Why Gaza needs your help now more than ever

When the shakily-held ceasefire broke down in early March, people in Gaza were plunged back into desperate, devastating conditions. Food, water and medical aid is blockaded by the Israeli military – none is reaching people in Gaza. Supplies – of food, and everything, are limited and rapidly diminishing.

Issa Saaba, director of Hope and Play’s Gaza partner organisation – the Canaan Institute – is in the north, in Gaza City, and he writes that our help is needed now more than ever. His writing is a powerful reminder of the resilience of Palestinian social and cultural life. It is also a reminder of the terrible fragility that every day brings for those in Gaza.

Please read his message, and share his words wider. As Issa says: Together, we must persist.

Message from Issa Saaba

“Our relief, promotional, and awareness-raising activities for all groups—especially children and mothers—are critically important. These people have faced, and continue to endure, daily violence and destruction. This affects all forms of life, including humans, environment, and infrastructure.

“We are now approaching the 19th month of this ongoing aggression. Hundreds of thousands of people are being forced to relocate repeatedly. Many have begun to set up tents in destroyed streets, roads, and squares, which are utterly unfit for habitation.

“This situation motivates us even more, especially now, when exhaustion has set in and the siege has intensified. All remaining savings and resources are depleted. There is widespread starvation.

“There is a continuous and severe scarcity of water, food, and medicine. And there is an urgent need for psychological support for people here – especially children who make up more than half our population.

“This dire reality compels us to mobilize our energy and resources, calling upon those who have supported us from the beginning, as well as new friends and partners who share our commitment to human values.

“We urge the continuation of support and resources, even if they only partially address the overwhelming need. Such assistance can make a significant psychological and moral difference, enabling us to meet basic human needs and fostering hope for a more secure, peaceful, and prosperous future.

“Together, we must persist. We cannot stop in our efforts to create a more just and equitable world for the oppressed and marginalized. With your compassion and humanity, we can make life happen.”

Your support shows the people in Gaza living the nightmare of destruction, and enduring this deprivation, that they are remembered.