Actors Bilal Hasna and Maisie Richardson-Sellers and content creator Shabaz Ali have lent their support to the appeal, and applauded the incredible dedication of local aid workers in Gaza.  

In a new video posted to the DEC’s social media channels, they hear the powerful stories of a teacher, a doctor and a humanitarian aid worker, who are all working with the DEC’s member charities and their local partner organisations. 

Saeed, an Emergency Coordinator in Gaza, said: 

"Every day we speak to people who mourn their loved ones, mothers who worry their children won't survive the next night because of illness, and children who have stopped speaking because what they have endured has left them withdrawn and shattered. At the same time, us aid workers are also deeply affected by this war.”

The video highlights the extreme levels of humanitarian need facing people across Gaza, Lebanon and the wider Middle East region – with millions having fled their homes in search of safety and many more in urgent need of food, shelter and medical care. 

Hundreds of schools have been turned into emergency shelters for people whose homes have been destroyed or conflict has meant they have had to leave their properties.

In Gaza, children are now unable to go to school for the second school year in a row, with 45,000 unable to start school for the first time.  

Only 15,000 children are being supported by temporary learning spaces that have been set up by humanitarian agencies but this is a small fraction of what is needed for the 625,000 pupils in Gaza who have already missed up to a full school year since the conflict began. It has been reported that 378 school buildings in Gaza have been directly hit over the past year. 

In Lebanon, well over two thirds - 77% - of public schools have been converted to collective shelters or are otherwise disrupted. This has led to a delay in the start of the academic term from October 14 to November 4 for the lucky ones whose schools remain open.