Help for people affected by the Gaza war

The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic. The situation in the West Bank is also deteriorating rapidly. According to the UN, the only way to avert an acute famine in the Gaza Strip is to act quickly. Hundreds of thousands of people are in urgent need of support. Caritas Switzerland and its partner organizations are providing aid for the people affected by the Gaza war.

Since the brutal attack by armed Hamas fighters in Octobre, Israel has been waging war in the Gaza Strip, causing immeasurable suffering for the civilian population. The people in the Gaza Strip lack everything. Due to the current offensives in the south and north, the situation continues to deteriorate and aid is becoming more difficult to deliver. In addition, too little essential medicines and food are still reaching Gaza.

The humanitarian situation in the West Bank is also becoming increasingly dire. The Palestinian relief organization UNWRA, which is also active in the West Bank, is having to adjust its aid due to cuts in contributions. This is dramatically exacerbating the situation for all those affected.

• Read more about the emergency in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank

Help us to provide help

More than two million people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Please support our important commitment with a donation today. Together we can help to alleviate the greatest need. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support.

This is how our local partner organizations provide tireless help

Our two local partner organizations Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Caritas Jerusalem have been working in the Gaza Strip for decades and continue to provide life-saving aid to the civilian population even under the tightened circumstances.

However, their work is being hampered by the current offensives in Rafah and the north of the Gaza Strip. Some warehouses are no longer accessible and more and more people are having to leave the embattled areas, including staff from our partner organisations. In addition to the activities in Rafah, the commitment of CRS and Caritas Jerusalem in the Gaza Strip focuses on areas in the centre, where most of the displaced people from Rafah settle. The aid is constantly adapted to the prevailing conditions and the needs of the civilian population. Both partner organisations are also active in the West Bank.

CRS aid: focus on aid deliveries

CRS's emergency aid projects focus on the delivery of relief supplies.

From October 2023 to the end of March 2024, CRS distributed the following relief supplies:

CRS has other large quantities of aid supplies in Egypt and Jordan, which are transported to the Gaza Strip whenever the border crossings are open.

A second important aspect of the help provided by CRS is psychosocial support. Many people have lost relatives and friends. This leaves hundreds of thousands of people traumatized. Our partner organization provides psychological first aid and offers trauma and grief counselling at various locations in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

The support of Caritas Jerusalem: Medical care

The humanitarian aid provided by our second partner organization Caritas Jerusalem focuses primarily on medical care for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip and in West Bank.

Since January 2024, Caritas Jerusalem will be implementing new measures to directly support a further 23'275 people in the Gaza Strip and in West Bank:

• The Caritas Gaza Medical Center is being repaired and the capacity of the Caritas Taybeh Medical Center is being expanded.
• In addition, 7'000 people in the Gaza Strip and Rafah are receiving medical care.
• 2'750 families are being supported with cash to cover their basic needs.
• 500 children are receiving psychosocial support.

The following assistance was provided by the end of December 2023:

Caritas Jerusalem has also donated medicines and medical supplies to three hospitals in Gaza.

The plight of the Gaza Strip

There is a severe food shortage in the Gaza Strip and the civilian population suffers from limited access to clean water and sanitation as well as a lack of healthcare. For example, only 12 out of 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are still functional and on a small scale.

The suffering and hardship of the people continues to grow. According to the UN, around 25% of people are now at risk of starvation. The immense need for drinking water, food, medicines and hygiene products has so far been insufficiently covered by the approved aid deliveries.

The humanitarian situation in the West Bank

The humanitarian situation in the West Bank is also tense and deteriorating rapidly. The war is having a particularly severe impact on the economic situation. Many people from the West Bank worked in Israel before the escalation, which is now no longer possible. Tourism has also collapsed as a result of the clashes, which has further weakened the economy. As in the Gaza Strip, people's purchasing power is also falling sharply in the West Bank.

People at the center of our commitment

Caritas Switzerland and the entire Caritas network, including CRS and Caritas Jerusalem, are committed to the humanitarian principles of impartiality and independence. In this humanitarian crisis, the focus of our commitment is on the suffering civilian population.

Further information

• Caritas Switzerland calls for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and Israe (German or French)

• Humanitarian aid at Caritas Switzerlan (German or French)

• News

Header image: According to the UN, only rapid action can prevent famine in the Gaza Strip. © Ismael Mohamad/UPI Photo