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 begin work repairing water and wastewater networks, as soon as it’s safe to do so.

What's happening in Gaza?

  • Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed. A huge number are children.
  • 85% 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, and the population is now at risk of famine.
  • People are drinking dirty water, risking deadly diseases.
  • 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 (PMRS), Juzoor, CFTA, and Palestinian Environmental Friends (PEF). 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

Two Oxfam shipments are currently queueing at the border. They contain water tanks, tap stands, water test kits, collapsible jerry cans and commodes, which will be able to support around 60,000 people in Gaza.

Oxfam and PEF are hoping to provide water, sanitation and hygiene services to at least 25,600 displaced people in Rafah and Khan Younes over the coming months.

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.

Do people have enough food and water in Gaza?

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

Food is being deliberately restricted. Just a tiny percentage of typical food supplies have been delivered to Gaza since the total siege was imposed. Starvation is being used as a weapon of war. The UN reports that half a million people - a quarter of the population - are starving, and Gaza is at risk of famine.

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.

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.

More on the Israel-Gaza emergency

"A three-year-old child cannot sleep because of the sound. I ask him to sleep during the day, and he says: 'The plane will bomb us, so how can I sleep?'" Huwaida in Gaza. Image: Marwan Sawwaf/ Alef MultiMedia/ Oxfam

We hope that this crisis and nightmare will end soon.”

- Huwaida, who is employed by Oxfam's partner CFTA and hopes to return to providing services.

Huwaida's story

When will a full scale response be possible?

A full scale humanitarian response is only possible when the bombardment completely stops, and it is safe enough. When this is the case, our response will include:

  • Providing people with clean water, sanitation and hygiene items
  • Rehabilitation of water and wastewater networks that have been destroyed in the bombing.
  • Food and other essential household items for people who have lost their homes or their incomes.

Where is humanity? Children are experiencing severe trauma from the constant bombardment, their drinking water is polluted or rationed and soon families may not be able to feed them too.”

– Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Regional Middle East Director

Gaza now also faces communication blackouts as the ground and air offensive intensifies. People desperately need food, water and fuel. The ongoing violence and siege mean they can't get it.

Donate so we can respond through our partners already in Gaza

Any donation you make will help us respond as soon as it’s safe. 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 as soon as it’s safe to do so. Please donate what you can today.

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. The cycle of violence must end.

This conflict isn’t new. Even before these attacks, 8 out of 10 people in Gaza were reliant on international aid. For 16 years, Palestinians have lived under Israeli-enforced blockade in Gaza, with most people unable to leave at all.

Civilians on both sides continue to pay the price for the failure of their leaders to resolve a conflict which has led to the longest occupation in modern history. Unless the international community actively works to address these root causes that have been the catalyst for this new round of hostilities, this cycle of denial of rights and violence will only continue.

It’s time to speak out and say that every life Palestinian and Israeli should be valued and treated with humanity. And that 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.

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.