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Thousands of people have been killed and over 1.9 million displaced after the escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory on 7 October 2023.
In Gaza, as of 15 August, 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, of which more than 9,500 are women and 14,500 are children. Around 90,000 Palestinians have also been injured.
In Israel, 1,200 people have been killed and civilians, including women and children, have been forcibly taken. Some have been released in a deal brokered by Qatar.
Every prayer, every gift, every action brings hope to people hit by crisis.
We need a full and permanent ceasefire now. There is no military solution to this conflict. Instead, we are seeing our worst fears realised of a pause bomb pause bomb scenario. This is dehumanising, unacceptable and offers little room for hope or the conditions to achieve a lasting peace.
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1,200 Israelis have been killed and 5,431 injured. Israeli civilians, including women and children, have been forcibly taken.
In Gaza, as of 17 July , nearly 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, of which more than 9,500 are women and 14,500 are children. Nearly 90,000 Palestinians have also been injured.
Airstrikes have caused widespread destruction of homes, schools, healthcare facilities and telecommunication installations. With fuel for generators all but depleted, hospitals are ceasing to function and virtually all water and sanitation services have collapsed. All schools are closed, food supply is cut off and risking famine, and 3 in 4 Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced.
At least 17,000 children in Gaza orphaned following Israel’s air strikes/ground war.
Until the UK government calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and suspends its arms sales to Israel, it's complicit in the slaughter of innocent civilians taking place every day.
What's Christian Aid doing in response?
Christian Aid has been working with the poorest and most vulnerable people in the Middle East since the early 1950s, when we provided humanitarian relief to Palestinian refugees.
Thanks to the generosity of Christian Aid supporters, our established partners in Gaza are responding as best they can, under intense pressure. They're responding with medical relief and community-led initiatives such as food, shelter, sanitation and cash. This includes building mobile bathrooms in four shelters to working with local farmers to get fresh vegetables for families that have left their homes to escape airstrikes.
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However, it's extremely dangerous to move around, and supplies of essentials are running perilously low.
Christian Aid is also working with Zochrot, an Israeli civil society organisation based in Tel Aviv, to provide trauma based psychological assistance to Israelis who have been affected by the escalation of violent conflict.
Your donations can make a huge difference to the current conditions of those affected.
Find out more about our Gaza AppealFollowing atrocities against Israeli civilians last weekend, Israel's military response in Gaza is now creating an escalating humanitarian crisis that threatens more than 2 million people. After 16 years of closures and sporadic conflict, the people in Gaza were already experiencing very high levels of poverty, unemployment, and violence and insecurity.
Gaza's ongoing humanitarian crisis
Even before this latest escalation of violence, the humanitarian need in Gaza has been acute for many years due to the 16-year-old blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt and a lack of effective government in Gaza.
Across the occupied Palestinian territories, there is a sense of lawlessness and Palestinians feel hopeless. Gaza’s residents are living in incredibly harsh conditions, with soaring unemployment and poverty rates and a reliance on food aid.
Despite this, the international community has failed to step in, hold all sides to account and work to ensure a peace that secures justice, dignity and prosperity for all.
Join us in calling on the UK Government to do all it can to ensure peace.
A prayer for the Middle East
God, hear our prayers for peace in the Middle East.
May all people in the region be protected, safe from harm.
We pray that this crisis will end now, with no further loss of life.
God, may the injured and distressed know your healing presence.
May the powerful and the decision-makers follow the paths of justice, mercy and peace.
We pray for recognition of the dignity and value of every life.
May the clamour of violence cease,
Replaced by the beating of swords into ploughshares.
God, in your name,
You can help local responders make a huge difference to so many people who have lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones.