Middle East
Humanitarian
Appeal
Middle East
Humanitarian Appeal
Conflict in the Middle East has devastated lives. Millions of people in Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank and Syria urgently need shelter, food and basic supplies. Save lives. Donate now.
Aaliyah* holds her daughter on the remains of a damaged building in Gaza in October 2024. The mother of six built a temporary shelter opposite her demolished house and depends entirely on aid to feed her family. Photo: DEC/Arete/Abdallah Alsayed
Inside the operating theatre with surgeon Dr Ando, nurse Haitam, and anesthetist Dr Hamish where a nerve repair is being done at the DEC-funded Red Cross Rafah Field Hospital in Gaza on 21 June, 2025. Image: Sarah Davies/ICRC/British Red Cross
The scale of need is overwhelming
2.1 million
people facing extreme food shortages with famine confirmed across Gaza City
1.9 million
people displaced in Gaza, and tens of thousands more in Lebanon
DEC charities are providing lifesaving aid in Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank and Syria, but urgently need more funds.
Famine has been confirmed in Gaza and every day is a struggle to find food, clean water and basic supplies. People are dying from starvation and malnutrition. Safe and sustained access for humanitarian aid has never been more urgent.
In Lebanon, the ceasefire agreement at the end of last year meant some of the people displaced by conflict could return to their communities and start to rebuild their lives. Months on, many still have no home to return to and are cut off from basic services.
DEC charities and their local partners are working tirelessly to support people in unimaginably difficult conditions. Each day brings new and unexpected challenges, and they are constantly adapting their work to deliver whatever aid they can.
How you can help
You can help people affected by the crisis in the Middle East by making a donation and helping to raise money for the DEC appeal. This will allow DEC charities and their local partners to scale up their response and reach more people.
- £30 could provide blankets for six people
- £50 could provide emergency food, for five families for one week
- £100 could provide emergency shelter for five families
Gaza response: October '24 to April '25
Much of this work was made possible by the increase in aid delivered during the ceasefire agreement earlier this year, but the situation has deteriorated rapidly. A full-scale blockade on supplies entering Gaza for many weeks had a devastating impact on the work of DEC charities and their local partners, and many are no longer able to deliver lifesaving food, water and medicine.
The humanitarian needs are growing by the day. Increased and safe access for aid is urgently needed to save lives.
440,000
420,000
109,000
22,000
Mohammad, an aid worker from Oxfam’s local partner in north Lebanon distributes hygiene kits to displaced people at a collective shelter. Photo: Fatima Ghemrawi/Utopia for Social Justice/Oxfam
Where DEC charities are responding
Conflict in the Middle East has devastated lives across the region, and millions have fled their homes in search of safety.
DEC charities are responding in Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank and Syria to meet urgent needs. They are constantly working with their local partners to navigate the challenges in delivering vital aid. Read more about where and how our charities are responding.
Salam, a volunteer with Wefaq organisation in Gaza and partner of DEC charity ActionAid, Feb 2025. Image: Wattan Media Network/ActionAid
How DEC charities are providing aid as the crisis evolves
Throughout the crisis DEC charities have been working hard to cope with limited deliveries of aid. Famine has now been confirmed in Gaza for the first time.
As they have done throughout the crisis, DEC charities and their local partners are working tirelessly to meet some basic needs in the ways they are still able to.
Maryam sits with her seven year old daughter Zahraa after taking part in psychological support activities, May 2025. Image: Carmen Yahchouchi / DEC / Fairpicture
Local expertise helps meet urgent needs in Lebanon
The ceasefire agreement in Lebanon at the end of last year meant some of the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by conflict could return to their communities and start to rebuild their lives.
Find out more about how DEC charities have been working with local partners in Lebanon, to provide families with essential support to meet their needs.
Actors Riz Ahmed, Joe Alwyn and Ruth Negga join the call for urgent donations to help provide lifesaving aid in Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region.
Appeal News
The latest news from the situation in the Middle East.
Jump to
ITV: Famine confirmed in Gaza City for the first time
22 August 2025
Famine has been confirmed in Gaza for the first time. The global hunger monitor, the IPC, says that famine is now taking place across Gaza City and the surrounding areas, where more than 500,000 people are currently living.
They are warning it is set to spread further by the end of September unless food supplies are urgently increased.
The announcement marks only the 5th time in more than 20 years that the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system has been used to confirm famine.
Gaza City and the surrounding areas have reached IPC Phase 5, which means more than 30% of children are acutely malnourished, and people are dying every day from hunger related causes.
Sky News: Why are airdrops on Gaza so dangerous?
29 July 2025
In this explainer, Sky News repot on how The United Nations has today condemned airdrops on Gaza, warning they risk killing the starving Palestinians they are intended to help.
As reported in the article, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general for UNRWA, has said airdrops "will not reverse the deepening starvation" and often do more harm than good.
Adding that: "They are expensive, inefficient & can even kill starving civilians" in a statement posted on social media.
Reuters: IPC warns of looming famine amid severe food shortages in Gaza
29 July 2025
Reuters have reported the world's top authority on food crises, the IPC, warned that the Gaza Strip is already facing a worst-case famine scenario, predicting "widespread deaths" unless immediate action is taken.
Whilst famine has not been announced, the IPC said: "Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths,"
DEC charities are working to make the most of temporary pauses in the conflict to deliver more aid, and are working to use this moment to do whatever they can and reach as many people as possible with support.
Save The Children Humanitarian Director: ‘Children are literally starving’
28 July 2025
Rachel Cummings, Humanitarian Director for DEC charity Save The Children spoke to the BBC on Monday about the situation in Gaza.
Speaking from an office in Deir al-Balah, she told the BBC how at a clinic yesterday, every child there was malnourished. Adding that every adult - including her own team - are "desperately thin".
Staff from DEC charities and their families are dealing with unimaginably harsh conditions and facing significant risks as they carry out their life-saving work, but are still working to make the most of temporary pauses in the conflict to deliver more aid.
All donations will go to the DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal. Income earned on funds held (such as bank interest) may be used to fund the whole of the DEC’s work.
