Palestine Emergency

DONATE SADAQA

R1500- can provide 12 people with two ready-to-eat meals per day

R3600- Can provide psychosocial support sessions for 18 children in Gaza

R7000 - can provide emergency medicines and medical supplies

Enter Amount

DONATE ZAKAT

R1500- can provide 12 people with two ready-to-eat meals per day

R3600- Can provide psychosocial support sessions for 18 children in Gaza

R7000 - can provide emergency medicines and medical supplies

Enter Amount

A Humanitarian Catastrophe Continues

Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, including at least 21,000 children and 13,000 women. More than 173,000 people have been injured, and thousands more remain missing under the rubble.

Despite announcements of a ceasefire, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic and, in many respects, conditions have deteriorated further.

The scale of the crisis remains staggering, with women and children among the most vulnerable. More than 40,000 children have been orphaned, while nearly one million children have lost access to education, been displaced from their homes, and are in urgent need of mental health and psychosocial support services.

Essential services have largely collapsed, healthcare and education systems are in ruins, and families continue to face trauma, hunger, loss, and prolonged uncertainty.
Paradoxically, delivering aid has become even more challenging since the ceasefire, as severe access restrictions and logistical barriers have forced humanitarian organisations, including Islamic Relief, to temporarily suspend or scale back initiatives that were previously operational.

Yet, despite these immense challenges, Islamic Relief remains on the ground and steadfast in its commitment to the people of Gaza, continuing to deliver lifesaving assistance and essential support to vulnerable families whenever possible.

Our Ongoing Commitment to The People of Gaza

We have worked in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 1997 and have a well-established team based in Gaza. Our staff are members of the very communities they serve, experiencing the same displacement, loss, insecurity and daily hardships as those around them. Despite these immense challenges, they continue to do everything possible to deliver life-saving assistance and essential support whenever access allows.

As needs have evolved, we have continually adapted and expanded our response. Today, we provide hot meals, food packs, food vouchers and other emergency assistance to families facing extreme food insecurity, while delivering maternal healthcare, psychosocial support, education programmes, and targeted support for women, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

We have also significantly expanded our Orphan Sponsorship Programme in Gaza, increasing support from 8,750 orphaned children before October 2023 to more than 25,000 children today, ensuring children receive financial assistance, healthcare, protection and psychosocial support.

Through our local team and trusted partners, we remain committed to standing with the people of Gaza and responding to their most urgent needs, despite the immense operational challenges.

psychological-support-gaza (1) — Psychosocial support programming for children in Gaza

Since October 2023, Islamic Relief has provided over R1 billion worth of vital humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza and the West Bank.

The figures below were last updated on 6 August 2026:

2,274,000

medical items

28,210

food packs

1,297,918

lipid-based nutrient supplements distributed, to help prevent malnutrition

14,907

food vouchers

56,465

fresh vegetable packs

72,038,727+

ready-to-eat meals

102,243

children received psychosocial support

13,751

people have received healthcare services

68,786

family hygiene kits

25,000+

orphans sponsored

69,678+

family kits, including warm clothes, blankets, mattresses, kitchen sets and makeshift tents

Frequently asked questions

Last updated 6th August 2026

What is the level of destruction in Gaza?

The scale of destruction is like nothing we have seen before. Israel’s relentless attacks have turned Gaza into rubble, wiping out entire neighbourhoods and destroying all sectors of society.

According to UN reports, 69% of all structures in Gaza are either damaged or destroyed, including 94% of health facilities, 92% of homes, 89% of water and sanitation services, 88% of schools and 81% of main roads. Places of worship are similarly affected, with 79% of mosques and almost all churches now damaged or completely flattened.

The economy and people’s livelihoods are also destroyed, which will leave people dependent on aid for a long time to come. Around 80% of commercial facilities such as shops and small businesses are damaged or destroyed, and many businesses and factories have been forced to close, leading to a steep decline in Gaza’s economic output. Farmers face enormous challenges as 82% of agricultural cropland is now damaged, as well as 68% of agricultural wells and 72% of greenhouses. Cattle owners have few animals left as 95% of cattle, 57% of sheep and 63% of goats have died. Gaza’s fishing industry is in ruins, with 72% of fishing boats destroyed.

Unemployment has rocketed to around 85% and GDP declined by approximately $655 million last year. Almost everyone is mourning the death of loved ones, and many people have been left with life-changing injuries including loss of limbs. Almost everyone has gone through traumatic experiences and many are left with long-term mental health impacts that will affect them for a long time to come.

Source: UN OCHA

What is happening now in the West Bank?

The situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is at boiling point as violence and oppression against Palestinians there increases. Palestinians face daily human rights violations that affect every aspect of life.

Since 7 October 2023, Israeli attacks have intensified and killed more than 1,100 Palestinians, including at least 240 children, and wounded many thousands more – mostly from live military fire and also frequent airstrikes, which were rarely seen in the West Bank before October 2023.

