Beur FM: LIFE sounds the alarm on the humanitarian emergency in Gaza

On 28 May 2025, Imad Bentayeb, a field coordinator at LIFE, was a guest on Beur FM's morning show. Speaking to journalist Kim, he described the dire situation in Gaza and LIFE's ongoing work there, despite the risks and the logistical challenges.

A critical humanitarian situation in Gaza

For several months now, Gaza has been going through an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. According to Imad Bentayeb, "90 to 95% of the population is facing food insecurity". The blockade, the bombing and the complete breakdown of basic services make it extremely hard to get humanitarian aid through.

"People aren't only dying from the bombs. They're also dying from hunger and from a lack of medicine," he says.

LIFE: practical, ongoing action on the ground

LIFE has been working in Gaza for more than ten years, through a strong network of local partners. "They're the ones who buy essentials like flour, oil and sugar locally and then distribute them," explains Imad Bentayeb. Prices have soared: a sack of flour, for example, has gone from 25 dollars to almost 900. Even so, LIFE keeps distributing food parcels and hot meals, including through its programme of 500 family meals a day.

Volunteers on the front line, despite the dangers

Working in Gaza is dangerous. LIFE recently lost two volunteers, Abdullah and Mouaouia, who were killed while handing out humanitarian aid during Ramadan. "When we heard the news, we asked our teams to ease off on the distributions and carry them out later. But they insisted on carrying on the very next day, because they told us that if we stopped, 500 families would have nothing to eat from the next day on," Imad recalls, visibly moved. Every donation counts: it lets us buy basic essentials locally for people who have nothing left.