Where is Gaza's Aid?
How challenging is it for vital necessities to reach the besieged residents of Gaza in the throes of conflict?
Due to the dynamic nature of the conflict, the data and information provided in this article are accurate as of May 22, 2024.
Families are eating animal feed to survive. Clean water becomes hard to reach. People in Gaza are facing hunger.
Last year, in early October, tensions escalated sharply when Hamas launched a series of rocket attacks across southern and central Israel. This has provoked heightened political tensions in the Gaza Strip, leading to a humanitarian crisis and significant impacts on civilian populations.
In response to the deepening crisis in Gaza, a global outpouring of material aids has emerged, spearheaded by nations worldwide and key international bodies such as the United Nations. Land crossings served as one of the important vital aid routes to deliver humanitarian assistance connecting Gaza to the outside world.
Why to Visualize Gaza Aid Routes?
Media coverage on Gaza's aid routes often only includes basic maps and a short chunk of text, detailing closures at several checkpoints, which I find difficult as a reader to fully relate to the situation that has been described. I often wonder why these checkpoints are shut down AGAIN, how many remain open, and how they link the outside world to those still struggling in Gaza. So my goal for this project is to collect the spatial data of both historical and active land crossings in Gaza and to visualize the aid routes in use since the war began.
Methodology
Data collection - Google Map & Google Sheet In my initial research, I conducted basic online searches using keywords such as "Gaza aid routes" and manually reviewed many media reports about the current situation at Gaza's land crossings. This led me to compile a list of all seven land crossing checkpoints. I then used Google Maps to pinpoint and track down their coordinates in a Google Sheet .
Step 1 - Collect Spatial Data
Map visualization - QGIS & Adobe Illustrator To create basic maps with pinpointed land crossings, I organized the spatial data into two separate CSV files: one for historical land crossings that are permanently closed (four crossings) and another for the active land crossings (three crossings). I then imported these files into QGIS using the "Data Source Manager" to convert them into shapefiles. For the basemap, I selected "ESRI Gray (light)" to provide a clear, unobtrusive background for the project. Finally, I exported the map as an SVG file, setting the stage for further customization with Adobe Illustrator.
Step 2 - Create Basic Map with QGIS
Step 3 - Customize Map with Illustrator
