How and where DEC charities are responding in the Middle East

Where are donations from the Middle East Appeal being spent?

The majority of funds from this appeal will be spent in Gaza and Lebanon, where millions of people are displaced and desperately need humanitarian support. Some of the funds will also be used to support people in the West Bank, where the recent escalation in violence has forced many more to flee their homes, and had a devastating economic impact.

In Israel, families of those held hostage desperately await news of their loved ones, tens of thousands of people have been displaced, and many more are dealing with trauma caused by the ongoing conflict.

We will continue to monitor the situation and needs in Israel. A number of DEC charities are in a position to expand their response to include Israel should the situation change.

As the conflict in the region expands, the DEC is constantly monitoring the humanitarian situation in order to be able to respond wherever the needs are greatest.

Gaza

In Gaza, the scale of need right now is overwhelming. People are dying of hunger and disease, as well as injuries caused by the conflict.  Food and clean water are desperately scarce. Ninety percent of the population have been internally displaced over the past year – most now several times – and more than 42,000 people have been killed.

There is a critical shortage of medical care for the sick and injured, and everyone is dealing with the trauma of daily life in a conflict zone. The humanitarian situation before the conflict escalated last year was already dire, and 80% of the population were relying on support from aid agencies. Levels of need are now far greater than ever before.

Lebanon

In Lebanon, over 1.4 million people fled their homes after violence escalated in mid-September. Airstrikes over the past year have killed more than 3,500 people, and injured many thousands more, stretching the healthcare system to its limits.  

The recent ceasefire means many of those displaced can return to their communities. But after months of living in crowded shelters, and with so many homes and essential facilities destroyed, humanitarian support remains critical to meet people's most urgent needs. 

Many families have nowhere to return to. Years of economic crisis, political turmoil and ongoing conflict in Lebanon have taken a terrible toll on livelihoods and public services, and left the country ill equipped to handle a humanitarian emergency at this scale. Hundreds of thousands have crossed the border into Syria in search of safety since September.  

What will donations pay for?

DEC member charities and their local partners are working around the clock to distribute essential aid and meet people’s most basic needs.

Some of the ways DEC member charities have been supporting people in Gaza and Lebanon include:

• Providing hot meals, dry goods and food baskets of produce, as well as support for community kitchens feeding the displaced. 
• Distributing clean drinking water and hygiene kits to improve sanitation in camps and shelters. 
• Supporting field hospitals and medical clinics in Gaza with equipment and medical staff to treat the many sick and injured. 
• Supplying shelter support, such as tents, shade covers and tarpaulins, particularly for those displaced in Gaza to Al Mawasi and Rafah. 
• Offering cash vouchers, so that people can buy the mattresses, blankets, bedding and essential items they need from local markets.
• Providing psychological support and setting up child friendly spaces, to help families manage the traumatic impact of ongoing conflict.

These are just some of the ways DEC member charities have been providing people with a lifeline of support over the past year, and they will continue to adapt their responses as the humanitarian situation develops across the region. Donations to this appeal will enable them to greatly increase the number of people they can reach.

Are any funds from this appeal being spent in Israel?

The DEC is extremely concerned about the situation in Israel right now, and the loss of life and suffering that families there have faced over the past year. Families of those held hostage desperately await news of their loved ones, tens of thousands of people have been displaced, and many are dealing with trauma caused by the ongoing conflict. 

Israeli civil society across the country has made immense efforts to scale up its capabilities to respond to the significant humanitarian and psychosocial needs. This work has been supported by charities and communities in the UK. Read more