In response to the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Commitment for Life, the global justice programme of the United Reformed Church, is launching an urgent appeal.
The aim is to raise £5,000 to provide vital support and aid through partner agencies Christian Aid, the Culture and Free Thought Association (CFTA), and the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC).
Recent reports, such as this BBC News report which shows children in Gaza facing severe hunger, disease and malnutrition due to shortages of food and drinking water, reveal a grim reality: on 18 March, it was declared Gaza’s two million people are experiencing “severe levels of acute food insecurity”.
In a statement, the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations’ High Representative Josep Borrell and Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said: “This is unprecedented. No IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) analysis has ever recorded such levels of food insecurity anywhere in the world.”
This is first time an entire population has been classified in this way.
In emphasising the dire situation in Gaza, William Bell, Christian Aid’s Head of Middle East Policy and Advocacy, said: “nobody is safe, but still our partners are doing extraordinary work in the most extreme conditions”.
Commitment for Life is devastated by the violence, scale of destruction and loss of life in Gaza affecting friends and partners of the URC in the region and is launching its to do what it can to help aid partner agencies on the ground.
The Revd Dr Kevin Snyman, Programme Officer – URC Global Justice & Partnerships, said: “The October 7 attacks devastated many communities in Israel, a close-knit society on the whole, and one deeply anxious about the anger and vitriol directed towards it.
“But there can be no justification for such widespread, indiscriminate killing.
“We are gravely concerned about Israel’s military response, which the International Court of Justice views as ‘plausibly’ genocidal. We are desperately worried for the entire population in the Gaza Strip, and increasingly in the West Bank.”
CFTA is working across refugee camps in Rafah is piloting two ways of addressing basic needs using local, existing mechanisms. The first is water distribution for hygiene by working with well owners across Gaza. The second is working with local farmers who are risking their lives to tend their crops, then distributing vegetables to their communities.
PARC is providing food for displaced Gaza refugees, who finding themselves in the most desperate of circumstances.
“These brave people need our support,” added Kevin. “Please give generously to this appeal.”
Please donate to Commitment for Life’s Gaza Appeal.
Every contribution makes a difference in helping those affected by the ongoing crisis in Gaza. Your generosity will help provide essential resources and support to those in need during these challenging times. Thank you for your compassion and support.
You can also scan this QR code to donate.
Images are stills from a BBC News report/YouTube.