Reports
Find out more about how DEC charities responded to the crisis.
Middle East
Humanitarian
Appeal
Middle East
Humanitarian Appeal
Conflict continues to devastate lives. People urgently need support across Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank and Syria. The humanitarian needs remain huge. Please 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
The needs remain huge
80% of homes
in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, with displaced families spending their third winter in makeshift shelters
1.9 million
people displaced in Gaza, and hundreds of thousands more in Lebanon
Your donations are supporting people in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank.
In Lebanon, more than a million people fled their homes when the conflict escalated again in March 2026. Families have been staying in collective shelters or sleeping in cars and tents. Hundreds of thousands of people still have nowhere to go and face an uncertain future.
In Gaza, the humanitarian crisis remains catastrophic. Recent winter rain flooded tents and made living conditions even more unbearable. People urgently need basic necessities including food, clean water and medical care.
DEC charities and their local partners have been working tirelessly to support families impacted by conflict in Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank and Syria.
Each day has brought new and unexpected challenges, but they have constantly adapted their work to deliver whatever aid they can. Donations to the Middle East Humanitarian Appeal are making a difference to people in urgent need.
DEC charities are delivering urgent aid in Lebanon
More than a million people have fled their homes in the latest escalation of conflict in Lebanon at the beginning of March this year. The ceasefire agreement means some families have returned to their communities, but many have nowhere to go and have been displaced multiple times.
The destruction of housing, infrastructure and livelihoods since October 2024 means this latest escalation has compounded an already devastating humanitarian crisis. Here are some of the ways DEC charities and their local partners are supporting people with vital aid.
Ready-to-eat food parcels
After the most recent escalation in the conflict, many displaced people in Lebanon have been forced to take refuge in temporary shelters.
DEC charity Action Aid is distributing ready-to-eat food parcels to provide balanced nutrition to families living without access to cooking facilities.
Parcels are designed to provide balanced nutrition and do not require cooking. Each pack is intended to support a household of five people for five days.
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Temporary shelter facilities
Temporary sites often have limited access to facilities, with multiple families sharing a single toilet or shower, with a limited supply of clean water.
Even with the current ceasefire in place, many families have stayed living in these sites, without homes to return to.
DEC charity World Vision is restoring water and sanitation facilities, including toilets and showers in collective shelter sites.
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Survival items in tents
Vulnerable groups including older people, refugees, and people with disabilities remain an urgent priority.
DEC charities are constantly adapting their work as the situation changes to distribute emergency aid such as food baskets and bedding to those who need it most.
Action Against Hunger is working to distribute core relief items, including mattresses and hygiene kits, to families living in tents.
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Child-friendly spaces
Children in Lebanon are facing ongoing disruption to their education with a lack of space, privacy and routine, making it harder for them to maintain any sense of normal life.
The conflict has left many children deeply anxious, often clinging to their parents and worrying about losing loved ones or their homes.
Child-friendly spaces, like this one set up by DEC charity Save the Children, supports children with recreational activities, drawings, and toys.
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The local partner of DEC charity Concern Worldwide distributes thousands of litres of clean water a day across central and northern Gaza. Image: CESVI
Gaza response: October '24 - '25
In the first 12 months of the DEC response, from the launch of the appeal in October 2024 to October 2025, DEC charities and their partners delivered urgently needed food, water, medical care, cash assistance and much more to people living in unimaginably difficult conditions.
This work took place during periods of ceasefire and conflict, as well as a blockade on aid and other supplies entering Gaza, which drastically worsened the humanitarian crisis.
Despite the severe challenges they have faced, DEC charities and their local partners have worked tirelessly throughout the conflict to continue reaching some of the most vulnerable families with lifesaving support.
This work took place during periods of ceasefire and conflict, as well as a blockade on aid and other supplies entering Gaza, which drastically worsened the humanitarian crisis.
Despite the severe challenges they have faced, DEC charities and their local partners have worked tirelessly throughout the conflict to continue reaching some of the most vulnerable families with lifesaving support.
573,000
people received urgently needed hot meals or food baskets
434,000
people received improved access to drinking water
345,000
people were reached with support to healthcare facilities
28,000
people received cash or voucher support to buy essentials
26,000
people received clothes, blankets and other essential items
20,000
people accessed mental health or other protection services
What is the best way to help people in Gaza?
