Conflict in the Middle East is devastating lives.
Millions of children and their families across the region have fled their homes in search of safety. This includes 90% of Gaza’s population and millions of people in Lebanon.
In Gaza, there isn’t enough food or clean water. Children are dying from hunger and disease. Over the past year, more than 14,000 children have been killed.
In Lebanon, needs are rapidly rising. Shelters and hospitals are overwhelmed.
Across the region, girls and young women face specific challenges. From struggling to manage their periods to an increased risk of violence and abuse.
Urgent support is needed right now.
Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) member charities are responding – and Plan International UK is one of them.
We’re working tirelessly together with local partners to reach children and their families with lifesaving food, water, blankets and so much more. But more funds are urgently needed.
Save lives. Donate now to the DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal.
Help children in crisis now
Conflict in the Middle East is devastating lives. Help us reach children affected.
How your donation will help
Plan International UK is coordinating closely with other DEC member charities and local partner organisations to deliver vital humanitarian support in the Middle East.
With your donation, we can reach more children affected by conflict and provide urgent support.
From essential items like food to fill children’s empty stomachs, and blankets to keep them warm at night. To protection services that ensure girls on the move stay safe.
So far as Plan International, we have provided vital aid including:
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Over 25,500 hot meals, 1,800 hygiene kits and 575 first aid kits inside Gaza.
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24,000 litres of water, 3,000 blankets and 125 baby kits in Lebanon.
Your donations to this humanitarian appeal will ensure that DEC charities are able to continue their vital work today and in the months and years ahead.
What is happening?
What is happening?
Conflict in the Middle East has forced millions of children and their families across the region to flee their homes.
In Gaza, the scale of need is overwhelming. Over the past year, 90% of the population has been forced from their homes, often multiple times. There is a critical shortage of almost everything – food, clean water, shelter and so on. The healthcare system is close to collapse. Children are not going to school. Many are dying because of starvation, infection and disease. And for those who do survive, the lasting impacts of what they have witnessed will be profound.
In Lebanon, needs are rapidly rising. Intensified airstrikes since mid-September have killed more than 2,000 people and stretched the healthcare system to its limits. Around 20% of the population have fled their homes. Shelters are overwhelmed by demand. More than 300 schools have been turned into temporary shelters to help, but still some families are forced to sleep outside.
Plan International humanitarian response teams based in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, together with our partner organisations in Gaza, are already supporting children and their families with life-saving assistance. As a member of the DEC, we can scale up our response and reach even more children.
‘I’m a refugee in a school’
“I spend my days in a school. I am a refugee in a school run by the UN,” says 14-year-old Suhad from Gaza.
Suhad and her family were forced to shelter in a school after fleeing for their lives:
“After the attack, our house was bombed, my father’s workplace was bombed. Our neighbourhood was bombed. We saw that half our teachers were gone. Many people were killed, some of my friends were killed.
“My message to the world is that they look on us with mercy. We are children and our rights are being denied to us.”
Please donate to the DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal to help girls in conflict like Suhad.
About the DEC appeal
About the DEC appeal
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Plan International UK is a charity and a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee – an umbrella organisation that brings together 15 UK aid agencies to tackle major humanitarian emergencies. It aims to save lives by maximising money raised and ensuring funds are spent in the most effective and transparent way possible.
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Tens of thousands of people in Israel have also been displaced and exposed to traumatic events. The DEC continues to monitor the situation and needs in Israel and a number of DEC charities are in a position to expand their response to include Israel should the situation change.
Lead photo caption: Aaliyah* holds her daughter on the remains of a damaged building in Gaza, October 2024. The mother of six built a temporary shelter opposite her demolished house and depends entirely on aid to feed her family.
*Name changed to protect identity.