In January 2025 – as the ceasefire was beginning in Gaza – Israel launched a major military offensive in the northern West Bank, starting in the city of Jenin and then spreading to other areas such as Tulkarem and Tubas. This ongoing offensive, which the Israeli military refers to as Operation Iron Wall, has forcibly displaced more than 40,000 Palestinians from their homes, the largest and fastest displacement in the West Bank for decades. It has destroyed entire neighbourhoods, with homes, roads and hospitals bombed into rubble and previously bustling communities now emptied of people.

The Israeli military has imposed increasing restrictions on Palestinian movement across the West Bank, closing roads, detaining civilians for hours at a time, and installing new iron gates to control movement in and out of villages. This prevents people from reaching relatives, markets, farms, schools, health facilities, businesses and places of worship.

Armed Israeli settlers have also stepped up violent attacks and intimidation of Palestinian villagers. In 2026, settler attacks have become the leading cause of Palestinian injuries in the West Bank, accounting for 55% of all Palestinian injuries. OCHA has documented more than 1,260 settler attacks in 2026 alone – averaging six incidents per day. Fatalities linked to settler attacks in 2026 have already surpassed the total recorded during all of 2025.

We are also seeing an increase in the demolition of Palestinian homes and other structures in Area C of the West Bank. In 2024, 1,768 demolitions were recorded, the highest annual total in recent years. In 2026 alone, more than 3,200 Palestinians have been displaced due to demolitions and settler attacks – an average of 17 people per day, nearly double the daily rate of the preceding three years.

Source: UN OCHA, July 2026

Are hospitals and health facilities functioning in Gaza?

Even before October 2023, Gaza’s health system faced daily challenges to keep functioning, with frequent shortages of fuel and medical supplies due to the Israeli blockade.

Now, after more than two years of repeated targeted Israeli attacks, 94% of all health facilities in Gaza are either damaged or destroyed. At least 1,400 health workers have been killed and many more wounded. The World Health Organisation has documented hundreds of attacks on healthcare, including bombing and shelling hospitals and clinics, striking ambulances as they carried wounded civilians, and shooting paramedics as they try to reach injured people. Hospitals have frequently been besieged by Israeli military – with staff, critically ill patients, young children and pregnant women trapped inside without fuel, food or water – and the Israeli siege has prevented vital drugs, medical equipment and fuel from entering, forcing doctors to carry out surgeries in medieval conditions.

International law demands that hospitals and medical staff are protected and are never used for military purposes. It can never be morally justifiable to attack hospitals that are full of casualties and frightened civilians.

Palestinian medical staff are doing everything they can to keep health services going. But as of May 2025, around 40% of hospitals, more than 52% of primary health centres, and 67% of UNRWA-run health centres are completely shut down. Most of the rest are only partially functional and they face a daily struggle to stay open due to critical shortages of medicine, fuel and basic supplies such as insulin and paracetamol. Between 10,500 and 12,500 patients require medical evacuation for urgent treatment outside Gaza.

Source: UN OCHA / WHO

What's happening to the children of Gaza

Over the past two years children in Gaza have been trapped in a nightmare. They have been bombed, starved and forcibly displaced. They’ve seen their friends and relatives killed, and their homes and schools bombed to rubble. More children have been killed in Gaza than in the last 4 years of all global wars combined. As well as the thousands killed, tens of thousands more have been injured – many with life-changing injuries such as loss of limbs. Thousands more have been orphaned.

They have suffered trauma that most people cannot even imagine, which will have a devastating impact on children’s long-term mental health.

More than 650,000 school-age girls and boys have now been out of formal schooling for almost 2 years – and many of these children also missed out on at least a year of school during the Covid-19 lockdown as well.

The education sector has been devastated. 88% of Gaza’s schools (499 out of 564) are damaged or destroyed and will need either full reconstruction or significant repairs, and another 2,308 educational facilities ranging from kindergartens to universities are now rubble. At least 663 educational staff have been killed and more than 2,700 teachers injured.

Islamic Relief has significantly expanded its Orphan Sponsorship Programme in Gaza, increasing support from 8,750 orphaned children before October 2023 to more than 25,000 children today, ensuring children receive financial assistance, healthcare, protection and psychosocial support.

Source: UN OCHA / UNICEF

Whats the water and sanitation situation in Gaza?

Even before October 2023, the UN warned that most water in Gaza was unfit for human consumption. Regular fuel shortages due to the Israeli blockade often caused water pumps and sewage networks to shut down.

Now there has been unprecedented destruction, with 89% of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities damaged, including water pumps, sewage pumps, waste collection vehicles and sewage lines.

According to the latest UN OCHA Joint WASH Assessment (March–April 2026), 63% of assessed households access less than 6 litres of drinking water per person per day – below the minimum emergency standard. 74% of households collect water directly from trucks, often through irregular services and in unsafe and overcrowded conditions.

Only 52% of assessed households have access to basic sanitation. Overall, 60% of the population is still exposed to sewage or human waste within 10 metres of their shelters, while over 900,000 people are exposed to accumulated garbage in residential areas.

