Charities renew calls for donations as Gaza aid effort scales up

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Cymru has renewed its appeal for donations to support people in Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank and Syria, as aid agencies begin scaling up their operations following the latest ceasefire.

The Welsh Government has pledged a further £250,000 to the Middle East Humanitarian Appeal, taking its total contribution to £450,000.

The public in Wales has so far donated £3.1m, part of the £50m raised across the UK since the appeal launched.

Humanitarian supplies

The renewed push for donations comes as trucks carrying vital humanitarian supplies entered Gaza for the first time since the ceasefire was announced.

DEC member charities, including the British Red Cross and Plan International, confirmed aid had successfully crossed the border, with food, water and medical supplies among the first deliveries.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza remains severe. The UN says that 80% of buildings have been destroyed or damaged since the conflict escalated, while famine was officially declared in Gaza City and surrounding areas in August by the IPC, the UN-backed global hunger monitor.

The entire population of over two million is now facing extreme food insecurity.

Rubble

Many of the hundreds of thousands of people returning north since the ceasefire have found their homes reduced to rubble, leaving families sheltering in makeshift camps without basic supplies or access to essential services.

DEC Cymru’s External Relations Manager, Siân Stephen, said the priority now was adapting aid delivery to meet shifting needs:

“In the face of such overwhelming need, our member charities are busy scaling up their response and need and capacity assessments are in full swing. As the population moves north, new camps will need to be established and informal camps supported.

“DEC charities and their local partners are working to establish in which areas critical infrastructure, such as water or medical clinics, can be rehabilitated or where focusing on mobile clinics or water trucking makes most sense.”

She added: “We are, once again, grateful to the Welsh Government for their generous support. Likewise, the continued support of the Welsh public is helping us deliver a lifeline for people in desperate need. Donations made in Wales are helping to deliver hot meals in collective kitchens, cash aid to buy vegetables in a market, or lifesaving medicines in Gaza.

“As the aid response builds, we all share the desperate hope and cautious optimism that we can achieve a sustained surge in aid and alleviate the suffering.”

Donations to the DEC’s Middle East Appeal can be made online, by phone, on 0330 123 0333 (Standard network charges apply) or  send a cheque by post to: DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal, PO Box 999, London EC3A 3AA  or in high street banks and post offices across Wales.