Image credits and information
Thousands of people have been killed and over a million displaced after the escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.
There is a catastrophic humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza. Since 7 October, over 15,523 Palestinians have been killed, including 6,000 children. 1,400 Israelis have been killed and civilians including women and children were forcibly taken.
Airstrikes have caused widespread destruction of homes, schools, healthcare facilities and telecommunication installations. With fuel for generators all but depleted, hospitals are ceasing to function and virtually all water and sanitation services have collapsed. All schools are closed, food supply is cut off and it is feared 1.5 million people have been displaced.
With the end of the seven-day pause and resumption of combat operations, we fear that more lives will be lost and many more people will be injured. We're calling for an immediate ceasefire because without it, we don’t believe a safe humanitarian response or a sustainable peace is possible.
We need a full and permanent ceasefire now. There is no military solution to this conflict. Instead, we are seeing our worst fears realised of a pause bomb pause bomb scenario. This is dehumanising, unacceptable and offers little room for hope or the conditions to achieve a lasting peace.
Every prayer, every gift, every action brings hope to people hit by crisis.
What’s happening?
On the morning of Saturday 7 October, Hamas launched a wave of rocket attacks and stormed into Israel.
1,400 Israelis have been killed and 5,400 injured. Israeli civilians, including women and children, have been forcibly taken.
In Gaza, 14,500 Palestinians have been killed, including 6,000. Airstrikes have caused widespread destruction of homes, schools, healthcare facilities and telecommunication installations.
Hospitals that are already at breaking point are overwhelmed by casualties, while over a million people have been displaced. With Gaza's only power plant running out of fuel, cuts are affecting hospitals, closing food supply to shops and access to water and sanitation services. All schools are closed.
What is Christian Aid doing in response?
Christian Aid has been working with the poorest and most vulnerable people in the Middle East since the early 1950s, when we provided humanitarian relief to Palestinian refugees.
Our established partners in Gaza are responding as best they can, under intense pressure, with medical relief and community-led initiatives such as food, shelter, sanitation and cash. However, it is extremely dangerous to move around, and supplies of essentials are running perilously low.
In southern Gaza, our partner is responding to those most recently displaced to south Gaza as a result of the war. They're providing:
- Mattresses
- Medicines (e.g. for people with chronic illnesses)
- Emergency food from a community kitchen for approximately 200 displaced people.
We're actively exploring ways in which we might also support Israeli civilians who've been directly impacted by the violence.
Your donations can make a huge difference to the current conditions of those affected.
Please donate what you can todayFollowing atrocities against Israeli civilians last weekend, Israel's military response in Gaza is now creating an escalating humanitarian crisis that threatens more than 2 million people. After 16 years of closures and sporadic conflict, the people in Gaza were already experiencing very high levels of poverty, unemployment, and violence and insecurity.
Gaza's ongoing humanitarian crisis
Even before this latest escalation of violence, the humanitarian need in Gaza has been acute for many years due to the 16-year-old blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt and a lack of effective government in Gaza.
Across the occupied Palestinian territories, there is a sense of lawlessness and Palestinians feel hopeless. Gaza’s residents are living in incredibly harsh conditions, with soaring unemployment and poverty rates and a reliance on food aid.
Despite this, the international community has failed to step in, hold all sides to account and work to ensure a peace that secures justice, dignity and prosperity for all.
Join us in calling on the UK Government to do all it can to ensure peace.
A prayer for the Middle East
God, hear our prayers for peace in the Middle East.
May all people in the region be protected, safe from harm.
We pray that this crisis will end now, with no further loss of life.
God, may the injured and distressed know your healing presence.
May the powerful and the decision-makers follow the paths of justice, mercy and peace.
We pray for recognition of the dignity and value of every life.
May the clamour of violence cease,
Replaced by the beating of swords into ploughshares.
God, in your name,
You can help local responders make a huge difference to so many people who have lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones.