Over a month since deadly earthquakes devastated villages in eastern Afghanistan, thousands of survivors are still homeless and sleeping out in the open without proper shelter as the bitterly cold winter approaches, Islamic Relief is warning.

Latest assessments show that 90% of survivors in rural Kunar province are still without proper shelter, leaving them extremely vulnerable as temperatures plummet. Harsh winters in the mountainous region bring heavy snow and ice and temperatures as low as minus-20 degrees Celsius (-4 °F).

The deadly earthquake, which struck just before midnight on 31 August, killed more than 2,200 people and destroyed over 6,300 homes. But not enough aid has yet arrived, and the response is critically short of funds. 

Earthquake survivor Wahidullah Ehsas is one of many still sleeping outside in Dewagal valley in Kunar province. He told Islamic Relief:

“My family and I are living in very difficult conditions. Since our house was damaged, we are staying outside under temporary shelters with limited food, water, and blankets. The nights are cold, aftershocks continue, and our children and elderly are suffering the most. While some households have received emergency tents, a significant number of people remain without proper shelter.

“We fear for our survival in the coming winter because, due to the continuous earthquakes, our homes are no longer safe or suitable to live in. The weather is getting colder and the nights are already chilly. In the coming months, the temperature will drop further, especially in these mountainous areas, making it very hard for families staying outside without proper shelter, blankets, or heating.”

Ibrahim Alhomadi, head of programmes at Islamic Relief Afghanistan, said:

“As winter approaches, survivors are at extreme risk of hypothermia and illness if they can’t get shelter soon. Families survived the earthquake but now risk dying from the cold winter.

“It’s appalling that thousands of people are still without proper shelter almost a month after the earthquake, but the humanitarian response is critically underfunded. Global attention fades away after a few days but the needs remain huge as these families have lost everything – their homes, relatives, livelihoods, and around 95% of them lost their food stocks. The situation for earthquake-affected families is increasingly dire. Many survivors are still living in temporary shelters, such as tents and tarpaulins, which offer minimal protection against the harsh winter conditions. 

“We’ve given some families emergency tents, but this is not sustainable for winter – we need to get them into proper shelters as soon as possible.”

Three quarters of the way through the year, the 2025 UN-led Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Afghanistan is still less than 30% funded, and the UN has appealed for an additional $139 million to support earthquake survivors. 

Immediately after the earthquake Islamic Relief deployed an emergency health team and ambulance to help survivors. The charity has also distributed more than 200 tents, 950 hygiene kits, and installed latrines 

Notes

*The data was collected by OCHA as part of an interagency needs assessment.

A hunger crisis is looming in Pakistan as recent floods have decimated food production in Punjab province, a main breadbasket region which produces around 50% of the country’s staple crops of rice, Maize, sugar cane and cotton. Islamic Relief is warning the destruction is likely to threaten at least two crop cycles, leading to severe shortages and pushing food prices out of reach for the poorest families. 

The monsoon floods, which began in June, have so far affected over 4.5 million people and killed around 1,000 people across the country. In Punjab province alone, at least 1.8 million acres of agricultural land have been flooded, affecting up to 70% of the province.  

Many farmers in Punjab have lost all their crops, grain stocks and livestock, which were there only source of income. Islamic Relief aid workers report that some farmers with surviving livestock are still staying in homes that are damaged or flooded with stagnant water, because they do not want to leave their precious cattle unattended as they are all they have left. 

Raza Narejo, acting country director of Islamic Relief Pakistan, said:

“Punjab province is the most important food-producing region in Pakistan, but 70% of it has been flooded and crops and livelihoods have been washed away. It will have an impact across Pakistan and national food shortages are now looming.  

“Many people here depend on agriculture, but now they have almost nothing. They are now completely dependent on government and humanitarian support. They urgently need food, water and sanitation services, and when they can return to their homes they will need seeds, fertiliser and further support to re-establish their crops on their land once more.”

Abdul Rehman, 55, from Muradabad in Punjab province escaped the floods last month with his family of five. He told Islamic Relief:

“The floods came at night and we had to run away in a hurry. We couldn’t grab anything to take with us because we were in fear. In the morning everything was destroyed. One side of our home has fallen away, and it is completely damaged. We had two goats and two sheep but they all drowned. 

