Read first-hand accounts from our team members ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌







Dear friend,

After six months of conflict in Gaza, more than 31,000 people have been killed and more than 1.1 million people are at risk of starvation. Aid is being severely restricted or entirely blocked, and this week’s sad loss of aid workers from World Central Kitchen showed again that nowhere is safe in Gaza for civilians or for the humanitarians working hard to bring relief amid suffering.

As often as possible, Mercy Corps is in communication with our team members who live and work in Gaza, learning first-hand about their experiences through these horrific events. Below, we take a look back at some of their accounts over the last six months.

Before you scroll, we hope you will consider supporting our emergency responses in places like Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, and around the world.

As the conflict in Gaza rages on, one of the best ways to make a difference is to start a monthly gift to Mercy Corps that will help families facing crisis all year long. Will you please consider joining Partners in Possibility, our monthly giving community, today?
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Nasma*, Mercy Corps team member in Rafah, November 2023

 
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"In one month, death has approached me many times. We fled our home in southern Gaza to seek safety with a family member but when the neighboring home was bombed without warning, we had nowhere to go. Eventually, after moving several times, we returned to the same home, even though there were 20 people who remained trapped under the rubble there (some of them we know), because we had no other options."
 
Yazan*, Mercy Corps team member at Nuseirat Camp, near Wadi Gaza, November 2023

 
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"Shopping for essentials has become a daily challenge. Most shops are closed or their shelves are empty. Every day, at 5:00 in the morning or before, I go to fill the water. Then, I head to the bread line from 5 in the morning until 12 or 1 in the afternoon to get enough for the day. Completing the task of bringing back necessary items makes coming home feel like an achievement, especially amid darkness and fear. I often reach home around midnight when it’s completely dark. On my way back, I avoid using my phone flashlight to stay unnoticed and avoid the risk of being bombed."
 
Firas*, Mercy Corps team member in Deir al-Balah, December 2023

 
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"Securing food and essentials for my family has become nearly impossible in the midst of the siege and road closures. What is happening to us is like a scene from a nightmare. It’s distressing, fearful, and disorienting. I don’t know how to describe it; no one can comprehend the various forms of suffering we are enduring. Aside from that, we’ve lost members of our families and friends. Since the beginning of the war, I have lost my uncles and their fathers, in addition to some friends. Death seems to be everywhere in every corner of the Gaza Strip."
 
Waleed*, Mercy Corps team member in Gaza City, January 2024

 
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"Patients can no longer find most types of medicine, and the nature of the food they eat exacerbates their illnesses. Most hospitals, especially in the northern region, are out of service, and there is no treatment of any kind. Most doctors have either been arrested or have been displaced to the south. One becomes more afraid of getting shot or sick than of dying because there is no treatment, so no one will look for treatment and we are left to deal with this on our own and hope we do not die before we can get help."
 
Asma*, Mercy Corps team member in northern Gaza, February 2024

 
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"People are literally begging. We only bake bread from the feed, and people smell the bread and come to ask for it. Everyone is barely managing on their own; either they eat rice or they stay without food. Some people, due to hunger, are risking their lives and going to the south so they don’t die of hunger."
 
*Names have been changed for security reasons.

In March, a United Nations-backed report showed that up to 1.11 million people in Gaza were at risk of starvation. Mercy Corps prepared and delivered 1,300 food kits last month. The kits were then airlifted by a Jordanian Air Force cargo plane into Egypt, where they were loaded onto trucks bound for Gaza. To date, we’ve distributed 2,100 food and hygiene kits through local partners.

Yet, the limited amount of aid that Mercy Corps and other organizations can currently provide in Gaza is nowhere near enough to meet the needs of the population. We remain steadfast in our call for a ceasefire and our commitment to deliver meaningful aid and support to Palestinians.

We will not stop until families in Gaza have the food and water they need to survive this conflict. Please make your first gift today to send support to families in crisis in Gaza and 40+ countries around the world.

With gratitude,

The Mercy Corps team