Donate to the Israeli-Palestinian Crisis Appeal
The terrible situation in Gaza is tearing lives apart. Your donation today will help with the practical support to help where possible.
Our local partners have been providing urgent humanitarian aid to those sheltering in overcrowded temporary settlements near Rafah in the south of Gaza.
CAFOD has been working in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel for decades. Together with partners, we have been actively responding to the crisis since the terrible attacks by Hamas on 7 October 2023 and the subsequent military response from Israel.
Thanks to your prayers, campaigning and donations, we continue to stand in solidarity with trusted local partners in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel who are working tirelessly to deliver vital humanitarian aid to those suffering.
Gaza is on the brink of famine
Experts are warning that Gaza is on the brink of famine. Since the escalation of the conflict, 1.7 million people in Gaza have been displaced from their homes, and two million are facing catastrophic levels of hunger. In northern Gaza, one in three children below the age of two are now acutely malnourished.
Restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid and the intensity of ongoing hostilities are preventing access to essential food, water and healthcare, and have made the situation increasingly desperate for vulnerable civilians caught up in the crisis.
More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed, among them 13,000 children. Thousands more are missing and over 74,000 are reportedly injured. The UN reports that over 60% of housing units in Gaza are destroyed or damaged. There are no safe spaces in Gaza.
“People in Gaza are starving. Our partners tell us that the daily struggle to secure bread is exhausting. However, they are continuing to respond urgently and they have been clear that with more funds, they can do more to meet the desperate needs and provide essential items to their communities.”
Three ways you can help today
Our partners are clear that, with your support, they can continue to provide practical help to families in Gaza right now. Here are three ways that you can help us make this happen:
1. Donate to our appeal
Despite the huge challenges, CAFOD’s trusted partners continue to respond to the urgent needs around them with remarkable strength and courage.
They are scaling up their response, providing the essentials needed to address the catastrophic levels of hunger now faced by families in Gaza. They continue to provide food, emergency shelter, cash for food, blankets, healthcare and medications, and psychological assistance to both children and adults, as well as offering legal support in Israel to families of missing and kidnapped migrants and refugees.
If you are able to, please donate to the Israeli-Palestinian Crisis Appeal to support our partners, who are already responding to tens of thousands of people in urgent need despite the challenging circumstances.
Your gift is supporting vulnerable people with the urgent provision of food, water and emergency shelter.
2. Campaign for a lasting ceasefire
Thanks to the efforts of people all across the world who have come together to raise their voices and demand governments take action, the United Nations has finally passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire. As we slowly progress towards bringing about the conditions for a lasting peace in the region, it is vital that we keep up the pressure more than ever so the UK government is in no doubt as to how much its citizens desperately want to see this life-saving ceasefire.
CAFOD believes that only a permanent ceasefire will allow a full humanitarian response and bring lasting peace to the region.
Will you join us in writing to the Foreign Secretary demanding peace in the Holy Land?
3. Join us in prayer
During this holy time, we are united in prayer with Pope Francis and all those who pray that peace may prevail all hearts. Every person is a child of God, and we must do all we can to be alongside our brothers and sisters of all faiths living through violence, fear and destruction.
Please join us in prayer by adding your name as a sign of your prayers, which we will share in solidarity with our partners who are responding to this humanitarian crisis.
Add your name to our prayer message
Together, we pray for the people of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory who have been affected by this devastating conflict, for an immediate end to the violence, for our trusted partners who are working tirelessly to respond, and for aid access where it is needed most.
CAFOD has worked for many years in both Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory with partners who are Christian, Jewish, Muslim and secular, and we join Pope Francis’ urgent call for peace and an end to the violence.
Pray with us for peace
Join us in prayer by adding your name as a sign of your prayers, which we will share in solidarity with our partners who are responding to this humanitarian crisis.
Send a message to the Foreign Secretary
Email David Cameron to call for peace and urge the UK to play its part in upholding international law.
World Central Kitchen airstrike
On Monday 1 April, an Israeli airstrike led to the horrific killing of seven humanitarian aid workers from World Central Kitchen. We condemn the assault and demand compliance with international humanitarian law.
This incident shows that there are no safe areas in Gaza, and that we need an immediate and permanent ceasefire to make sure humanitarian aid can reach people safely and to work towards long-term peace.
Pope Francis expressed his "deep sorrow" at the attack on the seven World Central Kitchen workers.
During his weekly audience at the Vatican, he renewed his appeal for access to aid for the "exhausted and suffering civilian population" of Gaza, and for hostages taken by Hamas to be released.
“I reiterate my firm call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. I express my deep sorrow for the volunteers who were killed while distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza. I pray for them and their families.”
It is utterly deplorable that seven staff from @WCKitchen were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
— CAFOD (@CAFOD) April 3, 2024
Humanitarian aid workers must be protected. They are #NotATarget. Our prayers go out to the family and friends of the aid workers and all @WCKitchen for their devastating loss. pic.twitter.com/0RjpzTx9Zn
“We are in regular contact with our partners. They have been clear that with more funds, they can do more to protect and provide essential items to communities.”
CAFOD’s partner in southern Gaza is providing a space for children’s activities to give them some respite from the conflict that surrounds them. The children have painted pictures which reflect their desire for a better future, free from violence.
CAFOD is supporting trusted partners with their response
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) have been scaling up their response and establishing new warehouses for distributing aid. They continue to bring much-needed supplies via Egypt, which are essential to address the catastrophic levels of hunger now faced by families in Gaza. They are also providing emergency shelter, cash and blankets, as well as offering psychological assistance to over 100,000 families across Gaza and the West Bank. CRS are also supporting four churches that are serving as temporary shelters for displaced people and are providing food and cash.
Our local Israeli partner Hotline for Refugees and Migrants has been supporting families of missing and kidnapped migrants. They are offering legal support to ensure all victims of the 7 October atrocities have access to their rights and benefits.
Caritas Jerusalem has opened a new health centre in Gaza city, after its clinic was damaged by shelling, which is now providing healthcare and medications to the local community. When conditions allow, they send out mobile medical teams to support vulnerable communities.
Our partner Sadaka Reut has mobilised its young participants to act in solidarity with marginalised Bedouin communities in the south of Israel who have been impacted by the conflict to build emotional resilience.
Our partner from Khan Younis (cannot be named due to security reasons), opened their centres as shelters for people fleeing northern Gaza in the early days of the crisis. As the fighting intensified, they were forced to move further south to Rafah where they are supporting thousands of families with shelter and basic food, water and medical supplies.
They are also providing a space for children’s activities to give them some respite from the conflict that surrounds them and to respond to the trauma that they are experiencing. The children have painted pictures which reflect their desire for a better future, free from violence.
While it is increasingly difficult to provide assistance, CAFOD’s trusted partners in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel are still managing to respond to the needs around them.
They are providing essentials to those caught up in the fighting but have been clear that with more funding, they can do more to protect and to provide for their communities. They continue to need our support.