Here’s how you can continue to help people in Gaza.
With news coming in earlier today that Israel’s security cabinet has, after some delay, ratified the Gaza ceasefire agreement, it looks as if the carnage that has enveloped the strip for over fifteen months will, on Sunday, finally come to an end.
For surviving Palestinians in the brutalized enclave, all of whom have had to endure a level of trauma most of us would be unable to fathom, the cessation of hostilities is only the first step on a long and painful road back to something resembling normalcy.
Over the past 467 days, tens of thousands of Palestinians have died violent deaths (almost 18,000 of them children) at the hands of the Israeli military. More than 100,000 have been wounded (with an estimated 22,500 suffering “life-altering” injuries). Almost all of the region’s 2.2 million people have been displaced, in most cases multiple times, and are suffering from “acute food insecurity.” The region’s infrastructure—medical, educational, cultural, recreational, agricultural, religious—has been decimated. 92 percent of all homes have been damaged or destroyed.
In short: the grieving, traumatized survivors of the Gazan genocide have been left with nothing, and they’ll need our help, for many months and years to come, in order to rebuild their lives. We, the citizens of countries whose leaders sponsored and defended this nightmare, owe them that much at least.
Here are some ways you can help right now:
Mutual Aid Organizations
Gaza Funds is a project that connects people to verified crowdfunding campaigns for individuals and families in Gaza. Consider adopting a fundraiser and sharing it among your friends and colleagues.
The Sameer Project is a grassroots aid organization, led by four Palestinians in the diaspora, working to supply emergency shelter and aid to displaced families in Gaza.
Workshops for Gaza is a group of autonomous writers, artists, and educators organizing donation-based workshops and classes to raise money for Palestinians in Gaza.
Larger Aid Organizations
Medical Aid for Palestinians is on the ground in Gaza where they are working to stock hospitals with essential drugs, disposables, and other healthcare supplies.
Palestine Children’s Relief Fund is the primary humanitarian organization in Palestine. They deliver crucial, life-saving medical and humanitarian aid on the ground.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency services in the West Bank and Gaza. Dozens of its staff members have been killed by Israeli military attacks over the past 15 months.
The World Food Program has been distributing fresh bread, canned food and ready-to-eat food to those who sought refuge in United Nations Relief and Works Agency shelters in Gaza.
Doctors Without Borders is providing support to hospitals and health facilities in Gaza.
UNRWA is providing medical support, trauma relief, and food assistance on the ground in Gaza.
The Middle East Children’s Alliance works to protect the rights and improve the lives of children in the Middle East through aid, empowerment, and education. Their team are providing emergency assistance to displaced families in Gaza.
Heal Palestine helps Palestinian children with severe injuries and amputations evacuate Gaza to get lifesaving treatment.
Project Hope is providing support to operate a primary health clinic in Deir Al Balah and to build a medical team in Rafah in response to the ongoing humanitarian emergency.