“Now I have to look for other work. I have to rebuild the broken parts of my home, and for that I need to earn well, but since the floods I have been unable to find any income and my livestock are gone.”

Islamic Relief is working in flood-affected areas to deliver food, water and sanitation, and help farmers reestablish their livelihoods by providing them with seeds for planting next season and other agricultural support. Beyond agriculture, Islamic Relief has so far reached over 140,000 people in Pakistan in the aftermath of these monsoon floods with food, water, tents, and hygiene supplies.

Nearly 3 million* people have crossed into Afghanistan so far this year, the world’s biggest cross-border migration of people, increasing the country’s population by 6.5% in just nine months. The massive influx with between 10,000-15,000 people now arriving every day is placing massive strain on resources in one of the world’s poorest countries, which is overwhelmed by the recent deadly earthquake, unprecedented aid cuts, and a crippling drought.

The arrivals are Afghans who have been ordered to leave neighbouring countries and ‘return home’ although up to 80% of them were born outside Afghanistan or have lived outside for decades. Over 2 million of them have been ordered out of Iran, while almost 700,000 have crossed from Pakistan and a small number also from Tajikistan.

Islamic Relief aid workers supporting the new arrivals say most arrive poor, exhausted and in desperate need of shelter, food, healthcare and jobs.

The influx is happening when Afghanistan is facing a myriad of crises:

• This month deadly earthquakes in eastern Afghanistan wiped out entire villages, killed over 2,000 people, and left thousands homeless including some of the returnees.
• The economy has contracted by nearly a third since 2021 with unemployment climbing to 13.3% in 2024. Foreign aid, which the country depends on, has been slashed. USAID, previously by far the largest donor, has now fully halted all funding and other donors are failing to fill the gap. Three quarters of the way through the year, the UN-coordinated 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) has just 28% of the funds it needs.
• A five year drought is affecting over 19 provinces. In early 2025, nearly five million people across Afghanistan were affected by climate disruption like drought and flooding and nearly 400,000 people were displaced.

Around 22.9 million people, about 55% of the population, need urgent assistance because of economic hardship, hunger, climate shocks and other factors. Almost 10 million people which is around a quarter of Afghanistan’s population face acute food insecurity.

Returnees face many challenges adjusting to arriving in Afghanistan, particularly younger refugees who were born in Iran or Pakistan. Many do not speak the same local languages and often lack resources and social networks. 99% of them are undocumented. Women and girls accounted for a third of returnees from Iran and about half of those coming from Pakistan.

Ziaullah, 51, an Afghan returnee at the Torkham border with Pakistan, told Islamic Relief:

“I’m originally from Kunduz province (in northern Afghanistan) and I’m travelling back there, but I don’t have a place to stay. I was at home [in Pakistan] when announcements were made in the mosques at night telling us to return to our own country. I had to quickly gather all I could. In very difficult conditions and at high cost I managed to find a truck to carry our possessions. Now I’m staying at the Torkham temporary camp (at the border crossing) and I’m confused, not knowing where to go next. 

“It has been very difficult. We are in a poor condition — we left most of our property behind in Pakistan. We have no proper shelter, not enough food, and no clear idea about our future. My family is tired and worried, especially the children and elderly. I don’t know about Afghanistan; I’m not sure if I will find work there. I don’t feel at peace. All my children were born in Pakistan, and now I don’t know if there will be opportunities for education and shelter here.”

Some families returning from Pakistan were killed or affected by this month’s devastating earthquake, and many are now homeless as Afghanistan’s bitterly cold winter approaches. Islamic Relief is providing them with tents.

A recent Islamic Relief needs assessment at the Islam Qalaa border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran found 100% of returnees needed food, 68%needed a tent for shelter, and 91% said they needed to consult a doctor.

