In the Gaza Strip, over one month on from the end of the conflict, tens of thousands of people are still struggling to rebuild their lives. We in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, supported by large donations from the British public, mounted a massive response during the conflict with thousands of staff and volunteers delivering medical care, clean water and food. These unsung humanitarian heroes got to work as soon as fighting began, often risking their own lives, and haven't stopped since.
Throughout my time in the region I have asked myself how our organisation can get the people of Gaza back on their feet and to live a life free of fear? The simple answer is that we cannot. This is not a job for aid agencies alone. Humanitarian action is vital, but insufficient to resolve the crisis. Ordinary Gazans have struggled under 18 months of restrictions, making daily life almost impossible - access to healthcare, petrol, electricity, secure food supplies - things we take for granted.
Next week in Sharm el-Sheikh politicians and leaders from around the world will come together to discuss the reconstruction of Gaza: but how do you rebuild Gaza? No building materials are allowed in, so no work has started on the 10,000 new houses that will be needed, nor on repairs to vital facilities such as the hospital. As one father said: "Cement alone is not enough. What use to rebuild if we don't have a guarantee of peace and safety?"
His words struck home as we found a dozen large cement trucks in a builder's yard, all turned over on their sides and smashed, tank tracks still visible in the sand. Any hope of rebuilding seems a distant dream.
I talked to two families who preferred to live crouching under the rubble of their former homes. They had lost four family members, as well as their subsistence farming business across the border, now beyond reach.
The saddest sight was Samouni Street, home to the extended family of the same name, and now a pile of smashed concrete. Three small girls told us a heartrending story of terror and death: troops moved them out of their houses; their new shelter was bombed; a brother was run over by a tank; and a mother decapitated, her daughter left sitting by the body.
The task of reconstruction is daunting and the magnitude of the work cannot be underestimated. However, the truth is that efforts to rebuild Gaza can only succeed if accompanied by credible political steps to resolve the crisis.
It is not enough to just go back to the way things were before the conflict. What is needed is sustainable economic development; but this will be possible only if political steps prepare the ground. The first and most urgent measure should be to end the isolation of Gaza, particularly the restrictions on the movement of people and goods. In Israel, the targeting of civilian areas must also end.
The role of politicians and world leaders and the role of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement must not be confused. However, we share a common goal that can be reached only if we all work together, so that the delivery of humanitarian aid is complemented by the commitment of all involved in bringing about lasting peace.
Our mandate requires us to provide aid on the basis of need, and need alone, without recourse to ideology, politics or difference. But from political actors an honest and courageous peace process is required: to stop the destruction of thousands of civilian lives and to enable people to rebuild their communities and live with dignity. We will continue to fulfil our mandate. I urge the politicians and world leaders to fulfil theirs.
Nick Young, chief executive of the British Red Cross.