American Friends Service Committee

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Update: Gaza Emergency Response

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Dear John,

I want to thank everyone who has donated so far to support AFSC’s emergency response in Gaza.

In recent weeks we have been able to provide some relief to displaced people in the Khan Yunis and Rafah regions of Gaza. Our staff, working with partners, have distributed food parcels to 502 families in shelter centers in Khan Yunis. The parcels include easily prepared items such as luncheon meat, canned cheese, and jam and provide enough to feed a family for two days. In Rafah, we have distributed 250 hygiene kits. They include soap, wet wipes, women's hygiene products, and other sanitary supplies. 

Unfortunately, conditions are rapidly deteriorating. Yesterday the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced that their last fuel reserves have been depleted. AFSC joined the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA) in issuing an urgent statement warning that this will render aid impossible to deliver. It will also accelerate the current humanitarian catastrophe to unimaginable proportions, including through the stoppage of water distribution plants and waste and sewage removal. These alone will leave 2.2 million people without potable water and subject to outbreaks of disease.

As soon as it becomes possible, we plan to resume distribution of essential aid packages, prioritizing the elderly, people with disabilities, and others with heightened vulnerability. We will continue to coordinate closely with partners in the region and adjust our approach as needed. If you have not yet donated, please consider a special gift to support our emergency response today. [link removed]

In peace, 

Kerri Kennedy
Associate General Secretary for International Programs

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American Friends Service Committee
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
United States
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