We welcome the news that there will be a pause in the relentless bombardment of Gaza and the safe release of civilian hostages and detained children. We hope that this will be adhered to by all parties. 

But a temporary pause will not be enough to end the bloodshed and address the humanitarian catastrophe. A pause will have little worth if the killing resumes in a few days. The international community must use this brief window of opportunity to work towards a permanent ceasefire and an end to the siege.   

We are extremely worried that bombing seems to be intensifying even further ahead of the truce coming into effect, with more civilian casualties this morning.

Full details of the agreement have not yet been confirmed but initial reports suggest it falls far short of what is needed. There are reports that bombing will continue in northern Gaza even during this period, which would inevitably kill many more civilians, and the amount of aid that will enter Gaza in the next few days will barely even scratch the surface of what is needed given the sheer scale of the crisis.  

Israel’s intense bombing and siege has left Gaza in ruins, with almost half of all homes now damaged or destroyed, as well as hundreds of schools and health facilities. People are on the verge of starvation because so little food has been allowed to enter and bakeries have been destroyed. Only nine of Gaza’s 33 hospitals are now operational and those that are open are overwhelmed with casualties and desperately short of fuel and basic medical supplies. More than 1.7 million people are now displaced, many of them sheltering in severely overcrowded shelters where diseases are rapidly spreading as children sleep out in the rain and hundreds of people share a single toilet. They cannot safely return home without a long-term ceasefire, and many of them have no homes left to return to anyway.  

Since 7 October only 1,399 aid trucks have been allowed into Gaza – whereas even before this escalation around 10,000 trucks of aid entered Gaza every month, and now the needs have massively increased. All efforts must now be made to get as much aid in as possible – including by reopening the Kerem Shalom crossing to increase capacity and ensuring that more fuel can enter, without which hospitals, bakeries and water systems will not be able to resume functioning. Even so, a four or five-day increase will be nowhere near enough without a permanent ceasefire and an end to the siege.  

Please help Islamic Relief to support people in desperate need in Gaza. Donate to our Palestine Appeal now.

The bombardment of Gaza’s hospitals must stop immediately 

The attacks on Gaza’s few remaining hospitals must stop immediately, Islamic Relief says, as more hospitals have been bombed and besieged overnight, putting thousands of lives at risk.

It can never be morally justifiable to attack hospitals that are full of casualties and frightened civilians, and international law demands that hospitals are protected. Islamic Relief is urgently appealing to world leaders to demand Israel stops targeting hospitals.  

Gaza’s hospitals have come under repeated and indiscriminate attack over the last month, forcing almost two thirds out of action. These attacks have accelerated in the past 24 hours and today (Saturday) doctors report patients dying by the minute and bodies piling up as critical units are bombed, lifesaving services are suspended and food, water and fuel runs out.  

Israel’s continued blockage of fuel for hospitals is fatal, with doctors at Al Shifa hospital – where Islamic Relief recently delivered medical supplies – this morning reporting the death of an infant baby as there was no fuel to keep the incubator running. Several more hospitals today had to shut down critical services as fuel has finally run out, meaning many more babies and other civilians are likely to die.  

Doctors say people are bombed if they stay and bombed if they try to leave. At Al Shifa, doctors say they are now completely cut off and surrounded by Israeli military, preventing anyone from leaving. 

Inside these hospitals are injured civilians in need of lifesaving treatment; desperate displaced families who hoped a hospital might be a safe place to seek refuge; newborn babies; and long-term patients who need treatment for cancer, kidney disease and other deadly illnesses.  

These indiscriminate attacks on the most vulnerable people cannot be allowed to continue. We appeal once again to the international community to call for a ceasefire now.  

Please help Islamic Relief to support people in desperate need in Gaza. Donate to our Palestine Appeal now.

It’s vital that aid gets in but 20 trucks of aid is nowhere near enough. Much more is needed and time is running out to prevent this humanitarian nightmare deepening still further.

The scale of destruction in Gaza is enormous. Hospitals have closed and those that are still running are having to choose who to operate on as they run out of supplies. People are queuing for hours just to get a bit of bread, as food runs out. Even finding water has become an almost impossible task for many, forcing parents to give their children salty, dirty water. There is devastation everywhere and around 1 million people have fled their homes and are desperate for shelter.

People urgently need more aid. There must be an agreement to lift the siege and allow a regular flow of aid and other vital civilian supplies into Gaza, or more people will die.

This aid can only be delivered safely if there is a ceasefire. As long as the bombing goes on it remains extremely difficult and dangerous to deliver aid. Many humanitarian workers have already been killed, while many more are trying to deliver aid at the same time as being displaced from their homes.

At the moment the agreement is for entry of some food, water and medical supplies, which are all critically needed. But people also need fuel, which has not been approved. Without fuel, hospitals don’t have electricity to keep life-saving machinery going and water systems can’t pump safe water. 

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SUDAN, September 27, 2023 – According to the Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan 2023, about 24.7 million people require humanitarian assistance in order to survive.

Since the Sudan clash conflict broke out in the middle of last April, about 4.8 million people have been displaced.

The current situation in Sudan is still tense involving eight states including Darfur and Kordofan.

Meanwhile, a series of bombings, airstrikes, shootings, and looting continues in Khartoum province with corpses scattered around the city.

The basic goods price in the market continues to rise, causing the inflation rate to surge.

Despite various obstacles and challenges to delivering assistance in Sudan, Islamic Relief has helped more than 225,000 people across the country by distributing food packs, hygiene kits, medicines, and agricultural support.