Gaza Emergency Appeal
The ongoing devastation in Gaza captured in May 2024. Photo credit: Caritas Jerusalem.
URGENT UPDATE: Winter storms caused flooding, exposing families who are living in temporary tents to freezing temperatures. DONATE NOW
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A family receives humanitarian support in Gaza. Photo credit: Caritas Jerusalem.
Your latest update: 9 Jan, 2026
Winter storms caused flooding, exposing families who are living in temporary tents to cold temperatures and contaminated water.
Shelter supplies remain far from sufficient, and around one million people in Gaza still urgently need emergency shelter support.
A man walks beside destroyed buildings in Gaza photo credit: Caritas Jerusalem.
Your latest update: 8 Jan
Airstrikes, shelling and gunfire were reported across the Gaza Strip, resulting in multiple civilian casualties.
Personal stories from families surviving the crisis in Gaza
Ahmad Al-Daya's Story
Media and Communication at Caritas Jerusalem in Gaza, speaks of repeated displacement and the shelling of his family, resulting in his brother losing his leg.
What are 5 major issues people are facing in Gaza?
A close up image of a baby and father as an aid worker provides infant formula in a refugee camp. Photo Credit Caritras Jerusalem
1. Famine conditions have been confirmed and continue to worsen.
Independent UN agencies have confirmed famine in Gaza, with over 500,000 people trapped in catastrophic food deprivation and preventable hunger-related deaths. Children face the highest risk of fatal malnutrition.
Collapsed building after an airstrike. Photo: Caritas Jerusalem.
2. Life-sustaining infrastructure has been destroyed.
Homes, hospitals, water systems, sanitation facilities, and basic services across Gaza have suffered extensive destruction, leaving families without safe shelter, functional medical care, or reliable access to water.
A family receives humanitarian support in Gaza. Photo credit: Caritas Jerusalem.
3. Children face the most extreme danger.
According to the UN Children’s Fund, children in Gaza are among the most impacted, with an entire generation at risk. Education has collapsed, malnutrition is surging, and diseases are spreading rapidly due to unsafe living conditions.
Aerial view of a shelter site in the South of Gaza supported by Caritas partners. Photo credit: CRS.
4. Access to medical care, clean water, and safe shelter has collapsed.
Health services are overwhelmed and under-resourced, winter storms are exposing displaced families in makeshift tents, and most households report severe water insecurity and barriers to sanitation.
A family walk through the ongoing devastation in Gaza. Photo credit: Caritas Jerusalem.
5. Nowhere in Gaza is safe.
Continued airstrikes, shelling, and military presence across the Strip mean that no area can be considered safe. More than 80% of Gaza falls within militarised or displacement-ordered zones.
How Caritas Australia is responding to the Gaza crisis
A queue of Caritas Australia's partner trucks containing blankets, mats and mattresses bound for Gaza. Photo Credit: Sayed Hassan for CRS.
Long‑Standing partners
For decades, Caritas Australia has worked with deeply rooted local partners who have direct access to communities across Gaza.
Even before 7 October 2023, 80 per cent of people in Gaza relied on international aid, making these long-standing relationships vital.
Access despite restrictions
Caritas Australia works through two trusted and long-established partners.
Caritas Jerusalem and CRS, who continue providing essential aid in Gaza and the West Bank despite increasing restrictions.
Their strong community presence and longstanding networks mean they can continue delivering support where it is urgently needed, adjusting their support to meet people’s changing needs and the realities on the ground.
A Caritas worker walks through the destruction in Gaza. Photo: Caritas Jerusalem
Adaptability during change
Life in Gaza can change in an instant. Our response changes with it.
Caritas Australia’s partners remain focused on responding to both urgent physical needs and the emotional strain families face during times of crisis.
Working tirelessly on the ground, our partners adapt their approach as circumstances shift, ensuring that people who have been affected by the crisis continue to receive lifesaving assistance, care and compassion.
On the ground in Gaza with Caritas Australia's partner, CRS
Our partner CRS Gaza have visited the town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza where 93% of housing units have been destroyed.
With your support, our partners can provide urgent humanitarian aid including:
1. Food, water and household items
2. Emergency Shelter
3. Healthcare
Psychosocial Support
What is the scale of the suffering in Gaza?
Over 70,000 people
have been killed in Gaza, including thousands of children.
Over 170,000 people
have been injured.
1.7 million people displaced
roughly 80–85% of Gaza’s population.
Up to 93% of homes
have been severely damaged or destroyed.
Timeline of events in Gaza
- 7 December 2025
Today, 90% of Gaza’s population faces malnutrition. - 14 November 2025
Heavy rains and flooding in Gaza destroyed thousands of temporary shelters and affected more than 13,000 families.
