Crisis in Israel-Palestine

On 7 October, Hamas gunmen entered Israel from the Gaza Strip, killed more than 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostages. Israel retaliated with air strikes and an invasion of tanks and troops in the Gaza strip, with very high numbers of civilian casualties.  

There is a rapidly developing humanitarian crisis in Gaza that needs urgent attention. The ongoing hostilities have created an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, with homes, schools, medical facilities, and critical infrastructure being extensively damaged or destroyed, and a large number of people, including children, being killed. The conflict has led to mass displacement of people within a very narrow area of land. There is shortage of water, electricity, fuel, and food as border crossing remains closed and only the Rafah crossing via Egypt is accessible for humanitarian aid . There are also reports of increased violence in the West Bank. 

In statements, LWF has condemned the violence on both sides and called for a release of hostages, for a ceasefire, and for humanitarian access to support the civilian population in Gaza.

LWF is present in the Holy Land through its member church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, and the LWF Jerusalem Program. The LWF Jerusalem Program started in 1948 as a refugee operation and continues, over 75 years later, to serve the Palestinian people. The LWF Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives provides specialized, life-saving cancer treatment and hemodialysis to patients from East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. AVH cooperates with the Anglican Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza city, and is committed to rebuilding the cancer diagnostic center damaged in the recent explosion. 

LWF is part of the ACT Appeal PSE231, where support is requested to rehabilitate the diagnostic center, to distribute life-saving cancer medication in Gaza; to support patients, companions and staff from Gaza and the West Bank; and provide mental health and psychosocial support to patients, students and staff of the LWF Jerusalem Program.

Donate to the LWF Jerusalem program

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Our emergency response

Medical support for Gaza

LWF requests support to rehabilitate the parts of the AVH Gaza Diagnostic Centre in the Al Ahli hospital that were damaged during the explosion. In addition, LWF/AVH will support Al Ahli with specialized cancer medication, to ensure that this life-saving treatment becomes available to cancer patients in Gaza who have been prevented from accessing their treatments at the Augusta-Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem.

Augusta-Victoria-Hospital

65 patients and their companions at Augusta-Victoria-Hospital have been unable to return home since the start of the conflict. They have been accommodated by the hospital and in hotels that the hospital has an agreement with. In addition, there is a number of patients from the West Bank who need life-saving treatment such as hemodialysis daily or several times a week. They cannot risk being held back at the checkpoints and are therefore accommodated in the same hotels.

Many essential hospital staff live outside East Jerusalem, in the West Bank. They are provided with accommodation at AVH or in nearby hotels to ensure their availability for work. In addition to offering support from the AVH in-house psychosocial team, LWF will provide dignity kits to these three groups to mitigate the risk of cross infectious diseases. The number of patients and staff in the second and third group is likely to increase, especially as the security situation worsens in the West Bank.

Read an interview with Dr Fadi Atrash, CEO of the Augusta-Victoria-Hospital, on 16 October 2023

Vocational Training Centers

LWF runs two vocational training centers for young Palestinians in the West Bank and Ramallah respectively. Because of the security situation, the training has been moved online. LWF provides mental health and psychosocial support to the traumatized students.

Statements

LWF has issued nine statements on the current conflict:

Prayer and solidarity

On 17 October 2023, Lutherans world wide joined a prayer for peace in Israel and Palestine.

LWF is praying with its member church in the Holy Land, and Lutherans world wide for an end to the violence in the Middle East. You can join and pray the prayers published on our social media channels every Wednesday.

Appeals

 ACT Alliance | APPEAL | PSE231 | ACT Palestine Forum Emergency response in the Occupied Palestinian Territories - Gaza Conflict

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