
JACOB GRANGER: It's very strange. There's this news coming a little bit from outside and telling that there will be a ceasefire peace agreement or something like this inside.
CHANG: Yes.
GRANGER: But while we are hearing the news, we are also hearing the sounds of war that are continuing. So we are hearing the sound of F-16s, warplanes, of drones, of strikes and also a lot of shootings. So yeah, it's a little bit difficult to get by and to understand what does this really mean. But for the population, for the colleagues over here, this means a lot of hope. It's a population that has been struggling in the way - it's very difficult to describe during two years. And right now, the situation they have is so dire that they need to have a rest. But not a temporary rest, not something just for a few weeks and then the hostility will start again. They need to have a longstanding rest to be able to recover, to reconstruct and to be able to...
CHANG: Right.
GRANGER: ...Deal with the traumas they have both physically and mentally.
CHANG: They need a permanent end to this war.
GRANGER: Indeed.
CHANG: Well, you are on the ground in Gaza right now. Can you just describe for us the current state of your operation there?
GRANGER: So we had to withdraw from Gaza City on the 25 of September.
CHANG: Right, because of the ground offensive by Israel.
GRANGER: Yeah. Yeah. We had tanks less than one kilometers away from our premises. Their hospitals were supporting all the clinics we had. We had teams ready to stay despite the danger, despite the strikes happening less than 15 meters sometimes from our clinics. And the needs of the population exacerbated by several factors - the lack of food during several weeks, several months, the lack of access to clean water to drink or to clean themselves. So the really poor access of hygiene is a problem for the health situation here, and then the lack of supply - medical supply, food and water for the population.
CHANG: OK. Well, given the circumstances right now, is your organization prepared to rush in dramatically more aid if a ceasefire allows for that?
GRANGER: We are ready and we are trying, and we will do so whether there's a cessation of hostilities or not. The only thing that can keep us ongoing that can avoid us to downscale activities in Gaza Strip will be the access. So we, as other medical actors and other humanitarian actors, we need to have an unlimited access to the population to be able to do this safely, so to have some safety guarantees from Israeli authorities and to have the supply to do so. So we need to have supply, and the only thing obstructing our ability to have supply inside Gaza Strip are Israeli authorities - administrative requirements.
CHANG: I'm still reflecting on your words at the beginning of our conversation about how strange it is to hear news of a ceasefire while you are still hearing the sounds of war. What are you hearing from people in Gaza? If there is progress that could possibly end this war, how are people reacting in this moment?
GRANGER: It's a mix of hope. Hoping that it will last. Hoping that they will be able to continue to live. Just to continue to live, actually, and not be at risk at any moment, at any time killed or to be injured. Last days, we had colleague from MSF that has been killed by Israeli strike, the 15th colleague we lost because of the military operation since the 7 of October, 2020.
Aside of that, there's also this thing of almost despair that Gaza is destroyed. Gaza is not existing anymore. The people are living in tents, in shelters made of wooden sticks and plastic sheeting. So it's a mix between both of them. Hope to be finally a little bit at peace, and despair that the entire Gaza Strip has been destroyed by this war.
CHANG: Jacob Granger. He's the emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Gaza. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us.
GRANGER: Thank you so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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