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Dear friend, I wanted to update you on the latest status of our response to the crisis in Israel and Gaza. All of us here at Mercy Corps are grieving the devastating loss of lives and suffering of people who have been wounded, separated from their families, and living on the brink of dehydration and hunger. We are working diligently to find ways to resume and scale up our programming for civilians who are caught in the crossfire of this conflict. As the violence spills into southern Lebanon, our team there is responding to help communities at the border, where more than 20,000 people have fled their homes. In the initial phase of our response, we are providing essential supplies to 1,300 displaced individuals and working with local partners to increase this effort in the days ahead. We are also planning to distribute food baskets to families who are hosting displaced families.
While an initial convoy of 34 trucks bringing food, water, and medicine crossed into Gaza earlier this week, this falls far short of meeting the alarming levels of humanitarian need. Even prior to this escalation of conflict, civilians in Gaza relied on hundreds of trucks bringing supplies into the territory. We urge the United Nations, Egypt, Israel and all others negotiating the terms of aid deliveries to immediately determine a way for safe, sustained, and scalable aid access and delivery. Mercy Corps is working to restart our humanitarian programs in Gaza and our team members there are committed to significantly ramping up much-needed lifesaving assistance — clean water, food, hygiene supplies, and shelter materials — as soon as it is safe to do so. Even as we respond to this crisis in the days, weeks, and months ahead, we will also remain steadfast in our work in Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, Sudan, and 40+ countries around the world. Thank you for your commitment to Mercy Corps’ work to support communities facing conflict and climate change, and building a bolder, brighter future for us all. We will continue to keep you updated as our response unfolds. Sincerely, 
Tjada D’Oyen McKenna Mercy Corps Chief Executive Officer
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