This week, the catastrophic suffering of Palestinians in Gaza reached “new depths” as mass starvation takes a heart-wrenching toll.
At least 21 children have reportedly died of malnutrition in recent days. Many more are at risk without urgent medical aid.
“There are no words to describe the outrage and despair,” the aid group Save the Children said.
This catastrophe is entirely preventable.
Truckloads of food and medicine are sitting right across the border. Yet, since March, the Israel government has blocked nearly all of this aid from getting to those in need.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government’s militarized Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) aid system has been a disastrous and deadly failure. In recent weeks, Israeli soldiers and armed contractors have killed nearly 900 civilians desperately seeking food.
This week, FCNL joined a new statement with more than 100 humanitarian, human rights, and advocacy groups demanding an end to the Israeli government’s devastating aid restrictions and violence against civilians.
As our statement makes clear, “States must pursue concrete measures to end the siege,” including halting weapons to the Israeli government.
Also this week, 28 governments including the U.K., France, and Canada condemned the GHF, calling for full humanitarian access and a permanent ceasefire.
Our government’s shameful silence and complicity continues.
Members of Congress must speak up now to demand that humanitarians be allowed to do their jobs and save lives. There’s no time to lose.
As the devastating toll continues to climb, we must always remember that Palestinians in Gaza are not numbers.
“I am a human being. I am a father, a brother, a neighbor,” a fieldworker for Amnesty International in Gaza wrote. “We had a beautiful, warm house, full of peace…Nothing remains now…We are not okay.”
Our common humanity demands action to stop this suffering.
One meaningful action you can take is to join our Letters for Gaza campaign. We’ve heard from lawmakers that handwritten letters can have a big impact.
Join thousands of people across the country and write a letter to your members of Congress today.
Elsewhere
We Must Not Lose Hope to Protect Medicaid
Following the difficult passage of the budget reconciliation bill, FCNL and partners have been strategizing about how we can hold members of Congress who passed this bill accountable and reduce the amount of harm it will do.
We joined an interfaith prayer vigil this week as part of Caring Across Generations’ 60-hour Protect Medicaid Vigil (which is still ongoing!). FCNL’s Bridget Moix spoke at the vigil with a clear rallying cry: “We can mourn and lament but we must not lose hope or stop taking action to protect Medicaid.”
Photo by Michael Kamel (@Kamelworld).
Investing in Children Before Missiles (ICBM) Act
This week, Sen. Ed Markey (MA) and Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17) introduced the Investing in Children Before Missiles (ICBM) Act. This bill would cut funding to the Sentinel program, a new nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and invest it in public education. As FCNL’s Allen Hester said, “It’s time to end the wasteful spending on the Sentinel program and invest instead in schools and communities.”
Congress Keeping up Pressure on ICE
As abuses continue in our immigration enforcement and detention programs, members of Congress are attempting to fulfil their vital oversight roles. Rep. Jason Crow (CO-6) was turned away when he attempted to tour a facility in Aurora, Colorado. Rep. Yassamin Ansari (AZ-3) was denied a request to meet with an asylum seeker from Iran. Rep. Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) is intending to visit the largest detention center in California today.
Members of Congress must keep up this drumbeat of pressure to provide transparency and hold the Trump administration accountable for its mistreatment of people in immigrant detention facilities.
Is Peace Possible in Ukraine?
FCNL’s Ellie Kline wrote a piece in Inkstick exploring the prospects for peace in Ukraine. As she writes, “Peace can’t wait in a war that has taken so much from so many.”
Registration Open for Annual Meeting!
We will be gathering online November 14-16 under the theme Still Speaking Truth to Power to discern important organizational decisions, learn, grow, worship, and connect. Register today!