Assessments reveal that over 91% of homes in Gaza are destroyed or severely damaged. Hundreds of thousands of people live in makeshift tents without insulation or heating, creating an acute shelter crisis as winter approaches. - 7 October 2025
Humanitarian needs reach extreme levels two years into the crisis, with tens of thousands killed or injured and widespread hunger and displacement. - 28 October 2025
Today marks the single deadliest night since the ceasefire agreement. Multiple densely populated areas in northern and central Gaza were hit with airstrikes, including shelters and residential blocks. UN sources report hundreds of fatalities in just a few hours, with many victims being women and children. - 22 October 2025
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that humanitarian organisations must have urgent, unimpeded access to Gaza, describing the decision as a critical step toward saving lives and restoring dignity to communities devastated by conflict. - 13 October 2025
Hamas released 20 living hostages, while Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, as part of the first phase of the peace agreement. - 29 September 2025
A peace deal has been declared in Gaza. - 22 August 2025
Famine has been officially declared. This is the most extreme classification and can only be deemed when three critical thresholds are reached – extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition and starvation-related deaths. - 10 August 2025
Families in Gaza are enduring catastrophic conditions as hostilities escalate and basic necessities for survival vanish. - 20 July 2025
Severe acute malnutrition becomes widespread, with families surviving on minimal food and key services close to collapse. - 23 July 2025
More than 2 million people are now crammed into an area smaller than 17 square miles, with 88% of the territory under Israeli military control or designated for evacuation. - 16 July 2025
Gaza has become the most dangerous place in the world for children. Over 17,000 children have been killed. - July 2025
The Ministry of Health in Gaza and the United Nations reports indicate that deaths from starvation and severe malnutrition are rising daily. - 24 June 2025
Hundreds lose their lives while attempting to reach aid distribution points, reflecting extreme desperation for food and water. - 14 January 2025
92% of housing has been severely damaged or destroyed. There are tens of millions of tons of rubble that could take over a decade to clear. Thousands of dead remain trapped under this rubble. - January 2025
A temporary pause allows an increase in aid deliveries, offering short-lived relief as needs remain far beyond available assistance. - 1 October 2024
Humanitarian access remains severely limited, with most relief missions blocked and essential services facing collapse. - July 2024
Hunger deepens, and families often survive on a single poor‑quality meal per day amid worsening displacement. - November 2023
A brief pause in hostilities permits limited humanitarian aid to enter, providing short‑term support to displaced families. - 7 October 2023
A large‑scale eruption of violence caused extensive loss of life, mass displacement and the rapid collapse of essential services, marking the start of a severe humanitarian crisis.
How your donation helps support Gaza's most vulnerable
In partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), we have supported:
Over 860,000 people in Gaza and thousands more across the region.
Over 820,000 people with food parcels.
Over 156,000 people with bedding supplies.
Over 115,000 people with hygiene supplies.
A man walks beside destroyed buildings in Gaza photo credit: Caritas Jerusalem.
Critical needs: what Palestinians in Gaza need most right now
Ongoing attacks and displacement have created an urgent need for:
✔️ Safe shelter for displaced families
✔️ Emergency food and clean water
✔️ Hygiene kits and essential medicines
✔️ Psychosocial support for trauma recovery
What is Caritas Australia's response?
- Our efforts are responsive to the rapidly-changing context, and mindful of people’s holistic needs—both physical and emotional—at a time of tremendous uncertainty. Our partners on the ground are working tirelessly to provide urgent assistance to people displaced and affected by the war in Gaza.
- Caritas Jerusalem and CRS are able to continue providing aid and support to people in Gaza and the West Bank, despite restrictions. They continue to adapt programming to reflect needs, restrictions and context.
- Caritas Jerusalem and CRS are providing rehabilitation services to medical facilities and are providing psychosocial support to communities and individuals.
- Caritas Jerusalem recently received medical supplies from WHO and are able to distribute these supplies withing Gaza.
Caritas Jerusalem volunteers distributing food to the elderly in the West Bank. Photo: Caritas Jerusalem
Specialists assist a man and a young boy as they relearn how to walk with their artificial legs. Photo: Caritas Jerusalem
Restoring hope: support for amputees in Gaza
In October 2024, the UN described Gaza as being “home to the largest cohort of child amputees in modern history.” Over 4,500 people have undergone amputations due to the current conflict, including at least 800 children.
Amputees have faced life changing injuries with little medical support as the medical system in Gaza has nearly collapsed. Two-thirds of healthcare facilities have either been destroyed or rendered non-functional. Access to essential medical supplies, including prosthetics, remains severely restricted, further exacerbating the suffering of the affected population.
We are supporting our partner Caritas Jerusalem in a partnership with the Artificial Limbs and Polio Center. This partnership will deliver urgently needed prosthetic limbs to 140 people, most of them children. These life-changing prosthetics help restore mobility and hope in the face of overwhelming loss.
“These artificial limbs are not just a physical support but also a symbol of resilience. For many children, receiving a prosthetic limb offers hope for a better future, helping them to regain mobility and independence in the face of overwhelming adversity.” - Caritas Jerusalem.