The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities to raise funds quickly and efficiently at times of humanitarian crisis overseas. DEC charities and their local partners have been working in Gaza throughout the crisis, scaling up their response whenever the situation allows to help provide lifesaving aid to Palestinians. They have decades of expertise in working in the region to help meet people’s needs, despite all the challenges.
Following the ceasefire announcement in October 2025, DEC charities and their local partners have been scaling up their aid response. Despite the many challenges they are facing, they are continuing to deliver urgently needed support.
Donate now to the DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal to support this lifesaving work.
How you can help people in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank.
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
Donate today to help people in Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank and Syria.
In a warehouse in northern Cairo, volunteers and Plan International staff are packing food parcels for distribution to Gaza. Photo: Plan International / Mohamed Hesham
What's happening in Gaza?
Six months on from the ceasefire agreement, humanitarian need is Gaza remains incredibly high. Families are living in cramped makeshift shelters with little access to essential services.
Despite the challenges, DEC charities and their local partners are providing lifesaving support to people thanks to generous donations.
Islamic Relief provided food distribution in southern Lebanon, where many families returned to their communities to find their homes destroyed. Photo: Carmen Yahchouchi/DEC/Fairpicture
What's happening in Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank?
DEC charities are continuing to respond to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, the West Bank & Syria.
The needs remain huge. Learn more about the situation and how DEC charities and their local partners are supporting people.
Abir, left, is supported by social worker Rafce at a DEC-funded community centre in Beirut after having to flee her home with her family. Photo: Amy Sheppey/Christian Aid/DEC
My life in Lebanon: Co-creation storytelling
Your donations are supporting people affected by the conflict in Lebanon, many of whom have had to flee their homes and leave behind their communities.
We asked some of the women reached by your support at a community cenntre in Beirut what they would like to share about their lives and the impact of your donations.
These are the stories they directed to share with you.
Appeal News
The latest news from the situation in the Middle East.
Jump to
New IPC analysis finds over 1.2m in Lebanon expected to face acute hunger
29 April 2026
A new projected analysis from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) states over a million people in Lebanon are “expected to face food insecurity” at crisis levels or worse between April and August.
The figure marks a “significant deterioration” compared with the outlook before the latest escalation.
The statement says: “Acute food insecurity is likely to deepen without sustained and timely humanitarian and livelihood support”
Since the latest escalation of the conflict, DEC charities and their local partners have been working tirelessly to reach people impacted by the crisis across Lebanon.
Lebanon ceasefire extended by three weeks
24 April 2026
The BBC has reported today that the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon has been extended by three weeks, after it was set to expire on Sunday.
The extension agreement means some families can continue to return to their communities.
However, the humanitarian situation in Lebanon remains devastating, and many families still have nowhere to go after being displaced multiple times.
Thanks to your donations, DEC charities and their local partners are able to continue working tirelessly to reach people impacted by the crisis.
Saleh Saeed interviewed by Yalda Hakim
25 March 2026
Chief executive of the DEC Saleh Saeed OBE was interviewed yesterday by Sky News.
Speaking to Yalda Hakim, Saleh described the worsening humanitarian situation in Lebanon and how DEC charities are supporting people in as the crisis evolves.
🗣️ "Not only do they lose their homes, food prices have gone up."
Chief executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee Saleh Saeed OBE describes the worsening humanitarian situation in Lebanon.
🌍 https://t.co/7a7VLMWT2m pic.twitter.com/sWYZjFA6cN— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 25, 2026
DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal raises over £65 million
18 March 2026
The Middle East Humanitarian Appeal has now raised over £65 million thanks to the amazing generosity of the UK public. £5.5m was raised in Scotland, £4m in Wales, and £1.8m in Northern Ireland.
Appeal funds are helping DEC charities and their local partners to reach people impacted by escalation of the conflict in Lebanon.
Since the beginning of March, more than 800,000 people have been forced to flee their homes.
DEC charities and their local partners are working tirelessly to reach people across Lebanon as the humanitarian crisis deteriorates again, while continuing to support those affected by the conflict escalation in 2024.
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.
