An Israeli humanitarian organization is set to open a medical clinic in southern Gaza next week, with the facility expected to serve around 10,000 children living in a displacement camp in the Mawasi area.
The clinic, scheduled to open Sept. 1 in the Al-Qarara area, was established by the Israeli aid organization Natan as part of the Gaza Children Village initiative, which already provides children with education, hot meals and other forms of support.
The facility was built with several hundred thousand dollars in donations from Israelis and American Jews. Palestinian medical staff in Gaza will examine and treat the children, while Natan will provide medical equipment and arrange remote consultations with Israeli doctors.
The project is being led by Natan CEO Alice Miller, an aeronautical engineer and civilian pilot best known in Israel for the landmark Supreme Court petition that led to the opening of the Israeli Air Force pilots’ course to women. The clinic was developed in cooperation with Dr. David Hasan, founder of Gaza Children Village.
NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief, named after Israeli peace activist Abie Nathan, has operated for years in disaster zones around the world, providing humanitarian and medical assistance. Miller said restrictions on Israeli organizations operating directly inside Gaza mean much of Natan’s work there is conducted remotely through local and international partners.
According to the organization, Natan has a network of more than 1,800 staff members and volunteers, including doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers and dentists. The new clinic is intended to add medical care to the services already provided through Gaza Children Village.
“Every child deserves access to basic medical care, no matter where they were born or what circumstances surround them,” Miller said. “This clinic is a direct response to a need we saw with our own eyes at the children’s village in Gaza.”
“These children need a place to gather and learn, a meal so they don’t go hungry”
(Photo: Gaza Children’s Village)
Gaza children's village
(Photo: Gaza Children’s Village)
Gaza children's village
(Photo: Gaza Children’s Village)
Dr. Hasan said the clinic would complete the support system already being built around the children. “These children need a place where they can gather and learn, a meal so they don’t have to remain hungry, and physical care for bodies suffering under extreme humanitarian conditions,” he said. “This clinic gives us that final piece: the physical care they can receive.”
‘Imagine your daughter getting her first period in a tent’
Miller spoke to ynet in December about the humanitarian work she had begun promoting inside Gaza. At the time, Natan was also helping women and girls by distributing reusable sanitary pads through its cooperation with Gaza Children Village. Miller said the organization maintained direct contact with women inside Gaza through an American partner.
She recalled the case of a 14-year-old girl who got her first period while living in a tent and had no suitable menstrual products. Her family, Miller said, was forced to use pieces of fabric from the tent. “Imagine your daughter getting her first period in a tent and having nothing to use,” Miller said at the time.
Miller also addressed criticism she received in Israel over assisting Gaza residents. “I don’t deal with politics. That’s not what I do. We are a humanitarian organization,” she said. “My heart cannot remain closed in the face of other people’s suffering.”
She added that even during wartime, showing compassion toward children and civilians matters. “Part of the public diplomacy we need to do is show the world acts of compassion,” she said.
Since then, Gaza Children Village has expanded considerably. According to the organization, it now operates educational programs across Gaza where children receive schooling, meals, medical assistance and psychological support.
The group says its longer-term goal is to build a stable support system that can continue accompanying children beyond the immediate humanitarian emergency. The opening of the Al-Qarara clinic is the latest stage in that effort.