Four charities in Northern Ireland have united with other leading UK aid charities, to launch the Disasters Emergency Committee Middle East Humanitarian Appeal to raise urgent funds to end the humanitarian catastrophe in the Middle East.

British Red Cross, Concern Worldwide, Save the Children and Tearfund alongside 11 other UK aid agencies are responding right now in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, with the aim of providing lifesaving food, water, shelter, medicine and much more.

DEC member charities are coordinating closely with each other and with local partners to provide aid.

The four charities explained that Gaza has an overwhelming scale of need, with people already dying of hunger and disease, as well as injuries caused by the conflict.

Aaliyah* sits on the remains of a damaged building with her daughter in their neighbourhood in southern Gaza, in October 2024. The mother of six built a temporary shelter opposite her house after it was demolished in airstrikes in February 2024. Her daughter insists on staying near the site of their former home and cries if they venture further out. Aaliyah depends entirely on aid to feed her family as she has been unable to earn an income since October 2023. Photo: DEC/Arete/Abdallah Alsayed *Name changed to protect identity Quotes from Aaliyah, October 2024: “My family consists of eight members - me, my husband, five daughters, and a son. I had a house that was demolished in February. We live in a tent near the rubble of our home. I always find my daughter sitting by the rubble, crying, and she only calms down when she sits there. We had shelter and a roof over our heads. Now, we have nothing but a piece of fabric that doesn't even protect us from the rain. My daughter is the main reason we live near the rubble of our house. She only stops crying and calms down when she sits there. We are suffering a lot, especially in winter. We have nothing to protect us from the rain or a shelter like other people, and my little daughter freezes from the cold.”

placeholder image — Aaliyah* sits on the remains of a damaged building with her daughter in their neighbourhood in southern Gaza, in October 2024. The mother of six built a temporary shelter opposite her house after it was demolished in airstrikes in February 2024. Her daughter insists on staying near the site of their former home and cries if they venture further out. Aaliyah depends entirely on aid to feed her family as she has been unable to earn an income since October 2023. Photo: DEC/Arete/Abdallah Alsayed *Name changed to protect identity Quotes from Aaliyah, October 2024: “My family consists of eight members - me, my husband, five daughters, and a son. I had a house that was demolished in February. We live in a tent near the rubble of our home. I always find my daughter sitting by the rubble, crying, and she only calms down when she sits there. We had shelter and a roof over our heads. Now, we have nothing but a piece of fabric that doesn't even protect us from the rain. My daughter is the main reason we live near the rubble of our house. She only stops crying and calms down when she sits there. We are suffering a lot, especially in winter. We have nothing to protect us from the rain or a shelter like other people, and my little daughter freezes from the cold.”

Food and clean water are desperately scarce and ninety percent of the population have been displaced, often multiple times.

They said that in Lebanon, more than a million people have had to leave their homes in recent weeks. Shelters are overwhelmed, and hospitals are struggling to treat the thousands of people injured. 

In the West Bank, vital water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure has been damaged by ongoing violence and families have been displaced from their homes.

In Israel, families of those held hostage desperately await news of their loved ones, tens of thousands of people are displaced and many more are dealing with trauma caused by the conflict, said the charities.

The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities at times of crisis overseas to raise funds quickly and efficiently. In these times of crisis, people in life-and-death situations need our help and our mission is to save, protect and rebuild lives through effective humanitarian response. The DEC’s 15 member charities are: Action Against Hunger, ActionAid UK, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Oxfam GB, Plan International UK, Save the Children UK, Tearfund and World Vision UK.

The DEC brings together 15 leading aid charities at times of crisis overseas where there is significant unmet humanitarian need. Despite extraordinary challenges and risks, 14 DEC member charities are responding right now in Gaza and Lebanon and 8 in the West Bank. 

Alison McNulty, Director of the British Red Cross in Northern Ireland said: “Millions of people have been displaced multiple times and have no homes to return to. Entire communities and essential infrastructure is destroyed.

"As the British Red Cross and other DEC member charities respond in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, providing food, water, shelter and medicine we are asking the Northern Ireland public to support this appeal and help us meet this catastrophic need which is growing by the day. We are asking people to please donate now to save lives.”

Peter Bryson, Director of Save the Children in Northern Ireland said: “This is a humanitarian crisis that is beyond our comprehension. An estimated 20,000 children in Gaza are unaccompanied or separated or missing in the last 12 months, and those missing are presumed dead.

"We are doing all we can to respond to children’s needs and are urging people in Northern Ireland to donate to the DEC appeal, so we can deliver the vital aid to children and their families, who have lived through this brutal conflict.”

DEC member charities are responding in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank are providing lifesaving food - hot meals, food kits, fresh vegetables – as well as water, hygiene kits, shelter, core relief items like blankets and mattresses, medicine, and mental health support.

People can donate here: dec.org.uk

£10 could provide blankets for two people, £50 could provide emergency food for five families for one week, £100 could provide emergency shelter for five families.