Ibrahim Ahmed Alhomdi, head of programmes at Islamic Relief Afghanistan said:

“These people are poor and are returning to Afghanistan because they have to. They would not return by choice. Why would they? Afghanistan’s economy is suffering, poverty and hunger are rife, and it is suffering a climate crisis. The government’s resources can’t cope, especially after the massive earthquakes have struck.”

The response has been further reduced by national policies. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, this month closed eight centres helping Afghan returnees because Afghan authorities were stopping its female staff from doing their jobs.

Islamic Relief is providing Afghan returnees with food, water and other services at the Torkham and Spin Boldar crossings from Pakistan and at the Islam Qalaa border crossing from Iran. It has so far distributed over 290,000 food and water kits.

Notes

*UNHCR this week reported 2.8 million people have crossed since January 2025 

In 2023 the Pakistan government ordered undocumented Afghans to leave the country and go back to Afghanistan under the ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’. The order was reiterated early this year with a deadline of the end of August given for them to leave. In conjunction the governments of Iran and Tajikistan have also ordered Afghan refugees in their countries to return to Afghanistan.

Pelantikan ini bertujuan memastikan kelangsungan pengurusan organisasi sementara proses pelantikan CEO baharu dimuktamadkan oleh Lembaga Pemegang Amanah.

BIRMINGHAM, UK – Islamic Relief Worldwide hari ini mengumumkan pelantikan Nadeem Malik sebagai Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif (CEO) Interim, berkuat kuasa mulai Oktober 2025. Pelantikan Nadeem yang kini menyandang jawatan sebagai Pengarah Urusan Humanitarian Academy for Development (HAD) dibuat susulan tamatnya tempoh perkhidmatan CEO, Waseem Ahmad, pada akhir bulan September.

Pelantikan ini berlaku dalam tempoh peralihan penting, sementara Lembaga Pemegang Amanah melengkapkan proses pemilihan CEO baharu bagi menerajui organisasi kemanusiaan global ini. Dengan pelantikan ini, Nadeem akan mengemudi organisasi berbekalkan pengalaman luas dalam sektor kebajikan, perundangan dan swasta.

Nadeem Malik berkata, “Saya berbesar hati dan teruja untuk bekerjasama dengan rakan-rakan Pengarah dan seluruh warga kerja Islamic Relief dalam meneruskan khidmat cemerlang kami kepada para penerima manfaat. Bersama pasukan yang dedikasi ini, saya bertekad untuk memastikan proses peralihan kepimpinan berjalan dengan teratur dan lancar sebelum diserahkan kepada CEO baharu yang berkelayakan. Sepanjang tempoh interim ini, saya akan terus menjalankan tanggungjawab saya sebagai Pengarah Urusan Humanitarian Academy for Development.”

Haroun Atallah, Pengerusi Lembaga Pemegang Amanah Islamic Relief Worldwide, berkata, “Nadeem membawa pengalaman yang sangat berharga dalam kepimpinan dan pembangunan organisasi yang akan memberi manfaat besar kepada Islamic Relief sepanjang tempoh peralihan ini. Komitmennya terhadap pengukuhan organisasi masyarakat sivil dan pemahaman mendalam tentang sektor ini menjadikan beliau individu yang sesuai untuk mengekalkan momentum organisasi sehingga pelantikan CEO baharu dimuktamadkan.”

CEO, Waseem Ahmad berkata, “Saya amat yakin bahawa Nadeem akan memberikan kepimpinan yang stabil dan kukuh yang diperlukan Islamic Relief sepanjang tempoh peralihan ini. Pengalaman serta nilai-nilai beliau selari sepenuhnya dengan misi organisasi kita, dan saya percaya pasukan hebat kita akan terus menjalankan usaha-usaha menyelamatkan nyawa di bawah bimbingan beliau. Saya kekal komited untuk terus menyokong Islamic Relief sewaktu kita melangkah ke fasa baharu yang penuh harapan ini.”

Waseem Ahmad akan terus memberikan sokongan penuh kepada Lembaga Pemegang Amanah Islamic Relief, CEO interim, serta CEO baharu yang bakal dilantik.

