Hamas prepares for COVID-19 outbreak to worsen
Hamas in the Gaza Strip is facing major challenges in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic due to the scarcity of financial and medical resources, despite strict containment measures.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Hamas movement and the ministries it runs in the Gaza Strip have intensified their efforts to confront the coronavirus pandemic by taking a series of preventive measures, as well as launching several relief projects including in-kind and cash assistance to farmers and to families affected by the lockdown in Gaza.
Hamas is coordinating production of 1 million protective masks to distribute for free to Gazans, while the Ministry of Labor has provided online registration information for workers affected by a lockdown to receive the in-kind and financial assistance.
A Hamas official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the movement intends to provide 100 ventilators from a country he did not specify, in addition to 30 of the devices it purchased and delivered to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The official added that the Hamas leadership formed a crisis panel in late February to confront the pandemic by taking strict measures to prevent an outbreak in the Gaza Strip, as well as harnessing all the movement's efforts to help government agencies. One significant action was building 1,000 housing units for isolation and providing emergency financial aid for 10,000 people affected by the lockdown.
