April 28, 2025
For decades, the people of Gaza have faced unimaginable hardship which further escalated since October 2023. The entire population of 2.3 million people lack access to medical care, food and hygiene supplies, proper shelter and more. Zakat Foundation of America has been working in Palestine since 2001, providing essential aid to residents in Gaza and the West Bank through emergency relief, home reconstruction, livelihood support, healthcare, orphan support, education, and food security.
More recently, the rising death toll coupled with the ever-looming threat of starvation, lack of electricity and water has prompted us to increase our humanitarian efforts through water trucking, daily hot meal distribution, a historic rice package air drop, tent shelter, and much more. In 2024, we distributed hot meals to 845,710 people, food packages that nourished 245,530, and water to 50,200 people in Gaza. But the need continues to remain great.
Numbers coming out of the region paint a stark image of the trials and tribulations faced by the people of Gaza on a daily basis. With 82% of croplands, 55% of on-farm irrigation systems, 78% of greenhouses damaged, 72% of the fishing fleet destroyed, 95% cattle dead, and 68% of agricultural wells damaged, the people of Gaza rely heavily on humanitarian aid from outside sources. The World Food Programme has reported an alarming 2.15 million people in Gaza facing crisis levels of hunger or worse.
To address this, Zakat Foundation of America’s 1 Million Meals for Gaza campaign provides daily meal distribution with clean water across the Gaza strip helping displaced families secure a nourishing meal. We have teams of cooks who prepare and serve meals at various shelters throughout Gaza. This Ramadan alone, 52,200 people benefited from warm iftar meals and food packages.
