Press Release: Supporters donate £8.5 million pounds to provide life-saving aid in Gaza one year on since conflict
Muslim Hands supporters have donated over £8.5 million to provide life-saving aid in Gaza since October 2023, responding to a year of relentless conflict with relentless giving and unprecedented levels of generosity. The risk of famine and mass starvation remains a real danger in the occupied territory, with an estimated 2.2 million people still facing high levels of acute food insecurity, but the aid we have been able to channel through our two United Nations partner organisations has offered a lifeline to hundreds of thousands of hungry people.
In the past year Muslim Hands has provided over 3.25 million meals in Gaza in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), through a combination of cooking hot meals and distributing food parcels. In Ramadan alone our partners provided 2.5 million meals, part of a record-breaking holy month for the charity in which we fed more people globally than ever before. Our focus in Gaza, as it is everywhere when distributing food aid, is on the most vulnerable, including women and children, the elderly and those with disabilities.
Yasrab Shah, Fundraising Director at Muslim Hands, said: ‘We can’t thank our donors enough for their hugely generous response one year on to the horrendous and unprecedented situation in Gaza. Your donations are a real lifeline and are making a massive difference to so many people suffering in this ongoing conflict. Muslim Hands will continue to upscale its efforts in Gaza with its chosen partner organisations UNRWA and WFP who have continued to work flat out to meet the demands of the people of Gaza by providing hot meals, shelter and water. Our efforts on the ground will continue and therefore we urge our supporters to keep their donations coming – you really are making the difference between life and death for some people.’
Tamara Alrifai, UNRWA Director of External Relations and Communications, stated: ‘We’re grateful to our partner Muslim Hands UK and its network for mobilizing critical humanitarian supplies for the people of Gaza. Your lifesaving contributions have funded food, medical supplies and tents, among other items, alleviating the suffering of thousands of internally displaced persons which UNRWA is sheltering. 12 months into this ongoing and unprecedented crisis, we cannot thank you enough for this vital support.’
Our response in Gaza has not only been about food aid. The support of Muslim Hands donors enabled us to give UNRWA £500,000 to provide 500 families with tents and kitchen packs. Each tent we provided was big enough to shelter a family of five from the elements, while each kitchen pack included cooking pots and other utensils.
With no convincing prospect of a lasting ceasefire any time soon, providing drinkable water is another important focus for our ongoing support. Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure has been severely damaged in the conflict, with 97% of water now deemed undrinkable. Palestinians are receiving an average of only three litres of water per day, which is drastically lower than the 7.5 to 15 litres per day recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Muslim Hands has responded by working to establish three desalination plants at UNRWA schools in Gaza. This large-scale £690,000 project, on course for completion by the end of this year, will provide 30,000 people each day with a reliable supply of safe water every day.
Donations have been made through various channels including television appeals, online giving and sponsored events. Our annual Gaza Winter Walk raised a record £279,000, with hundreds of walkers braving the cold to complete the five-mile walk in their local parks Manchester, Birmingham and London. This year the Gaza Winter Walk returns in December with the aim of raising £300,000 for emergency hot meals in Gaza.
Shah Khan, a Gaza Winter Walk participant said: ‘When the conflict started, I often had thoughts of what I can do as someone in the UK to support those suffering in Gaza. I wanted to do something practical and get my family, my neighbours and community involved. When I participated in the Gaza Winter Walk, I felt like I had done something which would make a real difference. The conflict has brought a range of emotions from sadness to anger and even confusion. It’s impacted my everyday choices such as splashing out on takeaways when I know that money can feed multiple people in Gaza. One year of conflict has come by so quickly and I can’t imagine what the people in Gaza have gone through. I will absolutely be taking part in the Gaza Winter Walk again this year to raise much needed funds.’
The kind of support our donors are providing is desperately needed. Since 7th October 2023, nearly 1.9 million people in Gaza have been displaced multiple times, with mass destruction of civilian property and infrastructure. Over 40,000 have been killed and 95,000 wounded. Hunger has reached catastrophic levels due to extremely limited access for humanitarian organisations working to reach civilians in some parts of the Gaza strip.
The upcoming winter season will bring a new wave of difficulties for people in Gaza. Poor sanitation has resulted in sewage contaminating the streets, exposing the most vulnerable to deadly illnesses such as cholera and polio. Acutely malnourished people with weakened immunity can fall prey to all kinds of deadly diseases. Muslim Hands has pledged with WFP to provide over 1.7 million nutritious hot meals during the winter months, which will make a huge difference in keeping cold and hunger at bay.
Richard Wilcox, Director of Private Sector Partnerships at WFP: 'It is thanks to the continued support from partners like Muslim Hands, that WFP in Palestine has been able to provide this ongoing life-saving food assistance. We are so grateful to Muslim Hands and all their supporters for the 4 million US dollars they have already kindly provided, and we are committed to further partnership.'
ENDS
Notes to editors
To donate to our Gaza Emergency appeal click here or call our call centre team on (0115) 9117222.
Contact Press Officer Sahirah Javaid for spokesperson availability for interviews – 07736344899.