-TAMAT-

Mengenai Islamic Relief Worldwide

Islamic Relief Worldwide adalah sebuah organisasi kemanusiaan dan pembangunan berteraskan kepercayaan agama, yang komited menyokong komuniti rentan yang terkesan akibat kemiskinan, konflik, dan bencana. Ditubuhkan pada tahun 1984, Islamic Relief kini telah berkembang menjadi salah satu organisasi kemanusiaan Islam terbesar di dunia. Pada tahun 2024 sahaja, Islamic Relief telah menyediakan bantuan kepada 17 juta orang di lebih daripada 40 negara.

Islamic Relief telah menghantar pasukan kecemasan kesihatan bagi menyediakan perkhidmatan penting kepada penduduk yang terselamat daripada gempa bumi yang berlaku di timur Afghanistan sehingga meragut lebih 600 nyawa dan memusnahkan keseluruhan kampung. Angka korban terus meningkat apabila pasukan penyelamat berjaya menjejak masuk ke lebih banyak kawasan.

Gempa bumi bermagnitud 6.0 menggegarkan wilayah Kunar sekitar tengah malam waktu tempatan, ketika kebanyakan keluarga sedang lena diulit tidur. Kanak-kanak menceritakan detik cemas apabila mereka terjaga dalam ketakutan, sementara rumah-rumah runtuh di sekeliling mereka. Dalam suasana panik, penduduk bergegas melarikan diri untuk menyelamatkan nyawa. Keadaan bertambah genting dengan beberapa gegaran susulan yang berlaku sepanjang malam.

Di beberapa daerah, lebih 600 nyawa terkorban manakala lebih 2,500 lagi cedera. Angka ini dijangka terus meningkat apabila maklumat baharu diperoleh. Antara kawasan paling teruk terjejas adalah di pedalaman dan pergunungan, di mana jalan raya banyak terhalang akibat tanah runtuh. Keadaan ini memaksa pasukan penyelamat meredah perjalanan jauh dengan berjalan kaki atau menggunakan helikopter untuk memindahkan mangsa.

Ketua Program Islamic Relief di Afghanistan, Ibrahim Ahmed Alhomadi, berkata: “Keseluruhan kampung di Kunar telah runtuh dan menjadi lumpur. Jumlah korban meningkat setiap jam. Alhamdulillah pasukan Islamic Relief di kawasan terjejas berada dalam keadaan selamat dan kami kini telah menghantar pasukan kecemasan kesihatan untuk menyalurkan bantuan segera kepada penduduk terjejas. Mereka telah kehilangan segalanya dan amat memerlukan rawatan kesihatan, makanan, air dan tempat perlindungan. Lokasi kejadian adalah di kawasan pedalaman, luar bandar serta bergunung-ganang. Jadi, tanah runtuh dan banjir menyukarkan lagi usaha untuk sampai ke sana. Kebanyakan rumah di kampung ini dibina daripada lumpur atau bahan rapuh yang runtuh sepenuhnya.”

Pasukan Islamic Relief di lapangan kini memberi tumpuan di wilayah Kunar dengan menyediakan perkhidmatan kesihatan penting termasuk penjagaan ibu dan anak, rawatan kecederaan, sokongan nutrisi serta bantuan menangani trauma.

Kesan gempa bumi ini lebih parah kerana ia berlaku sangat cetek hanya lima batu (8km) di bawah permukaan bumi. Usaha tindak balas turut terjejas akibat banjir besar yang melanda wilayah Kunar dan Nangarhar dua hari sebelum gempa.

Bencana ini berlaku ketika rakyat Afghanistan sedang bergelut dengan masalah kemarau yang meluas, ditambah dengan kesan daripada pengurangan bantuan kemanusiaan global yang menyebabkan penutupan perkhidmatan penting seperti fasiliti kesihatan dan pusat pemakanan.

Perkhidmatan di negara itu juga terbeban dengan kemasukan besar-besaran rakyat Afghanistan yang dipaksa pulang dari Iran dan Pakistan. Lebih 2.4 juta orang telah kembali tahun ini, kebanyakannya dalam keadaan kesihatan yang lemah dan tanpa tempat tinggal. Islamic Relief turut memberi sokongan kepada mereka sebaik sahaja tiba di Afghanistan.

