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Crisis in the middle east

As the situation in the middle east continues to deteriorate Save the Children is urgently calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in the middle east.

Chief Executive, Jasmine Whitbread said “People must be allowed to move to safety and reach hospitals. Humanitarian agencies must be allowed access to the children who, as always, are being hardest hit by this conflict.”

Save the Children’s emergency response is now well underway. See below for activities in each country.

Children in Lebanon, Gaza and Israel are all exposed to the trauma and fear of violent conflict. We care about all vulnerable children, regardless of who their parents are or where they come from. All children have a right to life, humanitarian relief, to security and protection. We have launched an emergency appeal has been launched with a target of £3 million.






Lebanon
Up to 800,000 people are estimated to be displaced from the fighting – approximately 25% of the population. Thousands of children and families have fled their homes and are now taking shelter in schools and office buildings.

The evolving crisis is putting hundreds of thousands of children at risk of serious injury, emotional distress, illness and deprivation.

Save the Children is already distributing essential aid to families caught up in the crisis, as well as planning a large scale-up to respond to the needs of the children.

Gaza
In Gaza children are trapped in their homes without electricity and running water, unable to meet basic food, medical, and hygiene needs. The evolving crisis is putting hundreds of thousands of children at risk of serious injury, emotional distress and malnutrition, and is preventing them from continuing their schooling.

Save the Children is providing assistance packages containing high-protein food supplements and hygiene materials to 450 families in Al-Shoka in the southern area of Gaza to help keep children and their families healthy.

We will expand these distributions over the coming months to between 1500 and 4000 families in Bet Hanoun and Bet Lahia in the north. We are also providing emergency education supplies for children to ensure that they receive some education support both in preparation for the coming school year and to help counter the stress and trauma of the violence around them. Save the Children is currently supporting at least 2000 families, which may increase as the situation progresses.

Israel
Save the Children responds where there is the greatest severity and where communities do not have the capacity to respond. In Israel, the government has excellent systems already in place to respond broadly throughout the country to the urgent and immediate needs of children and families.


Save the Children’s history in the region
Save the Children has worked in the Middle East since 1949, when health services were provided to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Today we support a wide variety of programmes in Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories. We aim to change for the better the lives of children with disabilities, refugee children and economically destitute children. Our work in recent years has been focused on responding to emergency needs in the occupied Palestinian territories and responding to other emergencies, such as the current crisis, as they arise.


Donate online or call our Emergency Appeal Line - 0800 8148 148