A man on a treadmill working on physiotherapy following the fitting of an artificial limb. Photo: Caritas Jerusalem
Protheses in various stages of production. Photo: Caritas Jerusalem
Khamees, a youth who participated in the program, received an artificial limb after losing his left leg. He said of being entered into the program, “I was surprised and happy, I went home overjoyed and slept feeling truly happy.”
Khamees also shared these inspiring words, “One must be strong, have high spirits. Be strong and never give up. Thank you, Caritas Jerusalem. I hope you continue to help those in need of prosthetic limbs, just as you helped me walk again.”
This work is part of Caritas Jerusalem’s broader mission to strengthen health and resilience in the Holy Land.
Every donation to our Gaza appeal helps provide essential medical aid and long-term support to families devastated by war. Your generosity can give a child the chance to walk again, and help a family take the first step toward healing and rebuilding their lives.
A specialist works on casting a prosthetic. Photo: Caritas Jerusalem
Humanitarian toll of the Gaza war
📌 Demographic Impact
-
7% of those killed have been older people.
-
15% of those killed have been women.
-
17,000 children have been killed.
📌 Hunger Crisis
-
Deaths from malnutrition and starvation are rising daily.
📌 Impact on Shelter & Protection
-
1 million children are in need of mental health and psychosocial support.
-
92% of surveyed housing units have been damaged or destroyed.
- 1.8 million people are in need of emergency shelter and essential household items.
How your donation helps
Supplies supported by the Gaza Appeal entering Gaza. Photo Credit: CRS.
Stand with Gaza—Donate Today
Your donation can help Gaza's most vulnerable with emergency shelter, essential supplies like bedding and winterisation kits, psychosocial support and more.
Donate now to help families in Gaza
Our advocacy
Along with several other aid organisations, we are calling on the Australian Government to:
Aerial view of a shelter site in the South of Gaza supported by Caritas partners. Photo credit: CRS.
Continue to demand
an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
A queue of Caritas Australia's partner trucks containing blankets, mats and mattresses bound for Gaza. Photo Credit: Sayed Hassan for CRS.
Join the United Kingdom, Canada, and France
in strengthening their position against Israel's military operations and denial of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and be clear that Australia will take concrete action should Israel not cease its offensive and lift restrictions on the principled delivery of aid.
Aftermath of an air strike on the Porphyrios Church Hall in Gaza Photo Credit Caritas Jerusalem
Use Australia’s voice
to publicly denounce breaches of international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and continue to call for international law to be upheld.
Our long-term work in Gaza
80% of the population of Gaza were already dependant on international aid prior to October 7, 2023. Our partners have been on the ground bringing humanitarian support to the population of Gaza for decades, and have the infrastructure and logistical knowledge to ensure aid gets to where it is needed most.
Social justice for Gaza
Our work is shaped by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching
The Dignity of the Human Person
The Common Good
Subsidiarity and Participation
Solidarity
Preferential Option for the Poor
Economic Justice
Care for our Common Home
Promotion of Peace
FAQ
Your donation will be used to support our partners on the ground in Gaza who are delivering support to vulnerable communities with emergency shelter, health and medical support, and access to clean water, food and blankets, mattresses and winter items as a priority.
Choose an Australian charity that is working in Gaza or has direct partnerships with organisations that are working in Gaza that aligns with your values. To ensure your donation is going to be used effectively, check their website to see what percentage of funding goes to programs. Reputable charities will have this information readily available.
You can help people in Gaza by donating to a charity that is working in Gaza or has direct partnerships with organisations that are working in Gaza that aligns with your values. Your voice has power. Speak up about the emergency when and where you are comfortable to do so. You can also contact your local MP to express your views and ask that they support a ceasefire.
No, our partners on the ground are best placed to decide where funds are directed based on their expertise and first-hand experience of the priority needs of the population, and the current context and access situation.
Our partners have been working on the ground in Gaza for decades providing humanitarian assistance and we have deep experience ensuring donations get where they are needed in a politically-neutral manner. We are DFAT accredited and ACFID signatories, ensuring that we have responsible governance of funds at the highest level.
Yes. All donations over $2 are tax-deductible for Australia.
Our partners in Gaza include CRS and Caritas Jerusalem. As part of the Caritas Network, we work closely with our partners to understand the needs of the local population and use funding to support local initiatives.
No, we do not accept donations of goods. Goods can cause logistical issues and block the arrival of much needed aid. Donations of money allow us to ensure that what is arriving is what the population needs, while supporting the local economy.
Yes, we provide aid to those who need it most, regardless of background, religion, gender or sexuality. We prioritise the most vulnerable community members including children, the elderly, and people living with disabilities.
Rubble and damage after an airstrike in Gaza. Photo: Caritas Jerusalem.
Where does my donation go?
The funds you donate to this appeal go to Caritas Australia’s Emergency Response Fund and will be used to provide humanitarian assistance to communities affected by this crisis. Should circumstances prevent us from delivering aid to this emergency, or if excess funds remain after the crisis, donations will be directed to other emergencies where Caritas has humanitarian operations.
