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.
The scale of need is overwhelming
2.1 million
people - the entire population of Gaza - do not have enough to eat
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.
The whole of Gaza is on the brink of famine and the levels of hunger are growing more extreme by the day. Reports of children and babies dying from malnutrition and starvation are rising fast. Every day is a struggle to survive.
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
Amin (right) receives food assistance from Islamic Relief in Lebanon as part of the DEC-funded response. Image: Carmen Yahchouchi/Fairpicture/DEC
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. Everywhere is at risk of famine, and the devastating humanitarian crisis continues to deteriorate.
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
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.
BBC: More than 100 humanitarian groups warn of mass starvation in Gaza
23 July 2025
More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups are warning of mass starvation in Gaza.
The statement includes: “Just outside Gaza, in warehouses – and even within Gaza itself – tons of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel sit untouched with humanitarian organisations blocked from accessing or delivering them,”
The group of charities includes DEC members Action Against Hunger, CAFOD, CARE International, Christian Aid, Save The Children, Islamic Relief, International Rescue Committee, Plan International, and World Vision.
Middle East Humanitarian Appeal raises over £47 million as healthcare system suffers
19 July 2025
Over £47 million has been raised for the DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal, as DEC charities continue to work however they can to address the ever changing needs.
In the past weeks, a surge in mass casualty incidents linked to new aid distribution sites has overwhelmed Gaza’s shattered healthcare system even further, pushing it past its limit.
DEC charities and their local partners are working separately to those distribution sites to deliver the support they are still able to, as safely as they can, such as water trucking and medical care.
Independent: One in 10 children screened in UNRWA clinics malnourished
18 July 2025
One in 10 children screened in clinics run by the United Nations refugee agency in Gaza are malnourished, the agency has said.
UNICEF said on Monday that more than 5,800 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in Gaza last month, including more than 1,000 children with severe, acute malnutrition.
With extremely limited supplies entering Gaza, DEC charities and their local partners are working tirelessly to meet some basic needs in the ways they are still able to.
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.
