AFSC's team in Gaza distribute food at an open-air kitchen in Rafah. Yousef Filfil
In Gaza, we are witnessing a genocide that grows worse by the day. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and many more injured. People are dying of starvation and disease. Most hospitals are shuttered, and 90% of homes and buildings are uninhabitable. Nearly all of Gaza's population—2 million people— has been displaced and its people urgently need food, water, medical supplies, fuel, and other essentials.
AFSC's emergency relief effort is helping to alleviate suffering in the short term and reduce inequality and oppression in the long term.
Despite facing grave personal losses themselves, AFSC staff in Gaza have provided life-saving aid to over 1.5 million displaced people* in areas including Deir El-Balah (as well as Maghazi, Bureij, and Nouseirat), Khan Younis, and Rafah. AFSC has also been able to distribute aid to the North of Gaza and Gaza City through our local partner, Palestine Tomorrow.
As of Dec. 6, 2024, our staff, working with partners, have so far provided:
Food for 793,092 people
Drinking water for 677,958 people
Baby formula, Cerelac, and milk for 3,425 children
Hygiene kits for 61,127 people, including women and girls, seniors, pregnant women, and newborns
Mattresses and blankets for 5,586 people
School supplies for 1,500 children
Educational support for 800 primary-level students
Psychological support sessions for 120 women
Recreational activities for 19,300 children
Public health awareness activities for 179 mothers
Our staff have provided hot meals, food parcels, and fresh vegetables to displaced people. We have also distributed hygiene kits with soap, toothbrushes, women's hygiene products, and other critical supplies.
In the coming months, we plan to reach even more people. Most of our food aid and supplies were procured in Gaza, but we have also sent additional aid through Egypt into Gaza when Israeli authorities allowed it. So far, we have procured six trucks containing food, medicine, as well as blankets and winter clothes for families. We also procured a seventh truck (containing mattresses, sandals, and underwear), which was sent from Jordan.
We will continue to assess needs and adapt as needed. As conditions change, our approach may change. We will continue to review and revise this document to be transparent about our work.
Over the past decade, AFSC has been actively delivering humanitarian aid in Gaza in partnership with local nongovernmental organizations. In the current crisis, AFSC is building on our network to coordinate the best community-informed responses that cover the broadest range of affected communities with little duplication of efforts.
Our skilled local team works in coordination with the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), United Nations clusters, United Nations agencies (OCHA oPt, UNRWA, and World Food Program), and active local and international agencies in Gaza.
Our current partners include:
- Palestinian Early Children Education Program
- Quaker Service Norway
- Palestinian Children Relief Fund
- Palestine Tomorrow
- MAAN Development Center
- Wasel Tasel
- Mayasem
- World Central Kitchen
We are also in conversations with the Middle East Children Alliance (MECA) and the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to explore ways of increasing aid distribution in the North of Gaza.
Today, AFSC has offices and staff in Jerusalem, Gaza, the West Bank, and Jordan. AFSC has been present in the Middle East since 1948 when the United Nations asked us to organize relief efforts for Palestinian refugees in Gaza. This built on our work to give relief to civilians living on all sides of the World Wars. Since then, our programs have provided agricultural development, kindergartens, midwife training, humanitarian aid, trauma healing, and intercommunal exchanges for over seven decades. We have maintained a steadfast commitment to supporting emergency relief for Palestinians and lasting peace with justice for Palestinians and Israelis.
AFSC’s programs combine humanitarian service with tireless work on changing attitudes, systems, and laws to create lasting social change. We do not rest with the crucial work of healing the wounds of war; our true mission as a Quaker organization is to root out the causes of violence in our world. Now, we are raising money for humanitarian assistance and calling for a cease-fire, humanitarian access, safe passage, and long-term work to end wars, violence, and oppression in all occupied Palestinian land and Israel.
Thank you for your support.
*This figure is based on the units of aid distributed and number of children who have taken part in recreational activities.
