Emergency appeal

Donate to Gaza


The conflict in Gaza continues to take a devastating toll on civilians.

No-one and nowhere is safe.

People who survive the relentless airstrikes are living in overcrowded shelters, in tents, on the streets. With little food or clean water. If bombs don't kill them, disease or starvation are round the corner. This is an appalling humanitarian catastrophe.

Please donate what you can to the Gaza appeal today.

Your donation will help provide emergency food, clean water and hygiene kits, and repair water and wastewater networks.

What's happening in Gaza?

  • Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed. A huge number are children.
  • Thousands of people have been forced from their homes multiple times. There is nowhere safe to go.
  • Israeli hostages remain captive.
  • Food, water, fuel and medicine are all running out.
  • People are being starved. Malnutrition is rife, and famine is imminent.
  • People are drinking dirty water, risking deadly diseases.
  • Gaza's water and sanitation systems are shattered. Homes, hospitals, bakeries and water facilities have been destroyed.
  • Relentless airstrikes continue to hit civilians, shelters and hospitals.

The situation is devastating. People desperately need an immediate and permanent ceasefire. Find out more about what is happening in Gaza.

What is Oxfam doing in Gaza?

The continuing bombardment has made a full-scale humanitarian response impossible. Only a small amount of aid is being allowed in by the Israeli authorities. More than 2 million people are still in desperate need of aid.

So far, despite huge obstacles, we have been responding with our partners. These include the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, Juzoor, The Cultural & Free Thoughts Association, Palestinian Environmental Friends, Palestine Agricultural Relief Committee, Atfaluna, The Association for Woman and Child Protection, the Economic and Social Development Centre of Palestine, and Al Bayader. They have provided:

  • Cash assistance for more than 1,200 families
  • 400 hygiene kits and 1,000 food kits
  • Aid vouchers for 100 families
  • Vegetable baskets for 3,000 displaced families
  • 4,750 food and fresh produce parcels
  • 600 urgent family health packages
  • First aid kits and services to support around 20,000 people in refugee camps

Oxfam and PEF are working towards providing water, sanitation and hygiene services to at least 25,600 displaced people in Rafah and Khan Younes.

Oxfam has worked in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel since the 1950s to help build and protect rights to water, sanitation and hygiene, cash assistance and more.

Any donation you make will help us respond. Our decision to respond in any crisis is always driven by humanitarian need alone. Even before this escalation, 80% of people living in Gaza relied on aid.

A donation from you can help Oxfam staff and partners respond in Gaza. Please donate what you can today.

Do people have enough food and water in Gaza?

Food is being deliberately restricted. Starvation is being used as a weapon of war. The UN reports that half a million people - a quarter of the population - are starving. Famine is imminent.

A staggering 2.3 million people urgently need food. Some of the food allowed in, like rice and lentils, is of little use as people have no clean water or fuel to prepare them.

There is not enough clean, safe water in Gaza. The situation is desperate.

The UN Water, Sanitation and Hygiene cluster, of which Oxfam is a member, says only three litres of water a day per person is now available in Gaza.

The World Health Organisation recommends in an emergency one person needs between 7.5 and 20 litres of water each day to meet basic health needs.

The water is disgusting, most people are having to drink [salty] water from wells. There is no electricity, so we have to fill buckets and carry up to the roof tank. Our whole family are sick with diarrhoea.”

– an Oxfam member of staff in Gaza

How can you help Gaza?

The ongoing hostilities mean it is impossible to provide the full-scale response that is so desperately needed. An immediate and permanent ceasefire is the most important humanitarian action right now.

What is Oxfam’s position on the conflict?

We condemn all attacks, violence and targeting of Palestinian and Israeli civilians. Attacks that target civilians are never justifiable. All parties must respect international law and cease their attacks. We have witnessed the deadliest day for civilians in the history of modern Israel and the deadliest year in the West Bank since UN records began.

Every life — Palestinian and Israeli — should be valued and treated with humanity. The cycle of violence must end. We refuse to be divided in our call for lasting peace and justice. We are calling on our government to hear us and act.