Islamic Relief telah beroperasi di Afghanistan selama lebih 20 tahun. Tahun lalu, Islamic Relief telah membantu lebih 636,000 orang di 20 daripada 34 wilayah negara tersebut, dengan menyediakan bantuan termasuk makanan, nutrisi, kesihatan, pendidikan dan kehidupan mampan.

Di wilayah Kunar dan Nangarhar yang terjejas akibat gempa, Islamic Relief membantu petani meningkatkan hasil pertanian dan menyokong perniagaan kecil untuk berkembang maju. Islamic Relief juga telah menyalurkan bantuan kecemasan akibat gempa bumi di Paktika dan Herat.

Pengumuman rasmi mengenai kebuluran di Gaza hari ini mencatatkan detik yang amat menyayat hati kepada seluruh dunia. Setiap hari, pasukan Islamic Relief di Gaza menyaksikan ramai insan terkorban akibat kelaparan, sementara kanak-kanak semakin lemah dan kurus hingga menampakkan tulang. Sekiranya dunia terus berdiam diri tanpa tindakan segera, lebih banyak nyawa tidak bersalah akan melayang. 

Kebuluran ini tidak berlaku secara kebetulan, sebaliknya berpunca daripada tindakan Israel yang sengaja membiarkan rakyat Palestin mati kelaparan. Ia sepenuhnya buatan manusia, bermula daripada sekatan kejam dan haram oleh Israel sehingga kegagalan para pemimpin dunia yang berkompromi dengan jenayah perang harian yang dilakukan. Belum pernah dalam sejarah, amaran mengenai kebuluran yang merupakan bentuk kelaparan paling ekstrem dan paling jarang berlaku, diabaikan meskipun ramalan begitu jelas dan langkah pencegahannya begitu mudah. 

Israel telah memusnahkan kemampuan Gaza untuk menghasilkan makanan sendiri, lalu menghalang masuknya bantuan yang mampu menyelamatkan nyawa. Lebih tragis, penduduk yang kelaparan ditembak ketika cuba mendapatkan makanan untuk anak-anak mereka. Pada masa yang sama, Israel turut menghancurkan sistem kesihatan Gaza, menafikan hak rawatan kepada mereka yang sedang menderita kekurangan zat. 

Beribu-ribu tan makanan, ubat-ubatan dan bantuan penting lain hanya berada beberapa kilometer dari mereka yang kelaparan, namun tetap dihalang daripada sampai kepada yang memerlukan. 

Walaupun imej menyayat hati kanak-kanak kurus kering telah menggegarkan dunia, Israel tetap menggandakan serangan terhadap orang awam, mengetatkan sekatan bantuan, serta berusaha menutup dan menguasai tindak balas kemanusiaan dengan kekerasan tentera. Kanak-kanak kecil menjadi mangsa paling terdedah kepada kelaparan, namun kini pekerja bantuan dan petugas perubatan juga semakin lemah dan tidak bermaya. 

Dalam menghadapi keganasan dan penderitaan tanpa henti, rakyat Palestin di Gaza terus menunjukkan keberanian dan ketabahan luar biasa. Namun, setiap insan ada batasnya terhadap apa yang mampu ditanggung. 

Tiada lagi ruang untuk alasan. Pemimpin dunia mesti segera bertindak menyelamatkan nyawa dan menghentikan genosid. Satu-satunya jalan untuk menghentikan kebuluran daripada terus merebak di Gaza adalah dengan menuntut gencatan senjata serta menekan Israel supaya membuka semula semua lintasan darat sepenuhnya, agar Gaza dapat dibanjiri dengan bekalan mencukupi. Peningkatan kecil dan sementara tidak memadai, ia mesti berskala besar, berterusan, dan disalurkan melalui sistem yang diketuai PBB, yang kini cuba disekat oleh Israel. 

Kata-kata kecaman yang lemah tidak akan membawa sebarang perubahan lagi. Untuk menyelamatkan nyawa, kerajaan mesti mengenakan tekanan ekonomi dan diplomatik yang bermakna, seperti menghentikan semua penjualan senjata, menggantung perjanjian perdagangan, serta mengharamkan perdagangan dan pelaburan dengan penempatan haram Israel. 

