LAST UPDATED: March 20, 2025
More Than 700 Dead in Gaza as Israel Ends “Ceasefire”
On March 18, 2025, Israel launched a series of deadly airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, indiscriminately killing 700 Palestinians and wounding 900 others. This comes after months of attacks against Palestinians and a blockade on humanitarian aid into Gaza, irrespective of the “ceasefire” that began on January 19, 2025.
The strikes hit Gaza in the middle of the holy month of Ramadan, at a time when many people were praying or eating their pre-dawn meals before the day of fasting begins. Families were woken as bombs tore through homes and shelters for displaced people.
World leaders must act now.
We urge international governments to utilize all their political and economic leverage – including immediately ending all arms sales and suspending trade agreements – to hold Israel accountable, enforce the phased ceasefire agreement, and ensure the entry of sufficient aid supplies into Gaza.
Send Urgent Relief to Gaza
For almost 500 days, Israel has carried out daily massacres, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and starvation against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. We have witnessed unimaginable death and destruction that has left the Gaza Strip in ruins, killing over 61,700 Palestinians, injuring 111,759, and forcibly displacing 1.9 million people.
Islamic Relief is on the ground in Rafah, Khan Younis, Deir Al Balah, Zawayda, Gaza City, and North Gaza, delivering daily ready-to-eat hot meals in Gaza. We have distributed 60 million hot meals thus far and are distributing hygiene essentials, clean water, and psychosocial support for children.
But the enormity of the crisis means that much more is needed. Support our Gaza emergency appeal and continue saving lives.
Urgent Sponsorships Needed for Orphans in Gaza
In the face of the most catastrophic destruction and humanitarian crisis to date in Gaza, children are paying the heaviest price.
Nearly half of Gaza’s population are children, with over 450,000 currently left without a home. 25,000 Palestinian children have been orphaned and no longer have the emotional or financial support to survive, let alone thrive.
Islamic Relief currently has thousands of orphans registered in our system waiting to be sponsored. Your support can create a future where children can dream again.
Please join us in answering the call of these orphans and children. Your monthly sponsorship of $90/month is life-saving. Not only does it let them know they’re not alone, but it helps to ensure they can have better access to basic essentials like:
- Food to eat
- Safer shelter
- Health care
- and/or Psychological support
How is Islamic Relief delivering aid across Gaza?
Islamic Relief has been on the ground, operating in Palestine since 1997. Our staff in Gaza are using your donations to locally procure food, hygiene supplies, bedding, and any other essential item we can source. They screen and contract local suppliers and partners, who procure either locally or through private trading routes.
We have implemented thorough risk assessments, established communication with stakeholders, and devised contingency plans to address unexpected issues promptly.
Working alongside local partners and the World Food Program, we are presently active in the Middle Area including Deir Al Balah, Zawayda, and Al Nusairat, as well Khan Younis, Rafah, Gaza City, and North Gaza (Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahya, and Jabaliya).
From October 7, 2023 to March 20, 2025, our team has so far distributed:
⛑️ 2.2 million medical supply items
🍴60 million ready-to-eat meals
💊Lipid-based nutrient supplement to 35,000 people monthly
📦 28,210 food packs
💵 4,245 food vouchers
🥬 281,638 bags of fresh produce
🚰 Clean water to 110,115 people daily
🛏️ 66,594 blankets and mattresses
🧼68,618 hygiene kits + items to 85 shelters
🎈100,533 children and 503 women received psychosocial support
🩺Health services to 12,991 individuals
How Your Zakat Can Help Gaza
Your Zakat can help deliver life-saving essentials to communities newly impacted by ongoing deadly airstrikes, forced evacuation orders, and an end to the ceasefire.
At Islamic Relief Canada, we follow a scholar-verified Zakat Policy to ensure your Zakat reaches as many vulnerable people as possible to transform their lives.
- $150 can provide a family with life-saving food
- $500 can provide clean water for a week to one shelter
- $1000 can provide emergency medical care and supplies
Every dollar you give means we can reach more civilian children, women and the elderly who continue to face hunger, poverty, trauma and loss.
How your donations are making a difference to the people of Palestine
Islamic Relief has been working in Palestine since 1997. Our work in Gaza is focused on both emergency relief and development support, ensuring sustainable long-term programs that are transformative for the communities involved.
Some of our key projects over the past few years have included:
- Distributing emergency food packs and facilitating access to clean drinking water
- Creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for 755 farmer families by planting olive trees and providing essential tools for cultivation and irrigation
- Empowering orphans and vulnerable children through education and STEM
- Enrolling children in recreational therapy and psychosocial services
Frequently Asked Questions
From the amount of funds spent in Palestine to date to a detailed list of our aid distribution, we have answers to your top questions related to our current emergency response in Gaza! Click here to read our answers to your Frequently Asked Questions.
Read our 2024 Gaza Impact Report
Over a year of relentless violence on Gaza has left millions of people living in a humanitarian nightmare. Read our Gaza Impact Report to learn how your advocacy and donations are making a difference for the people of Palestine.