Dear MoveOn member,
The United Nations Secretary General yesterday warned that Gaza is becoming a "graveyard for children."1
The World Health Organization estimates that 67% of the more than 10,000 people killed in Gaza have been women and children, with 420 children killed or injured, on average, every single day.2
The United Nations agency on the ground in Gaza, UNRWA, is running out of clean water, food, medicine, and fuel.3 UNRWA is the largest aid organization in Gaza and is housing 710,000 displaced Palestinians in its schools, which they've had to turn into makeshift shelters.4
The United Nations established UNRWA—United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees—in 1949.5 UNRWA has been delivering emergency medical care, humanitarian assistance, food, education, and social services—including in armed conflicts—for more than 70 years.
Charity Navigator gives the UNRWA USA National Committee—which accepts U.S. donations for UNRWA—4 stars, which is its highest rating.6 The organization also gets top ratings on GuideStar.7
At least 25,000 Palestinians have now been injured—many of them children—in addition to the 1,400 Israelis and more than 10,000 Palestinians killed since the horrific attack by Hamas on October 7.8
It is clear that decades of war and violence have not brought Israelis and Palestinians closer to peace; in fact, the opposite is true. With humanity and millions of human lives at stake, we must collectively act now to stop more loss of life. Which is why nearly 300,000 MoveOn members are calling for a ceasefire amid the heart-wrenching and horrific violence.9 MoveOn members have decades of history organizing for pro-peace, diplomacy-first foreign policy—and against antisemitism and Islamophobia, both of which have been on the rise across the country.
While we advocate for an immediate ceasefire—including an end to the Israeli government's air, land, and sea blockade of Gaza, and the safe passage of hostages, medical staff, and civilians—Palestinians urgently need clean water, food, fuel, and medicine.
Nearly half of Gaza's population is children.10 The needs are urgent and grave, as the Israeli military's airstrikes continue to destroy hospitals, schools, and homes, compounding what was already a longstanding humanitarian crisis in Gaza due to the Israeli occupation.11 The United Nations Secretary General yesterday said that the "trickle of [humanitarian] assistance does not meet the ocean of need."12
In the face of humanitarian emergencies, MoveOn members have come together time and again to provide humanitarian relief globally and mutual aid locally.
In 2022, after Putin invaded Ukraine, MoveOn members raised over $1.1 million for direct relief efforts in Ukraine.
As Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in 2021, placing the lives of millions of Afghan citizens—particularly women and girls—at risk for brutal repression and totalitarian rule, MoveOn members collectively raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for humanitarian relief.
After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, MoveOn members like you raised more than $3 million for relief efforts.
And after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and left tens of thousands of people displaced, MoveOn members opened the doors to their very own homes to provide shelter for families.
Millions of MoveOn members have also responded with powerful collective action in facing crises from Yemen to the U.S. Virgin Islands to Syria to our own border with Mexico.
Now, we urgently must come together again to help get humanitarian assistance to people most impacted by violence. The situation is grave, and so many people are suffering and urgently need our help.
Thanks for all you do.
–Mana, Amy, Nita, David, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Gaza death toll tops 10,000; UN calls it a children's graveyard," Reuters, November 6, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/185135?t=5&akid=368693%2E40999114%2EjtthwR
2. "Women and newborns bearing the brunt of the conflict in Gaza, UN agencies warn," World Health Organization, November 3, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/185139?t=7&akid=368693%2E40999114%2EjtthwR
3. "The UN agency for Palestine refugees is running out of supplies in Gaza," NPR, November 2, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/185138?t=9&akid=368693%2E40999114%2EjtthwR
4. "UNRWA Situation Report #22 on the Situation on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Including East Jerusalem," United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, November 5, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/185134?t=11&akid=368693%2E40999114%2EjtthwR
5. "Frequently Asked Questions," United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, accessed November 6, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/185140?t=13&akid=368693%2E40999114%2EjtthwR
6. "UNRWA USA National Committee," Charity Navigator, accessed November 6, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/185141?t=15&akid=368693%2E40999114%2EjtthwR
7. "UNRWA USA National Committee," GuideStar, accessed November 6, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/185142?t=17&akid=368693%2E40999114%2EjtthwR
8. "More than 10,000 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza," AlJazeera, November 6, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/185143?t=19&akid=368693%2E40999114%2EjtthwR
9. "Petition: Do everything you can to stop all loss of life NOW!" MoveOn, accessed November 6, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/184708?t=21&akid=368693%2E40999114%2EjtthwR
10. "Children make up nearly half of Gaza's population. Here's what it means for the war," NPR, October 19, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/185144?t=23&akid=368693%2E40999114%2EjtthwR
11. "Gaza's children face catastrophe as death toll nears 4,000, UN warns," The Guardian, November 5, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/185145?t=25&akid=368693%2E40999114%2EjtthwR
12. "Gaza death toll tops 10,000; UN calls it a children's graveyard," Reuters, November 6, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/185135?t=27&akid=368693%2E40999114%2EjtthwR
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