Together with the collapse in sanitation this has led to widespread outbreaks of preventable diseases including skin infections. Last year recorded Gaza’s first polio case in more than 25 years – a major outbreak was averted thanks to a mass vaccination campaign, but as the crisis worsens again a further outbreak remains a real fear.

Source: UN OCHA Joint WASH Assessment, April 2026

Are there specific issues facing women and girls?

There are many challenges facing women and girls. Pregnant women struggle to access even basic healthcare and maternity services, clean water or sufficient food, and many have been forced to give birth amid the rubble or under bombing. Midwives have reported a rise in premature births due to the extreme levels of stress. There are around 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza and every day about 180 women give birth in unimaginable conditions.

Most women are living in desperately overcrowded shelters and tents without clean water or sanitation. In some shelters hundreds of men, women and children are sharing a single toilet or shower and women have to queue for hours at a time. The complete lack of privacy puts women at even greater risk of harassment and assault and NGO assessments show a rise in sexual or gender-based violence against women and girls. There has also been an extreme shortage of sanitary products on local markets.

Source: UN OCHA / UNFPA

What is the impact on people’s mental health in Gaza?

At least 1 million children, and many adults, are now in need of mental health and psychosocial support. Even before the current escalation people in Gaza were suffering a mental health crisis. 17 years of Israeli blockade that has cut Gaza off from the rest of the world, along with frequent escalations in bombing, have taken a terrible toll on people’s mental health. Even before this escalation, studies found over 68% of adolescents in Gaza have developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a staggering 95% grapple with severe anxiety. Now an entire generation is living through trauma, loss and violence that most people cannot even imagine. This will have a devastating impact on people’s long-term mental health.

Source: UN OCHA / WHO

What is happening to other programmes in Gaza?

All funds directed at supporting Gaza will be used in Gaza, we have a dedicated fund, and donors can be assured that they will reach Gaza.

For the additional funds that are coming in and those we are unable to use at the moment, we are assessing opportunities to invest in long-term development programming, including rebuilding efforts.

Sustainable development programming is just as vital as providing emergency relief, so donors can be assured donations will be used to uplift communities in Gaza. Circumstances obviously do allow us to undertake any assessments in term of rebuilding.

Is cash available in Gaza?

There is a major liquidity crisis in Gaza and most people are suffering from the scarcity of cash. Many banks and ATMs had to shut down over the last 19 months and financial systems are in disarray. With formal banking disrupted, many people rely on informal money transfer systems, but these can be less reliable and more expensive with financial agents charging up to 30% in fees. When people do have cash, the scarcity of goods means that prices are rising rapidly and it is increasingly difficult for people to afford essentials.

Does Islamic Relief collaborate with other humanitarian organisations to maximise the impact of its relief efforts in Palestine?

Our team in Gaza works with a range of local humanitarian partner organisations who have extensive experience in delivering emergency aid and long-term development in the region. We also coordinate closely with other international humanitarian organisations and UN agencies to make the overall humanitarian response as effective and coordinated as possible. For instance, our partnership with the World Food Programme allows our teams to distribute food items directly within Gaza, delivering ready-to-eat meals to civilians sheltering in schools without kitchens.

We have worked in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 1997. We have a team of 17 staff – all of them Palestinians living in Gaza. People’s needs change as the context changes, so we make sure that any aid we deliver is based on regular and thorough needs assessments and consultations with communities.

We undertake the most comprehensive screening of partner groups and their key officials against proscribed lists available to us by using screening software. We also undertake localised due diligence based on company information, press and peer intelligence. Any organisation with which we partner must also adhere to an agreement covering areas such as risk management, publicity issues, child protection and terrorism.

How long has Islamic Relief worked in Gaza? How many staff do you have there?

We have worked in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 1997. We have a team of 17 staff – all of them Palestinians living in Gaza. A lot of our work and aid delivery is done in coordination with international and local humanitarian partner organisations.

How does Islamic Relief adapt its programmes and response to meet the evolving needs of the Palestinian population in the ongoing conflict?

People’s needs change as the context changes, so we make sure that any aid we deliver is based on regular and thorough needs assessments and consultations with communities.

How does Islamic Relief ensure transparency and accountability in its operations, including distributing aid and resources in Palestine?

Any organisation with which we partner must also adhere to an agreement covering areas such as risk management, publicity issues, child protection and terrorism.

We have committed ourselves to meeting various practice related compliance standards. The standards include those set by the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) in Australia and the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) globally. We are also signatories to various commitments, including the Leave No One Behind UN Agenda and the Red Cross Code of Conduct. By committing to these standards, we are able to measure ourselves against best practice in the sector. We are also able to assure our supporters that we maintain the highest standards of accountability, transparency, and professionalism.

Does Islamic Relief provide aid to armed groups / military?

No, Islamic Relief only provides aid to civilians. We do this in line with the humanitarian principles of impartiality, humanity and neutrality.