A new assessment by Islamic Relief aid workers in drought-hit Somaliland has found alarming levels of hunger and water shortages, with rising malnutrition and up to 70% of livestock dying in some villages. 

Islamic Relief is scaling up its emergency response in the region to provide food, water and cash.  

Some of the villages covered by Islamic Relief’s assessment in Awdal and Salal regions – the worst-affected coastal areas – have had no significant rainfall for two years, and hundreds of thousands of families are now at risk. Somaliland this week declared a national emergency, and the forecast for the upcoming rainy season is extremely poor, raising fears that the situation could massively deteriorate even further. There are fears that the drought will worsen across Somalia. 

Aliow Mohamed, Islamic Relief’s Country Director in Somalia, says the assessment team found a shocking situation: 

“We found massive food shortages and harrowing signs of malnutrition, especially among children, pregnant women and elderly people. Many people are emaciated, and some have already died from hunger. Families have had to leave their homes and are walking for days in search of food and water. Children are dropping out of school as the priority is now just on survival. 

“People who used to eat three meals a day are now struggling to get just one. These communities are incredibly resilient but two years with almost no rain has pushed them to the edge. Families are sharing food with those who are even worse off than themselves, or reducing the size of their meals. The communities here depend on their livestock for food, income and transport, but in some villages more than half of animals have died and the rest are weak, forcing families into destitution and debt. 

“These communities urgently need aid to save lives and livelihoods. Islamic Relief is providing clean water, food, and cash to support local markets. But much more is needed or we will be looking at a catastrophe over the coming months.” 

In one village Islamic Relief’s assessment team found over 70% of the community’s livestock has died, while in others more than 50% have died. Goats and sheep make up most of the dead livestock, but even camels – which are extremely resilient to drought – are now perishing. 

Local water sources have dried up. In one village, Hilawle, the nearest water supply is now over 15 kilometres away. The community has organised trucks to bring in water, but it’s an expensive and temporary solution. 

Somalia is at the forefront of the global climate crisis, facing an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme climate-induced events such as droughts and floods. 

Droughts are becoming longer and more severe, destroying crops and food production and displacing people from their rural homes into overcrowded urban areas. 

Emergency aid is desperately needed now, but communities also need support with longer-term solutions to adapt and protect livelihoods and develop sustainable water systems. 

Rich and high-polluting nations that contribute the most to the climate crisis have a moral and legal responsibility to increase financing for vulnerable nations such as Somalia – but global aid cuts have undermined the response to the drought. The humanitarian response in Somalia is critically underfunded and more than halfway through the year, Somalia’s UN-led 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan has only 16% of the funding it needs. 

Islamic Relief has worked in Somalia since 2006. The organisation provides emergency aid during war, floods and droughts; and supports sustainable long-term development such as constructing boreholes to improve water supply and irrigation in arid areas, supporting women-led small businesses, and helping increase farmers’ productivity. 

New Islamic Relief analysis of UN data¹ reveals July is now the deadliest month in Gaza for 18 months, with Israel killing one person every 12 minutes as it accelerates the systematic targeting and starvation of civilians. 

An average of 119 Palestinians are being killed daily so far in July – the highest rate since January 2024. More than 401 Palestinians a day are being wounded, the highest figure since December 2023, whilst doctors report 19 people, mostly children, died from starvation in just one day this week – victims not just of violence, but of a deliberate policy of deprivation and man-made famine.

The killings have accelerated since Israel imposed its new heavily militarised food distribution scheme in late-June, with almost daily massacres of starving people as they try to collect food. The Israeli blockade has systematically impeded humanitarian aid, forcing people into starvation and shooting those who seek aid. Hundreds of desperate civilians have been gunned down, with many of the wounded piled onto donkey carts as ambulances are prevented from reaching them.  

