On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants launched a terror attack on Southern Israel. More than 1,200 civilians, mostly Israelis, were killed, and some 240 individuals were taken hostage. In retaliation, the Israeli military launched air, sea and land assaults into Gaza, killing, by some accounts, more than 30,000 people, with more than 1.7 million displaced and under risk as hostilities continue.
This renewed violence is the latest chapter in the complex history of conflict between Arabs and Israelis in the Middle East. The Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s role is not to adjudicate the multiple dimensions of the conflict; rather, we seek to guide funders on how to support the region’s substantial and growing humanitarian needs.
In this highly politicized and emotionally charged environment, we advise donors to make choices in their giving that center humanity and seek to help those with the greatest unmet needs. We also ask donors to recognize that immediate needs will be layered and overlapping and that the recovery and healing will take years and require political solutions beyond the missions and capacities of humanitarians.
The impact of the conflict is growing every day, with no aspect of life unaffected and the greatest impact befalling the most vulnerable in society.
(A wall at Netiv HaAsara facing the Gaza border reads the words “Path to Peace” in Hebrew, Arabic and English. Photo by Cole Keister on Unsplash)
