Aid group fears a battle on the ground in Gaza

Q&A with Andy Dwonch, Mercy Corp's mission director for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Mercy Corps is a Portland-based aid agency. Dwonch returned to Seattle from Jerusalem

10 days ago.

Q: What is the situation in Gaza right now?

A: Things are very serious, and we are concerned about what will come next. It's difficult to see an easy end to this cycle of violence. We think it may get a lot worse before it gets better. Gaza is very densely populated, and there are not many places to go to get out of the line of fire. People are hunkering in their homes, and if there is a ground incursion, I imagine things will get really bad.

At the moment, families have already been disrupted. Those who live near security installations that have been targeted have broken doors and windows and other significant damage. Winter there is rainy rather than snowy, and we are doing what we can to raise money for emergency supplies such as plastic sheeting for windows, blankets, mattresses, cooking stoves and things like that. Maybe water tanks and purification tablets as well, if people can't get clean water.

Our agency has been working in Gaza since 2005. We have a program for the temporarily unemployed and another giving pyscho-social support to children who have been traumatized by violence. But both those programs are on hold now, and we are focusing on emergency needs.

Q: How have conditions been leading up to the latest clash?

A: Because things have been closed off in the 18 months since Hamas took control, there have been dwindling supplies of commercial goods in the market. There have been monthlong periods of rolling electrical blackouts. Gaza relies on fuel imported from Israel for its electrical supply and for water pumps, backup generators in hospitals and so on. Cooking gas and heating oil for homes is also scarce.

Q: What are the logistics of getting aid there?

A: In the past month and a half, nothing has been getting in or out of Gaza, including our staff in Jerusalem. But since the day before the first strikes, things have actually loosened up, and some food and medical supplies have been allowed in at the Kerem Shalom border crossing. We are hoping to move some aid materials through that crossing soon.

Q: Has Hamas restricted your operations in Gaza?

A: We have about 30 Palestinian staff working in Gaza, and we have been allowed to work fairly unrestricted and unobstructed. In recent months, Hamas has cracked down on local NGOs [nongovernmental organizations], but international NGOs have been unaffected by that. I think the work we are doing helps promote stability, and so they don't interfere at this point. But we don't coordinate activities with Hamas; we have no direct contact with them.

Q: What are the chances there will be a cease-fire?

A: It's hard to imagine a cease-fire any time in the next few days, but we remain hopeful the sides will reach an agreement. Everyone's worst fear is that it will turn into a ground offensive. If that happens, we are worried a lot of people will get caught in the crossfire, because there is essentially no exit, nowhere to go, from the Gaza Strip right now.

Q: Is the Arab world showing more support for Hamas and / or the Palestinians, given recent events?

A: That question is a little too political for us. We are a nonpartial organization and we don't like to see violence at all. We worry about people being hurt on both sides. We wouldn't want to make any political statements.

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com