The suspension of US aid strikes Gaza's poor

Hadil al-Rafati gently adjusts his frail legs of child down anemia on his lap in the lobby of an NGO clinic in Gaza City.

His son's treatment program is among those in the enclave facing cuts or closures due to a freeze of American aid to Palestinians, organizers say

"He weighs 7.2 pounds, but at one year and one month, he should be at least 10 years old," the 21-year-old mother. said of his son, Essam.

Since January, US funding for humanitarian programs serving Palestinians has been suspended, with Washington saying that it is being revised.

President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars to force the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table with Israel.

Recently, about fifteen mothers waited in the hall of the clinic of the Palestinian organization Ard al-Insan to see a pediatrician or receive dietary supplements for their children

Some of the programs were maintained with funding available, but the program should expire at the end of August if the money is not released.

"They help us, give us medicine," said Rafati, who is unemployed and whose husband "If they close, where will we go?"

The Gaza Strip, controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas, has been under Israeli blockade for more than 10 years. According to the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), about 80 percent of the two million inhabitants of the enclave depend on humanitarian aid

. leaders suspended their relations with the White House over the controversial recognition of the disputed city of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

Since then, US law has banned Palestinians from providing aid to Palestinians for security reasons. The crimes, or the families of the people killed in the attacks on the Israelis, further complicated the situation.

– "The Most Vulnerable" –

Some 215 Million Dollars (183.5 Million Euros) That the United States Had to Invest According to an badysis of the US Congress, humanitarian aid and development in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were blocked.

US funding for UNRWA was also blocked. [1965] 9017] "Under the leadership of President Trump, aid to the Palestinians remains in the study," said a senior US State Department official.

Some programs are already facing cuts, such as Palestine Avenir for Childhood Foundation. 30 employees since the beginning of the year

Suffering from cerebral palsy, Maher, who was nine months old, was receiving four physiotherapy sessions a week from the organization.

He now only comes twice a week because of a lack of

"The change has been huge in the last three months," said his mother Nada Abu Assi, 27, then she's watching her son move with the help of a support device.

The director of the foundation, Ahmad Alkashif, said that "these are the last beneficiaries", adding that hundreds of children are on his waiting list.

The project, funded by the US Agency for Development USAID, enrolled in a program of $ 50 million a year

Some 20,000 patients were to benefit from the plan, with the possibility of l & # 39; Extend to 250,000 in the event of a disaster.

"Unless the fundraising is over in the next three months, the Health Matters program will close, leaving Gaza's most vulnerable families without even the most basic health services," Ky said. Luu, director of the International Medical Corps operation, an American NGO contracted for the program.

The health system in the enclave In recent months, it has faced an influx of more than 4,000 Palestinians injured by Israeli gunfire during border demonstrations and clashes.

At least 149 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire since demonstrations and clashes. Another Israeli soldier was shot dead.

– "Another Burden" –

"It's another burden we have to bear," said Suhaila Tarazi, general manager of the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. City. 59031] Without American help, the training of surgeons will be canceled, she says.

"Many will wait and suffer," she says, her eyes filled with tears.

Continuing History