Panda Aid – Gaza Humanitarian Assistance Work Report (09/2024 – 12/2025)
- 小轩 李
- 32 minutes ago
- 12 min read
By Kening Zhang | December 21, 2025
Since the outbreak of the latest round of war in Gaza, humanitarian assistance has increasingly become a field subjected to simultaneous pressure from military blockade, political maneuvering, and competing public narratives. As a result, it is often reduced to oversimplified questions—such as whether aid is entering Gaza, whether supplies are being looted, or whether international organizations have “failed”—while the concrete realities behind these processes remain poorly understood. Rarely is there a systematic examination of how a specific consignment of humanitarian medical supplies actually attempts to enter Gaza, what routes it must navigate, and what layers of obstruction, negotiation, and power struggles it encounters along the way.
This report is based on the direct participation and implementation by Panda Aid, a Chinese civil society organization, in Gaza-related medical supply assistance and medical donation projects between September 2024 and December 2025. It provides a comprehensive record of the institutional structures, political blockades, operational logic of the United Nations system, and grassroots implementation challenges encountered by a civilian humanitarian initiative in real-world conditions. Rather than remaining at the level of moral declaration, the report draws on timelines, hands-on operational experience, and first-hand exchanges to present a grounded account of how contemporary humanitarian assistance for Gaza is operated, obstructed, and, at times, able to find narrow openings to continue moving forward.
This document serves both as a phased summary of work completed and as a practical reference for future volunteers, donors, and researchers. Its aim is to offer an experience-based, citable record that helps illuminate the actual mechanisms through which humanitarian assistance for Gaza functions in practice.
I. Medical Supply Assistance Project
(I) Project Initiation and Early Challenges (09/2024 – 12/2024)
Beginning in September 2024, Panda Aid established a formal partnership with the Palestinian Doctors Association in Europe (PalMed), headquartered in Paris, France. The core task of this collaboration was to assist PalMed in procuring medical supplies in China and arranging their delivery to Gaza. The procurement and preparation process advanced rapidly: within approximately three months, a total of 307 boxes of medical supplies, weighing about 4.3 metric tons, were successfully sourced and consolidated in Shenzhen, China.
However, as Israel continued to escalate its military operations and imposed a comprehensive blockade on Gaza, all humanitarian access routes were effectively cut off. The originally planned logistics route—Shenzhen, China → Cairo, Egypt → Gaza—was completely disrupted. As a result, the fully prepared medical supplies remained stranded in warehouses in China for an extended period, unable to enter Gaza as initially intended.
(II) Shifting Conditions and the Decision to Conduct a Field Assessment (01/2025 – 03/2025)
In January 2025, the situation briefly appeared to improve. Israel and Hamas reached a phased ceasefire agreement, and parts of Gaza’s border crossings were temporarily reopened. In response, Panda Aid began preparations to travel to Cairo, Egypt, with the intention of organizing activities related to the initiation and handover of the previously procured medical supplies. However, this window of opportunity proved short-lived. In March 2025, Israel unilaterally abrogated the ceasefire agreement, relaunched large-scale military operations, and reimposed a comprehensive blockade on Gaza, once again completely severing humanitarian access routes. During the same period, the Rafah ambulance convoy attack, in which multiple medical and humanitarian workers were killed, starkly underscored the extreme dangers facing humanitarian operations in Gaza.
Against the backdrop of prolonged supply stagnation, repeatedly obstructed access routes, and a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, Panda Aid decided to abandon a passive waiting posture and instead seek proactive solutions. To this end, the organization assembled its fourth field assessment delegation and traveled to Cairo on March 30, 2025. The core objectives of this mission were to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the latest developments on the ground, clarify the operational realities of the United Nations system and other relevant actors, and explore humanitarian action pathways that might remain viable under conditions of near-total blockade.
(III) Cairo Field Assessment and Strategic Turning Point (30/03/2025 – 03/04/2025)
This field assessment constituted a critical turning point for the entire project. Through in-depth exchanges with multiple stakeholders, Panda Aid identified a new strategy capable of breaking the prolonged impasse.
