Caritas Australia is urging people to demand that the Australian government and international community prevent a possible catastrophic drop in humanitarian aid to Gaza, with levels already life-threateningly low.
The aid organisation has launched a public pledge, which it hopes will amplify the call for increased aid access and a ceasefire.
Every signature helps protect innocent lives and ensure vital aid reaches those who need it most.
The call comes in response to Israel placing international NGOs under new restrictive conditions, which Caritas warns will require them to breach the safety and security of their staff or face deregistration.
Caritas says that while its own local partners will not be affected, due to their longstanding presence on the ground, the pledge is being launched in simple recognition of the devastating consequences of any action that further reduces aid in Gaza.
Hamas-run Gazan health ministry figures show more than 60,000 lives have been lost, including more than 18,000 children. Multiple international aid organisations are saying the entire population of Gaza is now in the grip of a starvation crisis.
In response, Caritas Australia is urging supporters to sign the pledge and amplify the call for increased aid access and a ceasefire.
Caritas Australia’s CEO, Kirsten Sayers, says there is no room for aid levels to drop, as Gazans cannot eat less than they do already. ‘Every signature helps protect innocent lives and ensure vital aid reaches those who need it most.’
As an agency of the Church, we are called to amplify the voices of our those in need, and to act with compassion, courage and hope.
Ms Sayers says the pledge can be signed online or printed with signatory sheets, and will be delivered to the Australian Foreign Minister’s office on Monday, 1 September, ahead of the restrictive conditions coming into effect on 9 September.
The petition calls for safe, unhindered and large-scale humanitarian operations; an immediate and unconditional permanent ceasefire; protection of civilians and aid workers; and the release of all Israeli hostages and Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel.
The Caritas Australia CEO has called the crisis a test of our shared humanity. ‘As an agency of the Church, we are called to amplify the voices of our those in need,’ Ms Sayers says, ‘and to act with compassion, courage and hope.’
Caritas Australia is also offering a range of resources and actions for Catholics and all Australians who wish to stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza, like downloadable prayer resources and a letter-writing guide.
To sign the pledge or for more information visit Caritas Australia.
Banner image: A boy cries during the funeral of Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike while seeking aid, according to medics. (OSV News photo/Ebrahim Hajjaj, Reuters.)
