Palestine

As a tenuous ceasefire holds after two years of war, death, and destruction, Humanity First continues to serve people in Gaza with life-saving aid.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports approximately 1.5 million people living in 940 active displacement sites across the Gaza Strip.

The number of functional health service points on the Gaza Strip has increased, but there remains an urgent need for repairs to sanitation infrastructure. Clean water – which Humanity First has been providing throughout the conflict – remains extremely important.

Under the leadership of HF-UK, the Humanity First network continues to provide emergency supplies and support to people in Palestine, as we have since Fall 2023. We are coordinating with local authorities and international organizations to ensure an effective response.

Over nearly 2 years, Humanity First has brought in tanks of water for people to drink and cook. We have provided food staples of rice, flour, tuna, beans, and lentils. During winter, we distributed tents, warm jackets, and blankets to protect against the cold weather and lack of sufficient shelter that many people have faced.

The challenges in providing aid have varied, but Humanity First persists with the support of our international donor community and brave team in Gaza.

Through your generous donations to the Humanity First Palestine relief appeal, HFUSA partnered with the nonprofit organization Anera to provide medical relief in Palestine.  

With HFUSA support, early in 2024 over 13,900 adults and children received medical care at rotating free health clinics in 10 UN shelters in southern and central Gaza. Our partner Anera operated the 48 clinic days in areas with high numbers of internally displaced people. The clinics treated over 6,800 children and 7,100 adults, including pregnant and lactating women, for critical and chronic conditions.

Anera coordinates with the UN health cluster and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to integrate health clinics into ongoing response efforts. The clinics hire local, vetted professionals who provide urgent, culturally sensitive, and trauma-informed medical care. Anera is non-political, non-religious, and is one of the largest American nonprofits working solely in the Middle East for more than 55 years.