Date | Visiting Object/Location | Key Findings and Outcomes | Strategic Value |
March 30 | Medics Worldwide (MWW) |
| This marked a shift from uncontrollable logistics to executable, funding-based medical projects, identifying the most efficient assistance pathway under current conditions. |
April 1 | Insan Sebil Islam (ISS), Cairo (Meeting with Mr. Hazem Hayek) |
| This corroborated MWW’s “internal procurement” approach as a widely adopted and pragmatic choice among grassroots organizations. |
April 2–3 | World Food Programme (WFP) Logistics Cluster & World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Medical Team (EMT) |
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April 3 | Egyptian Customs Brokerage Company |
| Secured pro bono local professional support, reduced operational costs, and broadened commercial and logistical perspectives. |
(IV) Adjustment of the Logistics Route
In early October 2025, a physician from the Palestinian Doctors Association in Europe (PalMed)—Panda Aid’s partner organization—proactively contacted Panda Aid to report a critical development: the medical supplies that had been procured earlier and remained stranded for an extended period had secured a new transportation arrangement, making it possible for the transfer process to commence in the near term.
Under this revised coordination plan, the shipment would no longer follow the originally planned route of China → Cairo, Egypt → Gaza. Instead, it would be redirected through a previously undisclosed and little-known United Nations logistics pathway. The supplies would first be airlifted from China to a World Health Organization (WHO) warehouse in the United Arab Emirates, then transferred onward to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, and finally, under coordination between the United Nations and relevant authorities, transported overland into Gaza and delivered to designated medical facilities.
At the operational level, implementing this adjustment required only modifications to the consignee address and related logistics information in the existing customs documentation. While these procedural changes appeared relatively straightforward, the new arrangement represented a fundamental departure from the transportation process Panda Aid had previously prepared for and understood over an extended period. It also signaled that the project had formally entered an entirely new, UN-led logistics system.
Because this route had never been systematically described in publicly available humanitarian practice, Panda Aid subsequently conducted independent verification and research. This confirmed that the core node underpinning the arrangement was a major hub within the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) network, located in the United Arab Emirates. Although vast in scale, this facility is not open to the public and rarely appears in the narratives of civil society humanitarian organizations. It constitutes one of the United Nations system’s key strategic logistics infrastructures for responding to large-scale humanitarian crises.
The activation of this pathway marked the first time that Panda Aid’s humanitarian medical supply project, after more than a year of obstruction, had truly entered the operational phase of the UN’s global humanitarian logistics system. It also further exposed the highly closed, hierarchical, and externally inaccessible operational realities upon which humanitarian supply flows currently depend under Gaza’s extreme blockade conditions.
(V) Completion of Transport and Interim Summary
After more than a year of repeated obstruction and delay, the transportation effort finally achieved a substantive breakthrough. In December 2025, under coordination between the United Nations system and relevant partners, the medical supplies were airlifted in batches to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and successfully handed over to a UN humanitarian warehouse operated by the World Health Organization (WHO)—the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Sharjah (UNHRD Sharjah). Following full receipt, inventory verification, and reconciliation procedures, UN agencies scheduled the next phase of transport, arranging for the supplies to be flown via established humanitarian channels to Arish, in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and ultimately transported overland into Gaza for delivery to designated medical facilities for direct medical use.
Spanning a total duration of one year and three months, this project unfolded through an exceptionally complex process marked by multiple layers of political, administrative, and security-related obstacles. It offers a concrete illustration of what it means to pursue humanitarian action under conditions of extreme blockade and pervasive uncertainty. Panda Aid hereby extends its sincere gratitude to all individuals and institutions who provided sustained attention, donations, and support throughout this period. It was precisely this cross-regional, cross-cultural, and cross-community solidarity that enabled this extraordinarily challenging humanitarian project to advance and reach the stage of substantive implementation.
