A major fundraising campaign has been launched by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to provide aid to people affected by conflicts in the Middle East. The UK’s largest aid charities, including ActionAid, British Red Cross, and Oxfam, are among the 15 organisations involved in the initiative. The DEC says that the situation in the Middle East is “overwhelming” with many families facing hunger, disease, and a lack of shelter after being displaced from their homes. The BBC will feature coverage of the Middle East Humanitarian Appeal on 17 October. Other broadcasters, including Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV, and Sky, will also provide coverage.
Since 7 October 2021, there have been extensive conflicts in the region. Hamas militiamen killed around 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostages during a surprise attack on communities in southern Israel. Since then, over 42,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli assaults on Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the area. The scope of the war has also extended to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
In a statement, Saleh Saeed, the Chief Executive of DEC, said that member organisations were already addressing the situation in Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza but needed more funds to cope with the scale of the problem. He said the group was monitoring the situation in Israel. If unmet needs emerged, then the DEC will extend support to the country. A member of the DEC, Save the Children’s humanitarian director Rachael Cummings, recently returned from Gaza. She said that fast-deteriorating health is affecting children in particular, with increases in respiratory cases, diarrhoea, and jaundice.
According to the DEC, the situation in Lebanon is particularly precarious, with estimates indicating that 1.2 million people have been displaced. It adds that hospitals are struggling to cope, and shelters are overwhelmed. The ongoing violence in the West Bank has also resulted in damage to water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities. The UK’s minister of state for development, Anneliese Dodds, stated that charities offer indispensable support to the most vulnerable people. She added that the UK government will match public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Middle East Humanitarian Appeal. The DEC has launched such appeals in the past for other global catastrophes or conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine and the 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria
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