Famine in Gaza: EUR 1 Million for Emergency Aid
Together with European partners, first aid operations have started
Bonn/Berlin, 2024-04-04. Welthungerhilfe is launching its first aid operations in the Gaza Strip by providing hungry people with urgently needed supplies. More than two million residents depend on humanitarian aid to survive, and hundreds of thousands are living in famine, primarily in the region’s north.
Together with local organizations as well as two European partners, CESVI and terre des hommes Italy, Welthungerhilfe is delivering food and medical assistance to the Gaza Strip, including prepared meals and specialized food for undernourished children and adults. The partners chosen by Welthungerhilfe have been operating in this region for years and can entrust this difficult task to their experienced staff.
“People are starving to death every day because not enough aid supplies are reaching those in need. Greater political pressure must be brought to bear on all parties to finally achieve better and safer access. Children and women are suffering the most under the current circumstances. For our part, we are conducting our aid efforts under strict observance of humanitarian principles including neutrality, humanity, impartiality, and independence,” explains Mathias Mogge, the secretary general of Welthungerhilfe.
All aid supplies are purchased in Egypt or Jordan and then transported to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah or Kerem Shalom border crossings with support from the Egyptian Red Cross. Due to the fraught security situation, transport trucks and aid supplies are not marked, and supplies are distributed directly to the families in need; this prevents theft. Aid measures are also coordinated with all relevant Israeli authorities in order to minimize the likelihood of coming under fire.
In neighboring Southern Lebanon, people’s nutrition situation is growing more precarious due to violent conflict as well. Since February, around 90,000 people have fled from the border region to safe parts of Lebanon, where they have found shelter with host families or in refugee reception centers. In conjunction with local partners, Welthungerhilfe will provide support here as well.
Welthungerhilfe condemns the brutal attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, in the strongest terms and calls for the immediate release of all hostages. Welthungerhilfe further calls for a ceasefire and for safe and unobstructed access to deliver needed aid supplies as quickly as possible; it also condemns all attacks on humanitarian aid workers.
Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest private aid organizations in Germany and has no political or religious affiliations. It is fighting for “Zero Hunger by 2030.” Since its inception, it has provided funding of EUR 4.75 billion for more than 11,498 overseas projects in 72 countries. Welthungerhilfe follows the principle of supporting people in realizing their rights and sustainably improving their living conditions, which it implements with measures ranging from rapid disaster relief to rehabilitation to long-term development cooperation projects with national and international partner organizations.