II. Medical Donation–Based Support Project
(I) Project Background and Rationale
Against the backdrop of Israel’s continued military operations and comprehensive blockade, Gaza’s healthcare system has remained in a state close to collapse. Large numbers of civilians have been injured by airstrikes and ground military actions, while medical facilities—many of which have been damaged or destroyed—struggle to maintain even basic operations due to shortages of equipment, supplies, and qualified medical personnel. At the same time, cross-border entry of humanitarian supplies into Gaza is subject to severe restrictions; even within the United Nations framework, the transportation of medical supplies faces lengthy approval processes and extremely high levels of uncertainty.
Under these conditions, while continuing to pursue physical medical supply assistance, Panda Aid decided in parallel to explore an emergency medical support model centered on medical donations, implemented by local hospitals in Gaza in cooperation with international humanitarian organizations. This approach was designed to ensure that, when material supply routes are blocked, life-saving medical interventions can still be delivered in a direct and effective manner.
The “Providing Medical Services to Patients & Wounded in Gaza Project” and the MEDICS CARE Project were launched as emergency humanitarian medical interventions precisely within this context.
(II) Project Overview
Project Title: Emergency Surgical Medical Support Project
Donor / Funding Organization: Panda Aid
Implementing Organization: Medics Worldwide
Project Sector: Emergency Relief / Healthcare
Location: Gaza Strip, Palestine — Patients Friends Hospital, Gaza City
Project Period: November 8–22, 2025
Total Project Budget: USD 2,468.14
Funding for this Gaza medical assistance project originated from the “U.S. Activist Delegation to Xinjiang, China” study tour organized by Panda Aid in September 2025. This initiative represented a demonstrative, cross-issue and cross-regional practice that successfully linked an international activist fact-finding delegation with concrete humanitarian action. On the one hand, the delegation conducted in-depth research and exchanges on issues related to Xinjiang, China; on the other hand, its associated fundraising and support mechanisms directly fed back into urgent medical humanitarian assistance for Gaza. This formed a humanitarian practice pathway characterized by “thinking globally while acting locally,” and provided a replicable model for connecting China-related issues with humanitarian crises in the Global South.
Panda Aid hereby extends its sincere gratitude to compassionate supporters from China, Europe, and the Middle East. It is precisely this sustained trust and support across regions that has enabled Panda Aid to continue advancing multiple humanitarian projects of high complexity and significant political and security risk.
This medical donation primarily covered two components: the surgical costs for two pediatric patients, and short-term hospital operational support, ensuring that pediatric patients could receive free medical services during the surgical period, including pre-operative and post-operative care.
(III) Project Objectives
The project set out the following clear objectives:
To minimize surgical waiting times and reduce the pain and risk faced by pediatric patients and war-wounded individuals;
To fully cover surgical costs, preventing families from bearing additional financial burdens in a wartime context;
To support local healthcare institutions in Gaza and alleviate the extreme operational strain on the medical system caused by the conflict.
(IV) Implementation Approach and Process
The project was implemented locally in Gaza by Medics Worldwide, following a structured process that included:
Project management and coordination: Establishing administrative and technical teams with clearly defined roles and responsibilities;
Medical capacity assessment: Evaluating hospital infrastructure, equipment availability, and staffing conditions;
Patient selection: Identifying patients in urgent need of surgical intervention based on clinical severity;
Surgical implementation: Performing surgeries under conditions of extreme resource scarcity and high security risk;
Documentation and project closure: Producing a complete set of project records, including written implementation reports, detailed financial statements and invoices, and descriptions of surgical procedures and medical services, ensuring transparency and accountability in the use of funds.
(V) Medical Services Provided and Beneficiaries
The project successfully supported the implementation of essential surgical procedures for two pediatric patients, significantly improving their health outcomes:
Patient 1
Name: Abd Alraouf Humaid
Age: 6 months
Gender: Male
Date of Surgery: November 13, 2025
Procedure: Hernia repair surgery
Surgical Cost: USD 150
Specialty: Pediatric Surgery
Lead Surgeon: Imad Masoud
Patient 2
Name: Omar Basel Akkila
Age: 3.5 years
Gender: Male
Date of Surgery: November 13, 2025
Procedure: Cryptorchidism (Undescended Testis) Surgery
Surgical Cost: USD 150
Specialty: Pediatric Surgery
Lead Surgeon: Imad Masoud
In addition to the two surgical cases detailed above, more than 100 patients benefited from the MEDICS CARE program. The forms of assistance provided included free medical consultations, disease diagnosis, medication distribution, laboratory testing, and diagnostic imaging services.
