London, United Kingdom, October 16, 2024 —  The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is launching a Middle East Humanitarian Appeal to raise urgent funds for people whose lives are being devastated by conflict. 

Over the past year, conflict in the Middle East has devastated lives across the region, and millions have fled their homes in search of safety. Right now, millions of people across Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region are in urgent need of food, shelter and medical care.

DEC member charities are coordinating closely with each other and with local partners to provide lifesaving food, water, shelter, medicine and more.

In Gaza, the scale of need is overwhelming, with people already dying of hunger and disease, as well as injuries caused by the conflict. Food and clean water are desperately scarce and ninety percent of the population have been displaced, often multiple times.

In Lebanon, more than a million people have had to leave their homes in recent weeks. Shelters are overwhelmed, and hospitals are struggling to treat the thousands of people injured. 

In the West Bank, vital water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure has been damaged by ongoing violence and families have been displaced from their homes.

In Israel, families of those held hostage desperately await news of their loved ones, tens of thousands of people are displaced and many more are dealing with trauma caused by the conflict. The DEC is monitoring the evolving situation and a number of DEC charities are ready to expand their response to include Israel.

The DEC brings together 15 leading aid charities at times of crisis overseas where there is significant unmet humanitarian need. Despite extraordinary challenges and risks, 14 DEC member charities are responding right now in Gaza and Lebanon and 8 in the West Bank, including British Red Cross, Oxfam and Save the Children.  

Appeals to raise funds to support this work will be broadcast on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky today (17 October) following the evening news. BBC radio appeals will be broadcast throughout the day. 

DEC Chief ExecutiveSaleh Saeed said,

“Millions of people, including many thousands of children, are dealing with almost unimaginable trauma. Many have been displaced multiple times and have no homes to return to. Now food and medical care is scarce and families face devastating choices to survive.

“DEC member charities are responding right now in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, providing lifesaving food, water, shelter and medicine– this humanitarian support is a vital lifeline for millions of people in overwhelming need of assistance. But our member charities urgently need more funds to meet the huge levels of need. We are asking people to please donate now to save lives.”

Rachael Cummings, Humanitarian Director at Save the Children, who is just back from Gaza, said,

“What we are seeing right now is a humanitarian catastrophe on an entirely new level. There is nowhere safe for children and families to go.

“The rate that people’s health is deteriorating is extraordinary. Previously healthy communities are just wasting away. We are seeing increases in children with diarrhoea, jaundice, respiratory conditions – which are all illnesses that, when combined with extreme hunger, can kill a child in days.

“Children have also had their education completely disrupted for over a year and will bear the brunt of this conflict for years to come.

“We are doing all we can to respond to children’s needs and are urging the UK public to donate to the DEC appeal, so we are able to deliver the vital aid that children and their families, who have lived through this brutal conflict, so desperately need.”

The UK Government will match the first £10million of donations from the British public to the DEC’s Middle East Humanitarian Appeal to provide vital humanitarian assistance to people affected by conflict. 

Anneliese Dodds, Minister of State for Development, said,

“The suffering of civilians impacted by the conflict across the Middle East is intolerable. Humanitarian support is urgently needed for the most vulnerable people. Charities play a crucial role in providing help to those most affected, and need your support.

“That is why we are matching public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Middle East Humanitarian Appeal to provide urgent humanitarian assistance up to £10m. This will be used to provide life-saving aid including medical supplies, shelter and clean water to those who need it most.”

For more information, please visit the DEC website

Stay up to date with the appeal with the DEC on X or on Facebook. 

Notes to editors: 

For media enquiries please call 07930 999 014 or 07871 309253 (out of hours)

Press conference online: Thursday 17 October 2024. 

If you plan to join the press conference, please RSVP to: [email protected]  

Time: 11.10 in the UK

(estimated total length 40mins)

Audience link: https://odi-org.zoom.us/j/85959406154?pwd=T42Ucb7Db47mRVrVsQGCPHRUIHUQac.1 

 In the UK:

Just back from Gaza:

In Lebanon:

In the West Bank:

Interview requests: Panellists will be available at the end of the press conference for individual interviews. For more information or to request interviews in advance please contact: [email protected] 

About the DEC: The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities at times of crisis overseas to raise funds quickly and efficiently. In these times of crisis, people in life-and-death situations need our help and our mission is to save, protect and rebuild lives through effective humanitarian response. The DEC’s 15 member charities are: Action Against Hunger, ActionAid UK, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Oxfam GB, Plan International UK, Save the Children UK, Tearfund and World Vision UK.    

All 15 of the DEC’s members are either responding or planning to respond in the Middle East and will receive funds from this appeal. Some may work through trusted local partners. They are Action Against Hunger, ActionAid UK, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Oxfam GB, Save the Children UK, Tearfund and World Vision UK.   

Through UK Aid Match the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) gives the British public the opportunity to have a say in how the UK aid budget is spent whilst boosting the impact of the very best British charities to change and save the lives of some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.     

UK Aid Match has increased the impact of a number of DEC appeals to help those in need around the world, including most recently the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal in 2023.  In 2022, the UK matched up to £25 million of public donations to DEC’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal - the largest commitment ever made to a DEC appeal through UK Aid Match.    

UK Aid Match enquiries should be directed to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Please call 020 7023 0600 (24-hour).

How to donate:     

Online: dec.org.uk 

Phone: 0330 123 0333 [Standard network charges apply] 

Text to give/SMS: for press releases: text SUPPORT to 70676 to donate £10. Other partners should use the specific text keywords they have been provided with by the DEC. [Texts cost £10 plus your standard network rate]   

Send a cheque by post to: DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal, PO Box 999, London EC3A 3AA.