Waseem Ahmad, Chief Executive of Islamic Relief Worldwide, says world leaders must urgently take action to stop the escalating slaughter:  

“The rate of killing is accelerating every day that world leaders fail to act. We are witnessing people being massacred just for trying to get food, water, or medicine. We’re seeing babies and young children starve to death because Israel is blocking humanitarian aid. We’re seeing starving families ordered to leave their homes, then bombed in the tents where they are told to shelter. Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war, shutting down the humanitarian system then forcing people to militarised death traps.   

“There is no excuse for inaction when five more people are being killed every single hour. Every minute costs lives. Gaza’s entire society is being killed – sons, daughters, parents, medics, teachers, artists, aid workers, journalists, entrepreneurs, engineers, poets, farmers. No one is spared.  

“This dehumanisation and normalisation of suffering must not be allowed to continue. Governments that fail to act are complicit. More words of condemnation and concern are not enough – we urgently need world leaders to take meaningful action to pressure Israel to stop the killing and allow humanitarian aid to reach those in need. That means ending all arms sales, suspending trade agreements and banning produce from illegal Israeli settlements. Only increased and sustained international pressure can stop this catastrophe and save lives.”  

 International governments have a moral and legal duty to act to prevent genocide, in line with the ruling of the International Court of Justice. They must flatly refuse the militarised distribution system and demand the restoration of the UN-coordinated humanitarian response, in line with humanitarian principles and international law. 

Most of the casualties are civilians and at least 30% of people killed throughout the crisis are children. UNICEF says that 28 children are being killed every day and the global Protection Cluster warned last week that 10 children a day in Gaza are losing a limb, with a surge in amputations due to missile strikes and artillery fire.

In total, around 9% of Gaza’s entire pre-war population have now been killed or wounded, with over 59,000 people dead and over 140,000 wounded – many with life-changing injuries such as loss of limbs.

Notes   

• ¹ Between 1—20 July in Gaza, at least 2,382 Palestinians have been killed and 8,030 injured, according to figures collated by the UN-coordinated Health Cluster in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This is already the highest number of fatalities in a calendar month since March 2024 when 2,617 Palestinians were killed at an average of 84 people killed a day. The average number of people killed so far in July 2025 is 119 every day, the highest since January 2024 when 5,041 people were killed at an average of 162 per day. The average number of people wounded per day so far in July is 401, which is the highest since December 2023 when 667 people a day were wounded.  
• Islamic Relief has worked in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 1997. During the current crisis our Palestinian staff and partners have provided vital aid to more than 600,000 people, including food, water, healthcare and education.   

Islamic Relief health workers in Sudan’s Darfur region are treating a massive increase in malnourished children as families flee horrific attacks on civilians. Survivors have told Islamic Relief shocking accounts of extreme violence and starvation. 

At our clinic in Nertiti, in Central Darfur state, severe malnutrition cases among young children have almost trebled in recent weeks, as more families arrive in a desperate state after escaping Zamzam camp in North Darfur, where attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have killed hundreds of civilians and cut off humanitarian aid. Zamzam is one of five locations in Sudan now officially declared as being in a state of famine.

Hawa* brought her malnourished 19-month-old son to our Nertiti clinic – one of 12 that we run across central Darfur – after fleeing Zamzam camp. She says:

“They attacked with drones and soldiers shooting, and military vehicles with weapons. I lost my uncle in a drone attack. We dug a hole to hide in, near the wall of the house. During the attack a gate was left open for women and kids to exit the camp, but young women aged around 20 or older were taken from their families and raped. Many girls are still missing. I decided we needed to leave to protect my sister from abuse.

“On the journey from Zamzam the conditions were harsh with not much food or water. I saw 10 children dead along the road to Tawila, and people abducted at checkpoints along the road. In Tawila I rented a vehicle to reach Nertiti, where the locals welcomed us. One of my children was referred to the Islamic Relief nutrition centre, where the staff and nutrition supplies saved my son’s life. He was thin and losing weight every day, but he’s since put on weight from the nutrition treatment.”

Islamic Relief’s clinic in Nertiti has seen the number of children under 5 years old admitted with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) increase from 11 cases in April to 31 cases in May. Cases of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) at the clinic have also almost doubled, from 104 in March to 197 in May. Most of the new cases have come from North Darfur and particularly Zamzam camp.  

