Above photo: SaveGazza.com.
The horrific 49-day Israeli attack on the civilian population of Gaza continues with over 15,000 Palestinians dead, including over 6,150 children and more than 36,000 wounded in the Gaza Strip. Virtually all of the 2.3 million residents of Gaza have been forced into the southern half of the tiny enclave. 226 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Israeli attacks have put 27 of 35 hospitals across Gaza out of operation, according to the World Health Organization.
Bakeries, grain mills, agricultural land, water and sanitation facilities have been destroyed by Israeli attacks.
Throughout the entire Gaza Strip, including southern Gaza, at least 56,000 buildings appear to be damaged.
At least 13,200 structures have also been damaged in southern Gaza, below the evacuation line that Israel established on Oct. 13 when it ordered all northern Gazans to relocate to the south.
The U.N. estimates that across all parts of Gaza, over 41,000 homes — 45% of Gaza’s total housing stock — are too damaged by Israeli forces to be lived in.
6,000 Israeli/US bombs have been dropped on Gaza in 45 days; in 2019, the U.S. dropped 7,400 bombs in Afghanistan in one year. According to Airwars, Israel’s bombardment has become one of the most intense air campaigns since World War II.
To address the unfathomable needs in Gaza, U.S. Boats to Gaza has announced its participation in the international campaign “Save Gazza.” As a part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla coalition, the U.S. campaign will join with organizations in the Middle East to sponsor a number of cargo ships with medical and humanitarian supplies for the people of Gaza. As announced in the November 23, 2023 press conference in Istanbul, Turkey, the ships will be sailing as soon as possible and hopefully by the end of December 2023 as medical and relief supplies are purchased and loaded onto the ships.
Donations to purchase these supplies and to operate the ships can be made through the 501(c)(3) partner Nonviolence International, EIN 52-1645787. Donations can be made here.
There will be an opportunity for a limited number of passengers to be on the ships. Medical professionals are encouraged to be onboard. We will provide information on how to apply to be a passenger on the U.S. Boats to Gaza website.
If you would like to be known as a participant in “Save Gaza” but can’t be on the boats, consider donating the amount of a roundtrip ticket to Istanbul, Turkey ($1000) and we will have your name on a plaque that will sail on one of the boats.
Please donate here.
We will be keeping you informed of the status of this appeal and details of the sailing of the ships on the U.S. Boats to Gaza website and by weekly newsletter updates that you can sign up for on the website.
Read the Strategic Objectives and the Policies and Guiding Values of the International “Save Gazza” campaign here.
Ann Wright is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and a former U.S. diplomat who resigned in 2003 in opposition to the U.S. war on Iraq. In her letter of resignation, she cited “unbalanced” U.S. policies on Israel-Palestine as one of the reasons for her resignation. She has travelled to Gaza eight times since 2009. She has been on five Boats to Gaza. She is on the steering committee of U.S. Boats to Gaza and the Free Flotilla coalition.