Dear Friend,
I’m writing with gratitude to the many people who have contributed to support our humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza. Generous gifts from supporters like you have helped us deliver food, water, baby formula, diapers, hygiene kits, blankets, and more to hundreds of thousands of people over the past 18 months. Your kindness and generosity mean a lot to our team on the ground and the communities they are mobilizing to assist.
As you may know, Israel resumed military operations in Gaza last month. Since March 2, it has also prevented all aid from entering. This is the longest period that humanitarian aid has been blocked from reaching the population of Gaza since October 2023.
AFSC’s staff in Gaza are among the many whose lives are at risk. Yet even now, they are making every effort to source and deliver food and water to as many people as possible, as conditions allow.
From the beginning, most of our aid has been procured in Gaza, where food and other essentials are scarce and prices are very high. To source locally grown food and other goods, we have relied on partnerships and networks built through decades of humanitarian work in the region. We have also sent trucks of aid across the border from Egypt when Israeli authorities have allowed.
But right now, no aid is being allowed in—and supplies of food, water, and other essentials are dwindling. People are facing starvation. Mothers are too malnourished to breastfeed their babies. People who have been displaced over and over again search for shelter and for safety that cannot be found.
As a Quaker organization, AFSC works to end violence in all its forms. We believe every person has the spark of the divine within them. And we are deeply committed to human rights and dignity. Please join us in urging Congress to resume U.S. funding for life-saving Palestinian aid through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the main provider of aid in Gaza. Please join us in opposing the flow of U.S. weapons to Israel, which are being used to perpetuate a genocide. And please continue to hold in the Light our staff, partners, and all who are suffering.
Thank you for your support and for all the ways you join us in working for a more just and peaceful world.
In peace,
