A list of ways you can aid the humanitarian crisis in Palestine

This article was updated on April 19, 2023

Update: A six-day truce between Israel and Gaza began on November 24 and came to an end on the morning of December 1. The BBC reported that 180 Palestinian hostages were released from Israeli jails, while 81 hostages held in Gaza were also released. The deal included a temporary end to hostilities in Gaza and more humanitarian aid in the territory, which has been besieged and bombarded by Israel for almost two months. The text below has been updated to reflect current statistics.

There is a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, described as “unprecedented” by the British Red Cross, as “having a catastrophic impact on children and families” by Unicef, and leaving Gaza in “urgent need of humanitarian support” by Oxfam.

1.9 million people are estimated by the UN to have been displaced, with around 1.4 million people staying in 154 UN-run emergency shelters, dealing with increasingly poor conditions and mass overcrowding.

Hospitals, schools, mosques, churches and a refugee camp have been bombed. Food, water, fuel, medicine and other essentials are running out, with the supply of aid and resources into Gaza severely restricted.

The crisis follows the Security Cabinet of Israel approving a state of war against the Gaza Strip on October 7, in retaliation to the attack by Hamas, the militant group which governs Gaza, against Israel that same day.

The attack by Hamas was called 'The Al-Aqsa Flood', killing at least 1,400 Israelis, including the attack on Supernova psytrance festival, with at least 200 others abducted and held hostage by Hamas.

Since Israel declared war, relentless bombing by the Israel Defence Force (IDF) from land, sea and air, and the siege of Gaza imposed since October 9, has killed almost 34,000 Palestinians, 25,000 of whom are women and children, according to US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, while more than 70,000 are injured. On the 100th day of conflict, it was reported that 100,000 Palestinians had been killed, injured, or remain missing.

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog has indicated his view that all people living in the Gaza Strip are responsible for Hamas’ attack.

Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor reported that thousands of Palestinian civilians are among the dead, while many are thought to be missing amongst the rubble of demolished buildings, waiting for rescue.

On October 31, the IDF carried out an aerial attack on the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, killing dozens with at least six airstrikes hitting residential areas. A Gazan doctor told the BBC that his hospital had received 400 casualties, including 120 dead, following the air strike. The IDF said the strikes targeted and killed senior Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari, who is linked to the October 7 attack on Israel.

Hospitals in Gaza are overwhelmed with patients and many have been ceasing to function due to water and fuel running out; operations have taken place without anaesthetic, under the light of mobile phone torches, using vinegar as antiseptic.

On November 10, WHO reported that 18 of 36 hospitals and more than half of Gaza's primary care clinics had shut down as a result of damage from attacks and lack of essential resources. The only remaining hospital treating cancer patients in Gaza has been shut down, Al Jazeera reports, while other hospitals are on the brink of running out of power.

The UN has said that water has now become a “matter of life and death” for people in the Gaza Strip, with clean water running out and Gaza’s only power station now out of fuel. The BBC reported earlier this month that water for basic needs in the area could run dry, while relief supplies into the Gaza Strip have been heavily obstructured.

Children are facing what is said to be a "catastrophic situation" in Gaza, according to the UN children's aid agency Unicef, with parents left with no choice but to give their children salty water. Oxfam has said starvation is being used as a “weapon of war” against civilians.

More than 800 scholars and practitioners of international law, conflict studies and genocide studies signed an open letter on October 15 warning of “the possibility of the crime of genocide being perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip”.

Members of the dance music community have shown their solidarity with the people of Palestine, calling on others in the industry to show their support and call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Nearly 300 DJs, producers, collectives and venues connected to London’s underground music scene have signed an open letter calling for the electronic music scene to “urgently speak out against Israel’s brutal and ongoing attack on Gaza”, including Ahadadream, Bok Bok, Florentino, Manuka Honey, Objekt, Ross From Friends, Sarra Wild, Tash LC and Yazzus.

Palestinian techno DJ Sama’ Abdulhadi announced the cancellation of her North American shows in October “due to the escalation of the attacks on Palestine and Gaza specifically”. She said: "For now, we really need your help putting pressure on your governments to stop the massacre in Gaza. I have personally lived this experience on a much smaller scale in the second intifada... I can't even imagine what they are going through over there."

The modern day Israel-Palestine conflict dates back decades, with many considering the starting point as the 1947 United Nations’ vote by British mandate to partition the land of Palestine into two states – one Jewish, one Arab – following the violence against Jewish people in Europe during the Second World War and Holocaust. The partition was not accepted by Palestine or neighbouring Arab countries, leading to multiple wars and violence in the region. There has been increasing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory since 1967.

Find a list below of ways you can aid the humanitarian crisis in Palestine and protest the violence against civilians in Gaza, alongside additional comments and solidarity from the music world.

Donate:

• Palestine Children's Relief Fund
• Medical Aid for Palestinians
• UNICEF Gaza Emergency
• Grassroots Al-Quds
• Alliance For Middle East Peace
• Islamic Relief
• International Committee of the Red Cross
• Human Appeal
• Restless Beings
• Middle East Children's Alliance
• Norwegian Refugee Council's Gaza Appeal

Buy music:

• Outsider-curated fundraiser compilation
• mi-el's Palestine fundraiser compilation
• GWGT Palestine fundraiser compilation
• V/A - 'Slump Recordings Artists For Palestine'
• V/A - 'Hoe_mies 4 Palestine'
• V/A - 'Gaza Fundraiser'
• V/A - 'Visions Vol. 2'
• V/A - 'From Manchester to Palestine'
• V/A - 'Hurryia For Gaza'
• V/A - 'Hurryia For Gaza II'
• V/A - 'In Aid Of Gaza'
• V/A - 'C2E - Emergency for Gaza'
• V/A - 'Rise Up: Amplify Palestine'
• V/A - 'It's Not Complicated'
• Ayesha - 'Rhythm is Memory'
• Toumba - 'For Palestine'
• ZULI - 'Komy'
• Aleksandir - 'NOCTURNE'
• Manara - 'blends to raise funds'
• aya and BFTT - 'Up And At Them!'
• Al Gharib - 'After The Last Sky'
• Skeptic - 'Dabke Falastini'
• Intellagama 'Reciprocate'

Act:

• National March for Palestine (UK-wide)
• Write to your local MP (UK)
• Write to your local MP (Ireland)
• Sign an open letter demanding an immediate ceasefire (artists and cultural workers only)
• Sign an open letter demanding an immediate ceasefire (artists and performers only)
• Sign an open letter demanding an immediate ceasefire (artists only)
• Sign an open letter demanding an immediate ceasefire (artists and cultural workers in Australia only)
• Create your own fundraiser

Attend:

• Cause We Care...Medical Aid for Palestine at The Cause, London - Sunday, April 21
• Music 4 Palestine Fundraiser at Mena, Berlin - Sunday, April 21
• Mutual Motion II / Palestine Fundraiser at Sui Generis, London - Friday, May 3
• lib presents: Palestine Action Fundraiser at Ormside Projects, London - Wednesday, May 29

Information:

• Information from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign
• Know your rights as a protestor
• Toolkit of general information and resources
• Further reading on the history of Palestine

We will continue to update this article with additional links and information.