Emergency Food On Its Way to Gaza's Families

Photos: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Mercy Corps is delivering urgently needed food commodities to hundreds of families living in the Gaza Strip.

Mercy Corps plans to ship four tonnes of rice, canned tuna, dates and soybean oil to alleviate humanitarian needs stemming from the conflict. We are currently negotiating with Israeli officials to gain access to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing in southern Israel, and we expect to begin distributions to 1,800 people within the next 24 hours.

Your donation to our Gaza Crisis Fund will help us expand distributions of humanitarian relief items for besieged families.

Ten days of uninterrupted fighting has killed hundreds, injured thousands and confined Gaza's population to an increasingly desperate situation. According to the UN World Food Programme, Gazan families are facing a food crisis — nearly every commodity is in dangerously short supply.

"The situation is the worst I've ever seen," explains Isdud Al Najjar, Mercy Corps' programme manager in Gaza City. "People are afraid to go out on the streets. This is particularly difficult for the poor and those who rely on outside food assistance — up to 80 percent of the population. They simply cannot get the supplies that they need."

Mercy Corps has assisted more than 5,000 families in Gaza since 2005. Before this latest conflict, our programmes provided psychosocial support for children and short-term jobs to fill basic needs. These initiatives are now on hold.

Families in Gaza are running out of time as violence continues. Your support will ensure they will have food to eat in the midst of this deadly crisis. Thank you for your support.

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