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CAFOD

Israeli-Palestinian crisis update: How you can help the people of Gaza today

7 May 2024
Israeli-Palestinian Crisis news story image 1

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 34,000 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.

Israeli attacks on city of Rafah

On Monday 6 May Israel began its attack on Rafah in the southern part of Gaza, one of the most densely-populated areas on Earth. The attack in Rafah must stop. Thousands have died in this conflict so far, and thousands more will die if the attack continues.

There are no safe places in Gaza to which people can flee.

We have heard from our local partners on the ground who have described the situation in Rafah as a ‘cut and paste’ kind of horror – families already traumatised from being moved four, even five times, are being torn apart again and forced from one shelter to another.

Our partner’s local Rafah office had to be dismantled and moved several miles away, draining resources and precious time that should be spent getting essential aid to people who are starving. Fuel shortages further compound this crisis, with only two days' supply remaining.

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.

Elizabeth Funnell, CAFOD’s Country Programme Representative Middle East

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.