A child stands inside his home damaged during an Israeli incursion and airstrikes . Photo credit IRIN. The situation in Gaza remains difficult and dangerous. The conflict has already caused the loss of hundreds of lives, a rapidly mounting score of injured civilians and the systematic destruction of basic means of subsistence.
A report from the Jerusalem U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs  (OCHA) provides details of the effect the crisis has had on civilians in the region.
Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said reports of attacks across the border between Israel and Lebanon had compounded the international community's alarm regarding an escalation of violence in the Middle East. Ms. Pillay strongly urged the parties to the conflict to fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law.
PDA Response
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is supporting relief efforts as a member of the Action by Churches Together (ACT) International Alliance. ACT efforts include those of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)'s Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR), International Orthodox Christian Charities and other long-time PC(USA) partners. These are initial efforts and will be expanded later as the situation further unfolds.
The PDA-supported efforts have included provision of food — including high-energy biscuits for children — medicine and blankets, as well as the deployment of trauma counselors.
Read a report on ACT activities that highlights activities of the ACT Gaza Emergency Team.
Specific Response
ACT members report that there is a need for supplementary feeding for 80,000 preschool children, but only one in four children has received such supplements during the war. The need for emergency psychosocial care within the war-torn area is overwhelming, ACT reports. "The best therapy for children is to resume normal life," says ACT’s representative in Israel and Palestine, Liv Steinmoeggen.
Emergency supplies including medicine and blankets are also needed at the Anglican Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, reports Steinmoeggen. The hospital has been damaged during the recent military attacks, with patients now hospitalized in a facility where windows have been blown out and as a result are exposed to cold weather.
Providing aid to the most vulnerable is among the highest priorities for ACT. This includes infants and small children, together with their mothers.
Due to the complexity of the crisis and the potential for further violence, the distribution of food will be dangerous and complicated. The United Nations is responsible for organizing the transport of aid shipments into Gaza, including aid supplied by ACT. ACT will operate together with U.N. agencies and distribute through Palestinian community representatives.
What you can do
You can help the church in this response:
- Through your prayers. Please pray for all those whose lives have been and continue to be affected; pray for those working to deliver humanitarian assistance.
- Through your generosity. Your contributions will help meet the physical needs of those in all the areas where violence leaves them vulnerable, and the emotional and spiritual needs of the many more who have been traumatized by that violence.
Individuals may give through their local Presbyterian congregation, on the secure PC(USA) website, or by sending their check to:
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Individual Remittance Processing
P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700
Please include the special designated giving account DR000081 – Middle East.
Congregations should send donations through their normal mission giving channels. |
