The latest news from Gaza is bleak. More than 2 weeks into the conflict, the death toll has risen to more than 680, with thousands more injured. 1.5 million people, 56% of them children, are trapped inside Gaza — an area about 6 miles wide and 27 miles long — by the Israeli blockade.

With the UN reporting that 750,00 Gazans are without access to water and 1 million do not have electricity, how are Gazans supposed to endure the daily assault?

Meanwhile, armed Palestinian groups, including Hamas, continue bombarding Israel with indiscriminate rocket fire, firing over a dozen rockets a few days ago.

What can be done to prevent Hamas from firing at civilians? What are the responsibilities of the warring parties in this conflict? How can refugees be protected?

Ask these and other questions today for an online chat on Monday, January 12th, at 12pm EST.

AI researcher Donatella Rovera will answer your questions directly from southern Israel where she is currently stationed. Donatella is pushing to enter Gaza, monitoring the crisis from southern Israel, and conducting first-hand interviews with affected individuals and organizations.

Donatella’s research will supplement the recent report AI co-authored in March 2008, The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion. That research exposed the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza: over 80% live in absolute poverty, unemployment is close to 40%, households spend over 60% on food and power outages keep hospitals from treating the critically ill.

Submit your questions to Donatella today.