Donate to the Gaza Crisis Appeal
Millions of people have fled their homes in search of safety. They urgently need shelter, food, healthcare and basic supplies.
The Holy Family Church in Gaza, which was damaged after being struck by a shell in an attack that killed three people and injured others
A major Israeli ground offensive is underway in Gaza City. For hundreds of thousands of desperate people this will have catastrophic humanitarian consequences.
“Civilians are being told to leave, but there is nowhere safe to go.” Elizabeth Funnell, CAFOD’s Country Representative for the Middle East
This comes at a crucial moment as the UN Commission of Inquiry finds that a genocide is taking place in Gaza.
Civilians are being told to leave, but there is nowhere safe to go
How can I respond to the crisis in Gaza?
Despite overwhelming challenges and risk to life, our local partners are clear that, with your support, they can continue to deliver vital support to those in greatest need.
Email your MP
Please tell your MP that the UK government must take bolder and more decisive action on the Gaza crisis.
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.
What is happening in Gaza now?
Gaza City is now under evacuation orders due to a major ground offensive that’s underway. Hundreds of thousands of families are being told to flee with nowhere safe to go.
A major ground offensive is a planned push by an army to capture an area. Gaza City holds nearly half of Gaza’s population, and these families are now being forced to evacuate.
Roads have been destroyed by airstrikes making it extremely difficult to leave. When before a journey would take 30 minutes, it’s now taking an entire day. The only option people have is to travel by foot or cart, while buildings around them are destroyed by airstrikes.
The Holy Family Church continues to provide shelter to hundreds of people in hugely difficult circumstances. They have lost everything.
Elizabeth Funnell, our Country Representative for the Middle East, says:
“We are witnessing the systematic destruction of everything which sustains life in Gaza – whether that’s the means to produce food, find clean water, or access essential infrastructure like hospitals and schools. People are stuck between starvation and bombardment.
“Civilians are being told to leave, but there is nowhere safe to go. So-called 'humanitarian zones’ are already hugely overcrowded and lack basic services. Vulnerable people in Gaza City, trying to survive under famine conditions, will not be able to make the journey. Many are afraid that they will never be allowed to return.”
What international response has there been?
At the time of writing, the UN Commission of Inquiry has found that a genocide is taking place in Gaza against Palestinians.
The UN Commission of Inquiry found that four of the five genocidal acts defined under international law have been carried out since 2023. These are: deliberately inflicting conditions of life to destroy the group, killing members of a group, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and preventing births.
The UK must halt all arms sales to Israel without delay, and must take immediate steps to halt the offensive and secure an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict
A food parcel distribution at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City
What has the Church said about the crisis in Gaza?
Pope Leo XIV has called for an immediate ceasefire and that international law must be respected:
“I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.”
The Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pizzaballa, visited Gaza after the attack on the Holy Family Church and said:
“Humanitarian aid is not only necessary - it is a matter of life and death. Refusing it is not a delay, but a sentence. Every hour without food, water, medicine and shelter causes deep harm.
“To target a church where families sought refuge, where children slept, violates every principle of humanity and international law. The world cannot remain silent.”
A food parcel distribution at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City
How are CAFOD and its partners responding to the crisis?
Caritas Jerusalem is supporting staff members who have chosen to leave by providing essential items and a space to sleep when they arrive. Many staff and their families here feel there is no safe space to run and so the majority of people have chosen to stay.
Despite this harrowing situation, our local partners continue to do their best to look after families sheltering here. In August, they distributed food baskets to around 630 people.
CAFOD has been working in the Middle East for decades, across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Israel. Despite immense challenges, CAFOD’s local partners continue to deliver vital support to those in greatest need.
Through the Church and community networks, which CAFOD’s local partners have, they are still able to respond in very difficult circumstances.
CAFOD’s local Church partner, Caritas Jerusalem, is operating medical points across Gaza, treating chronic illnesses, running pharmacies (though dangerously low on supplies), and supporting families mentally and physically through this crisis. The Caritas team is constantly adapting to changing circumstances and moving the location of their mobile clinics depending on where it's safest to operate.
Other local partners are providing food and shelter for displaced families. However, they report growing difficulty in sourcing food, with the nutritional value of meals declining sharply.
Our work in Gaza is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the health and wellbeing of the community, even under the most difficult conditions
What action on Gaza is CAFOD calling for?
More than 100 organisations (including CAFOD) are urging governments to take decisive action to:
open all land crossings
restore the full flow of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel through a principled, UN-led mechanism
end the siege
agree to a ceasefire now.
The UK and 25 other governments are also calling for an end to the war in Gaza.
While humanitarian zones continue to be hit, more in the way of concrete action is still needed. CAFOD's Director of Advocacy Neil Thorns explained:
“The joint statement from the UK and 25 other nations, calling for an urgent end to the war in Gaza, is only worthwhile if it leads to immediate concrete action. We urge the Foreign Secretary David Lammy MP to suspend arms sales to Israel and ban all settlement trade today.
“Attacks on humanitarian zones, hospitals, schools and places of worship are a violation of international law. The people of Gaza have almost nowhere safe left to go. We need more than words to help broker a peaceful resolution and bring urgent relief to hundreds of thousands facing intolerable suffering."