(VI) Project Budget and Use of Funds
Item | Amount (USD) |
Total Project Budget | 2,468.14 |
Actual Implementation Costs | |
– Medical consultation fees | 1,000 |
– Medications | 622 |
– Laboratory testing | 150 |
– Medical imaging examinations | 150 |
– Two pediatric surgical procedures | 300 |
Subtotal | 2,222.00 |
Administrative and Management Costs (10%) | 246.14 |
(VII) Key Challenges Faced by the Project
A severe shortage of hospitals capable of performing surgical procedures, as many medical facilities have been damaged or rendered nonfunctional.
Closure of border crossings has resulted in extreme shortages of medical equipment and basic surgical supplies, with severe restrictions on movement and access.
Large numbers of medical personnel have been killed or injured due to ongoing attacks, leading to a critical shortage of qualified healthcare workers.
Deterioration of hospital infrastructure, with frequent power outages and communication disruptions becoming the norm.
Persistent security threats and the constant risk of airstrikes.
Patient numbers far exceeding the capacity of available medical facilities.
These factors collectively underscore both the high-risk nature of the project and its concrete humanitarian value.
(VIII) Supplementary Project: Medical Assistance for Gaza Refugees (Cairo, Egypt)
In addition to directly supporting medical projects inside Gaza, in April 2025 Panda Aid also provided medical assistance donations to Gaza refugees stranded in Cairo through the Cairo-based organization Network for Palestine, in the amount of approximately USD 2,700.
The funds were disbursed in Egyptian pounds (at an exchange rate of approximately USD 1 = EGP 47 at the time) and earmarked exclusively for emergency medical expenses for Gaza refugees in Cairo, including basic medical consultations, medications, and diagnostic examinations. Detailed financial records and medical expense documentation were provided for all expenditures, ensuring that the donations were used strictly for their intended purposes.
(IX) Project Outcomes and Practical Significance
Despite operating under conditions of extreme blockade and persistent political and security risks, the project successfully completed life-saving surgical interventions for pediatric patients, directly preserving lives and significantly improving individual health outcomes.
More importantly, the project demonstrated that under circumstances in which physical medical supplies are largely unable to enter Gaza, a model combining medical donations, local implementation, and oversight by international humanitarian organizations can constitute a viable and effective pathway to saving lives even under conditions of extreme siege. This model offers a practical and replicable reference for future medical humanitarian interventions in high-risk conflict zones.
III. Conclusion
Looking back on more than a year of practical engagement, it becomes clear that in Gaza—a space that is highly militarized and deeply politicized—humanitarian assistance has never been merely a question of good intentions. Rather, it is a question of whether one understands structural constraints, possesses the necessary endurance, and is willing to confront complex and often harsh realities. Whether it is the arduous journey of 4.3 tons of medical supplies through the global logistics system, or the effort to support local hospitals in Gaza through medical donations for surgical care, Panda Aid’s experience has repeatedly demonstrated one core lesson: under conditions of extreme blockade, a single form of assistance is rarely effective. Only by pursuing multiple pathways in parallel and continuously adjusting strategies can meaningful space be created to protect and save lives.
What this report documents is not a narrative of “success,” but a process of continual movement through failure, waiting, compromise, and breakthrough. It exposes the structural limits of the United Nations humanitarian system within real-world political constraints, while also showing that once those limits are clearly understood, space for action can still be found by civil society organizations. It is precisely through such practice that humanitarianism ceases to be an abstract moral language and becomes a form of real work—one that demands long-term commitment, sober judgment, and sustained collective support.
Panda Aid hopes that this report will not only serve as a practical reference for future volunteers and donors engaged in assistance to Gaza, but also provide those concerned with humanitarian crises in the Global South with a starting point for understanding grounded in lived practice rather than assumption or abstraction.