We’ll keep updating this page with more information about our response through our partners in Gaza.

Frequently asked questions

Oxfam mostly buys items locally or from countries in the affected region. This stimulates the local economy and has less environmental impact. That's why a cash donation is one of the most effective ways to support Oxfam's emergency work.

Oxfam condemns and abhors the use of sexual violence and degradation in any conflict, including the incidents of rape and sexual abuse committed by Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups against Israeli citizens and foreign nationals on 7 October.

Abuse of civilians, detainees and combatants are violations, both morally and in the eyes of international humanitarian and human rights law. There must be full independent investigations of all allegations and perpetrators must be held to account.

Oxfam condemns reports of abuse of Palestinian prisoners by Israeli forces.

Abuse of civilians, detainees and combatants are violations, both morally and in the eyes of international humanitarian and human rights law. There must be full independent investigations of all allegations and perpetrators must be held to account.

We unequivocally condemn the appalling attacks and the taking of hostages by armed groups in Gaza on 7 October. All diplomatic efforts must be made to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

There is no military solution possible to the conflict. A just and lasting agreement is needed that will allow all Israelis and Palestinians to live in freedom, with full and equal civil and political rights, and an end to the occupation. This attempt by Israel to destroy Hamas militarily is coming at an overwhelming cost of civilian death, injury and destruction, including thousands of children. Israel’s military aggression is in no way proportionate to the 7 October attacks by Hamas.

Oxfam calls for a comprehensive negotiated solution based on international law. We have been asking the international community to tackle the roots causes of this injustice and violence for years.

In December, Gaza recorded the highest ever levels of food insecurity, with over half a million people – a quarter of the population – at risk of starvation. The independent, UN-led report warned that unless there is an immediate ceasefire and huge scale-up of aid into Gaza, people are at risk of famine.

Starvation - deprivation not only of food but also of water and other goods essential for survival - is a prohibited tactic of war under International Humanitarian Law.

Oxfam believes that Israel’s siege of Gaza is a deeply immoral act and a breach of International Humanitarian Law as it denies civilians in Gaza sufficient food, water, fuel, medicine and humanitarian aid.

Before 7 October, Gaza used to rely on about 500 truckloads a day for all its goods, including humanitarian aid as well as commercial trade. Currently only 10 percent of the weekly food aid needed is getting in and it is difficult to distribute because of the fighting and bombing.

Despite pulling out Israeli citizens and its ground forces from the Gaza Strip in 2005, the government of Israel remains in effective control over Gaza, including its airspace, seashore and borders. Israel is therefore internationally recognised as the occupying power and as such is responsible under International Humanitarian Law for the basic needs of the people of Gaza, including ensuring that they have sufficient food, water, medical supplies, fuel and other essential goods.

On 9 October, Israel imposed a ‘total siege’ of Gaza cutting off food, power, water and humanitarian aid from 2.3 million people. Oxfam condemns Israel for this deeply immoral act and believes it is a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law.

The violence perpetrated on Israeli civilians by Hamas was appalling and Oxfam condemns the attacks in the strongest terms.

Our decision to respond in any crisis is always driven by humanitarian need alone.

The Israeli government and local and national organisations currently have the capacity to meet needs in Israel. Oxfam’s appeal is therefore focused on providing help in Gaza.

Oxfam is an impartial organisation with rigorous controls in place to ensure assistance we provide gets to the people who need it most. We have no links to Hamas. Hamas does not control, direct or influence our work, and no Oxfam funding goes to Hamas. Oxfam either works directly or via trusted partner organisations, which are carefully vetted.

We deeply appreciate anyone’s desire to support our work and would love for you to volunteer in one of our shops too. Our shops provide a way to welcome people in our communities, including people who have been forced to flee conflict and disaster. Please visit our volunteering page to find out more.

More on the Israel-Gaza emergency

How we spend your money

For every £1 you donate to this emergency appeal, we will allocate 9p of your donation to cover general support and running costs. There is a small chance that we will raise more money than is needed for this appeal. If this happens, we'll spend any additional funds on other Oxfam projects — wherever the need is greatest.