Where To Give Money and Take Action To Support Palestinians Right Now

feature image by Ilia Yefimovich / dpa via Getty Images

We at Autostraddle stand against the occupation of Palestine and the increased violence in the days since the tragic, horrifying attack in Israel that resulted in 1,400 Israeli people killed, 3,500 injured, and an estimated 200 still being held hostage by Hamas. We can grieve these losses and hurt for and with those families and communities while also recognizing that the response from the Israeli government, endorsed by the U.S. government, signals an act of genocide against the Palestinian people and this violence must stop. No person anywhere should be subject to any of this terror.

Gaza currently faces a humanitarian crisis beyond measure. In a situation the International Committee of the Red Cross described as “abhorrent,” Israel hascut off water, food and power supply to much of the 2.3 million residents of Gaza while also demanding 1.1 million people to move south in anticipation of a ground invasion. But there is nowhere for them to go. Hospitals are running out of supplies, and aid workers and journalists have been among the victims of Israeli air strikes. Pathways for delivering aid to Palestinians have also been attacked. We grieve for the 2,750 Palestinians killed and at least 10,000 wounded in the past two weeks. As we write this, Al-Jazeera is reporting that a hospital in Gaza where thousands of Palestinian civilians were sheltering and receiving medical care was just hit by an Israeli airstrike. (ETA: Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for the attack on the hospital, there is seemingly no official confirmation one way or the other as to whom was responsible as of this writing. Either way, the victims of the attack are in increasingly dire need of help.)

It can feel helpless witnessing these atrocities from thousands of miles away, so we wanted to put together a list of resources. If you have money, we hope you’ll donate it to the groups providing aid on the ground. If you have time, we hope you’ll protest alongside the groups fighting for peace and decolonization. If you have neither, we hope you’ll at least take a moment to contact your representative and urge them to end their support of this violence.

The current circumstances are beyond the point of silence or inaction — they have been for a long time. If you’d like to read more about the occupation, Drew has put together a list of pieces she’s read this week.

Action Aid: Action Aid has established an emergency fund to provide humanitarian aid to Palestine, deliver essential relief and sustain long-term disaster preparedness around the world.

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights:  Gaza-based human rights center dedicated to protecting the fundamental rights of Palestinians and hold perpetrators of international law violations to account.

Anera: Non-profit responding to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Itemizes what certain monetary donations will enable (e.g., $100 to provide a displaced family with 7 days of food, $30 to provide Gaza’s Central Blood Bank Society with 16 blood bags.)

Baitulmaal: Provides humanitarian aid to underserved populations around the world and already has field workers providing emergency response aid in Gaza.

Doctors without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): This group has been donating medical supplies and was providing medical care in the region until Israeli airstrikes made it impossible for them to safely coordinate humanitarian operations in Gaza. However, they still have Palestinian staff working in hospitals in Gaza and are preparing medical teams and humanitarian supplies to send into Gaza as soon as possible. You can read more about their work in Gaza here.

Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement: An Israeli non-for-profit founded in 2005 with the goal of protecting the freedom of movement of Palestinians, especially Gaza residents.

If Not Now is a movement of American Jews organizing our communities to end U.S. support for Israel’s apartheid system and demand equality, justice and a thriving future for all Palestinians and Israelis. They have been organizing massive protests and also have opportunities to contribute financially.

The International Committee of the Red Cross: The ICRC is a neutral, independent humanitarian organization who are working to improve access to water and electricity in Gaza and support livelihood projects throughout the occupied territories. They’ve been delivering medicine and other aid to Gaza City and have declared “we’ve been in the area since 1967, and we intend to stay.”

Islamic Relief USA: Islamic Relief is working with local partners to provide emergency relief to families in Gaza including food aid, essential non-food items such as hygiene kits, and vital medical supplies.

Jewish Voices for Peace is the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world. They are organizing on the ground and politically and have options for activism and financial gifting.

Medical Aid for Palestinians: A UK-based group already on the ground in Gaza, where they work to stock hospitals with essential medicines, disposables and other healthcare supplies.

Mercy Corps: A long established and well-known humanitarian org that takes a two-pronged approach of providing immediate aid while also establishing long-term, lasting aid solutions.

Middle East Children’s Alliance: MECA works to protect the rights and improve the lives of children in Palestine and Syrian refugees through aid, empowerment and education.

Muslim Around the World Project: MATW is an organization that has been providing life-saving aid in the form of medical aid, food, clean water, and shelter for the last five years.

Palestine Children’s Relief Fund: PCRF is the primary humanitarian organization in Palestine delivering medical relief and humanitarian aid. One child has been killed in Palestine every seven minutes since October 7th.

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights: The Centre is an independent Palestinian human rights org based in Gaza City. They were established in 1995 by Palestinian lawyers and human rights activists to protect human rights.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel: PHRI provides services free of charge to people with limited or no access to health care–primarily migrants, refugees, and Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East: This group that provides assistance and protection for Palestinian refugees is seeking $104 million to support a “multi-sectoral” humanitarian response covering food, health and protection needs for up to 250k people seeking shelter throughout the Gaza Strip, but with current funding can only continue to do so through the end of the month.

World Food Programme: The WFP has been attempting to deliver high-energy biscuits to Gaza.