ALEXANDRIA, Va – Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) has released the following statement:
It’s vital that aid gets in but 20 trucks of aid is nowhere near enough. Much more is needed and time is running out to prevent this humanitarian nightmare deepening still further.
The scale of destruction in Gaza is enormous. Hospitals have closed and those that are still running are having to choose who to operate on as they run out of supplies. People are queuing for hours just to get a bit of bread, as food runs out. Even finding water has become an almost impossible task for many, forcing parents to give their children salty, dirty water. There is devastation everywhere and around 1 million people have fled their homes and are desperate for shelter.
People urgently need more aid. There must be an agreement to lift the siege and allow a regular flow of aid and other vital civilian supplies into Gaza, or more people will die.
This aid can only be delivered safely if there is a ceasefire. As long as the bombing goes on it remains extremely difficult and dangerous to deliver aid. Many humanitarian workers have already been killed, while many more are trying to deliver aid at the same time as being displaced from their homes.
At the moment the agreement is for entry of some food, water and medical supplies, which are all critically needed. But people also need fuel, which has not been approved. Without fuel, hospitals don’t have electricity to keep life-saving machinery going and water systems can’t pump safe water.
MEDIA CONTACT
Syed M. Hassan
mhassan@irusa.org or
(571) 421-7032 (CELL)
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Islamic Relief USA, based in Alexandria, Va., is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) humanitarian organization. Its mission is to provide relief and development in a dignified manner regardless of gender, race, or religion, and works to empower individuals in their communities and give them a voice in the world. Its programs benefit millions of people each year in more than 40 countries around the world, including in the United States.
Islamic Relief USA meets all of the Standards for Charity Accountability of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a national charity monitoring group affiliated with the Better Business Bureau system. Islamic Relief USA is on the U.S. government’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charity list, and it is also a signatory to the code of conduct of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.