Islamic Relief’s nutrition centre in Nertiti has saved around 500 lives so far in 2025.  

Mohammed Mohammed Yousif, a nutrition assistant at the clinic, said: 

“We previously had 2 or 3 malnutrition cases admitted per week. But following the violence at Zamzam camp we’ve been admitting 2 or 3 cases a day. We’ve treated more than 500 children so far this year, and we treat all of them free of charge as families have almost nothing left. Most of them have been surviving on less than one meal a day. The war and lack of food supply to North Darfur is the main reason that we’re seeing such high levels of malnutrition.” 

More than 2 years of war in Sudan has created the world’s biggest hunger crisis. More than 24 million people – more than half of Sudan’s population – are experiencing high levels of food shortages.

This week five humanitarian aid workers were killed by a drone strike against their convoy which was delivering critical nutritional supplies to famine affected areas of north Darfur where hundreds of thousands of people are at high risk of malnutrition and starvation. Aid deliveries have frequently been blocked from reaching RSF held north Darfur.

In Central Darfur, Islamic Relief operates 12 nutrition centres, 10 primary healthcare centres and 2 mobile health clinics, which reach the most remote areas in the mountainous Jabal Marra region. Across Sudan, Islamic Relief has delivered aid to 1.2 million people since the war broke out in April 2023.

*Names changed for their safety 

Islamic Relief bersedia untuk memberikan bantuan kemanusiaan susulan peningkatan ketegangan antara India dan Pakistan. Sekiranya berlaku eskalasi ketenteraan yang lebih besar, ia berkemungkinan memberi kesan yang dahsyat kepada sejumlah besar orang awam.

Puluhan orang termasuk kanak-kanak telah terbunuh dan cedera dalam beberapa hari kebelakangan ini akibat pertempuran paling hebat yang pernah berlaku di rantau tersebut dalam tempoh beberapa tahun. Serangan udara, pengeboman dan penggunaan dron telah merosakkan infrastruktur di kedua-dua belah Garisan Kawalan (Line of Control), dan sekurang-kurangnya seorang kanak-kanak terbunuh apabila sebuah peluru berpandu merosakkan sebuah masjid di Bahawalpur, wilayah Punjab di timur Pakistan.

Petugas Islamic Relief di Kashmir yang ditadbir Pakistan melaporkan bahawa puluhan keluarga telah meninggalkan rumah mereka dan mencari perlindungan di sekolah-sekolah yang telah dijadikan sebagai kem sementara oleh pihak berkuasa tempatan. Jumlah pelarian dijangka meningkat sekiranya keadaan semakin meruncing, dan pertambahan mendadak jumlah mangsa dan pelarian akan menambah beban perkhidmatan asas seperti hospital, tempat perlindungan sementara, dan bekalan air. Sekolah di banyak kawasan telah ditutup untuk tempoh yang tidak ditentukan, dan hospital di seluruh Pakistan telah mengisytiharkan darurat.

Ketika ketegangan politik semakin meningkat, para petani memberi amaran bahawa penggantungan Perjanjian Air Indus antara India dan Pakistan akan memberi kesan besar kepada sektor pertanian serta akan memburukkan lagi masalah kemiskinan dan kelaparan. Penggantungan perjanjian tersebut telah memutuskan bekalan air kepada kira-kira 80% kawasan pertanian beririgasi di Pakistan, yang menjadi sumber kehidupan utama kepada ramai keluarga miskin.

Pasukan tindakan kecemasan Islamic Relief Pakistan sedang bekerjasama dengan pihak berkuasa pengurusan bencana tempatan bagi menyokong penyediaan bantuan kecemasan termasuk tempat perlindungan, air, kit kebersihan dan selimut sekiranya berlaku pemindahan berskala besar.

Kesan kemanusiaan akibat sebarang eskalasi seterusnya dijangka amat besar. Kami menyeru agar usaha diplomatik segera dilaksanakan untuk meredakan ketegangan dan mencari penyelesaian melalui dialog politik dan bukannya tindakan ketenteraan.