Dear Avaaz members,

I'm following up because it just got even worse in Gaza -- and we cannot, must not, look away.

Over 500,000 people are starving and famine has now officially been declared. It's only the fifth time that such a severe classification of starvation has ever been made.

Then days ago, Israel bombed the hospital I used to work in. And when rescuers and journalists rushed in, they bombed it again, killing 20 people.

As a doctor, I am one of the few who can bear witness to the unimaginable horrors inside Gaza. I've seen skeletal babies, mothers too weak to feed their newborns, even nurses and surgeons collapsing from hunger. These images will never leave me.

That's why I joined Avaaz, travelling to meet governments face to face. To tell them what I've seen, and to make them face the reality of genocide. I've watched politicians break down in tears, realising it could be their own children starving and alone. And I felt the room shift when excuses finally crumbled.

Some governments are starting to act -- cutting weapons, calling for sanctions. But it's nowhere near enough. We must turn that trickle into a tidal wave.

Now Avaaz is organising to take many more doctors to meet Presidents and Prime Ministers. We can't deliver aid ourselves -- Israel's blockade makes that impossible. But we can fight like hell to force governments to intervene, stop the genocide, and open the borders for a flood of humanitarian aid.

There is a fire in me, burning for all the children I've held and lost. And I promise you: I will not stop.

Please, donate whatever you can -- so together we can change the hearts and minds of those with the power to end this horror. Donate what you can now:

This is not some natural disaster -- it is mass murder and intentional starvation. Trucks packed with baby formula, food, and medicine are waiting just across the border, within walking distance of those dying of starvation. But Israel won't let them in.

Politicians aren't always moved by headlines or reports. But I've seen how they react to the personal, human testimony of doctors like me.

One moment of connection between two people can crack indifference wide open. And when it's paired with huge, relentless public pressure, the excuses fall apart, paving the way for real action. Now if we raise enough from this email, we could:

• Fund many delegations of doctors to meet with Presidents, Prime Ministers, and governments across Europe and beyond;
• Support an uprising of protests and flotillas, from the heart of Berlin to the docks of Marseille, to help stop the supply of weapons to Israel; 
• Organise media-grabbing stunts outside parliaments and international meetings, forcing politicians to confront the genocide and their ability to stop it;
• Expand Avaaz's team of Gaza campaigners, storytellers, and communication experts to shift the narrative around Palestine;
• Fund Avaaz's work on the ground in Palestine, helping to organise thousands of people to end Apartheid and the ongoing occupation.

The worst-case scenario is now unfolding in Gaza. But we can do something about it, together. Donate what you can now:

People often look back on previous genocides and wonder what they would have done.

It's whatever you're doing right now.

So don't look away. Don't change the subject. Because in another life, it could be any of us running from the bombs, queuing for scraps of food, pleading for the world to do something.

I believe in the power of what we are doing together. And while I didn't know of Avaaz before we started these meetings, I have been utterly blown away by what this community can do, and your ferocious commitment to the people of Gaza. It is needed more than ever.

For the children of Gaza, and the hopes of tomorrow,
Dr Graeme Groom and the whole team at Avaaz




PS. This might be your first donation to our movement ever. But what a first donation! Did you know that Avaaz relies entirely on small donations from members like you? That's why we're fully independent, nimble and effective. Join the over 1 million people who've donated to make Avaaz a real force for good in the world.

More information:

1. Declaration of famine in Gaza lays bare Israel’s disregard for humanitarian duty (The Guardian)
2. Doctor recounts harrowing shifts working at one of Gaza's last standing hospitals (ITV news, on Youtube)
3. Israel hits Gaza hospital, killing at least 20 people, including five journalists (Reuters)