MCC mobilizing to help Gazans displaced by Mideast violence

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This article was published 13/10/2023 (1073 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mennonite Central Committee has launched an appeal to respond to desperate humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip, the disputed Middle East enclave currently under siege in Israel’s war with terrorists.

The response will include food and bedding for displaced people in the 365-square-kilometre Israeli military-blockaded section of land that is home to more than two million people.

Hundreds of rockets fired by Hamas extremists inside Gaza early last Saturday were followed by hours of horror for Israelis living in communities outside the disputed territory when hundreds of heavily armed terrorists rampaged through neighbourhoods, murdering more than 1,000 civilians and taking approximately 150 others hostage,

Israel issued a declaration of war, and after a week of retaliatory rocket strikes targeting Hamas military sites that have reduced much of Gaza City to rubble, the Israeli army is expected to launch a ground offensive at any moment in an attempt to eradicate the group — which has served as the government — for about 15 years and rescue the hostages.

The organization, which has been working in the region for 75 years, also plans to provide trauma healing and assist with housing reconstruction when the fighting comes to an end.

MCC will be working with some of its 14 partners on the ground in Israel and Gaza, including the Near East Council of Churches, to distribute the aid.

“We will be responding as circumstances allow,” said Laura Kalmar, MCC’s director of marketing and communications, noting it is currently impossible to get aid into Gaza due to the blockade.

Security is also a consideration, she said, noting that some of the organization’s nine North American staff who are located in East Jerusalem and Bethlehem — including one worker from Winnipeg — will be temporarily moved to neighbouring countries.

“We are taking it day-by-day,” Kalmar said, adding MCC is confident the aid it provides will go to people who need it most, and not fall into the hands of Hamas.

“We have been there a long time,” she said. “We do ongoing evaluation and assessment and have full trust in these partners. We are sure it will go to the people it is supposed to go to.”

MCC is aware that launching an appeal for Gaza could be controversial for some. “We understand the situation is complex,” Kalmar said. “But conditions there are dire.”

Plus, she added, going into conflict situations to help those impacted by war is what the organization does, including in places such as Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It is also consistent with MCC’s commitment to peace-building and finding ways to create what she called a “just peace” — a chance for everyone in the region, Palestinian and Israeli, to live in “safety and abundance.”

“We work with partners there who express hope despite devastation and challenges,” she said. “That’s what encourages me.”

In addition to providing donations, MCC is inviting people to pray for the a peaceful resolution.

“We mourn the violence and lament all lives lost,” Kalmar said.

Canadian Lutheran World Relief and Canadian Foodgrains Bank, like MCC also headquartered in Winnipeg, are monitoring the situation but not immediately planning any responses in Gaza. Five groups that are members of the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation have programs in Gaza and are planning or initiating responses.

Those who want to support MCC’s efforts to provide emergency aid to Gaza can donate at http://wfp.to/6RI.

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