2 Years of Action for Gaza | Islamic Relief Canada

THROUGH YOUR SUPPORT

It has been two years since Gaza was plunged into one of the darkest chapters in its history. Two years of genocide. Two years of relentless bombardment, displacement, and grief.

Reaching this point is a stark reflection of how much suffering Gaza has endured.

It is also a testament to the compassion and solidarity of our community. For every moment of loss, there have been people like you who refused to look away and who stood with our Ummah through every heartbreak and every trial.

Your support has meant food for families trapped by the blockade, medicine for those injured, and shelter for those who have lost everything.

Children are still going hungry, families are still searching for safety, and homes remain in ruins. But your generosity reminds them that the world has not turned away — that even in the face of unimaginable hardship, there is still hope, and there is still humanity.

Thank you for standing with Gaza, and for helping to keep that hope alive.

Tufail Hussain CEO, Islamic Relief Canada

Three Miracles Amid the Darkness

Alaa from Gaza, 31 years old

Amid the rubble and fear, Alaa gave life to three baby girls in Gaza in April of 2025.

Alaa, 31, has been displaced three times since the crisis began, each time forced to leave everything behind. When she learned she was pregnant with triplets, she was already weak from hunger and constant stress.

“There were nights I went to sleep crying, not knowing if my daughters would still be alive in the morning.”

One night, after hearing her neighbourhood would be bombed, Alaa fled with her children, clutching her stomach and praying her babies would survive. They found shelter in an overcrowded school with little food or clean water. Her health worsened, and she feared for her life and theirs.

With your support, Alaa received care at Al-Awda Hospital, including check-ups, vital nutrients, and the c-section surgery she needed to safely deliver her babies, Alhamdulilah.

“Without this project, I wouldn’t be here. And neither would they. This wasn’t just medical care; it was a rescue mission for four lives,” Alaa shared.

Psychosocial Support for Children

Gaza is one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a child. The UN reports that the equivalent of a classroom of children is killed in Gaza each day.

With your support, Islamic Relief is providing vital psychosocial care to children and women, helping them cope with the ongoing crisis. Since 2023, more than 100,000 children and over 500 women have benefited from sessions offering trauma support and recreational activities at shelter sites.

These moments provide small but essential support, helping children process grief, manage stress, and reclaim parts of their childhood.

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

Two years from the start of the crisis, families continue to suffer without access to safe shelter, drinking water, clean toilets, or basic hygiene facilities.

But your compassion is making a difference.

Thanks to your support, our team in Gaza have delivered:

+ Clean water to 930,000 people through water trucks and tanks

+ Water, sanitation, and hygiene support to 67 shelters, reaching 70,000 people

+ Cleaning services to 85 shelters across Khan Younis, Gaza City, and North Gaza

+ 68,000 hygiene and dignity kits

Our hygiene and dignity kits reach individuals living in displacement camps, providing them with essential supplies to help prioritize their hygiene and upkeep of clothes. These kits include:

Shelter And Essential Items

1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to flee their homes and shelters again and again, often with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Two years of relentless bombardment has destroyed most homes across the Gaza Strip, leaving families with few belongings to their name and no safe place to shelter.

Our teams across Gaza have reached displaced families with 69,000 essential item kits which include warm blankets, mattresses, clothing, and kitchen sets.

Your donations are helping Palestinians in Gaza cope with the harsh daily reality of displacement. Thank you for standing with them in their time of need.

A Dream of An End to War

Obaida from Gaza, 12 years old

“I used to dream of becoming a teacher, but our lives have changed so much. We’re living in an endless nightmare as our home was destroyed in the blink of an eye, and we had to run away and leave everything behind. We had nothing with us, not even my Quran.”

Sharing a tent with his grandmother, two brothers, and sister, Obaida’s life has changed drastically. His days are filled with standing in long lines waiting for food, water, and other essentials.

His goal isn’t to complete school, but to survive another day.

“In the morning, I go to fetch water for our daily chores and needs. I also fill containers with water for drinking and help my grandmother buy what we need. I also gather firewood so we can cook over an open fire.

In the evening, I read the Quran to my grandmother. I had completed reciting the Quran before this war.”

Obaida struggles to sleep at night from fear of bombs, and insects getting into the tent. The trip to the bathroom is too long and frightening to make alone at night. Bathing is also a challenge and has added to the spread of disease throughout the camp.

All of this has left Obaida feeling unsafe, but the Orphan Sponsorship Program is a beacon of light, providing him with some comfort and hope.

“ We have been able to buy everything we need using the sponsorship money: blankets, food, kitchen utensils, and clothes. Alhamdulillah.

Now, I dream of an end to the war and of living in safety and peace. I dream of being able to enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables again.”

Eid Gifts for Gaza Evacuees

This past Ramadan, we hoped our community could be a home away from home for recent evacuees from Gaza.

Thanks to your generosity, we were able to bring joy to families who have endured so much. 310 children received Eid gifts, and 232 families were given grants to address urgent food, rent, and other needs.

310 Eid Gifts

232 Cash Grants

2 YEARS OF ADVOCACY

What it Means to Fight for Justice

Since October 2023, we have launched 4 advocacy campaigns, 3 press conferences at Parliament, and participated in 63 parliamentary meetings on Gaza. We have also collaborated with multiple partners for vigils, ceasefire projections, discussions, and more.

Here’s a snapshot of our efforts these past two years.

A Timeline of Our Advocacy

October 2023

Access to Aid Campaign

190,000 email signatures

November 7, 2023

Press Conference at Parliament

November 8, 2023

Mass Display and Vigil in Toronto

December 12, 2023

Canada finally joined the international chorus calling for a ceasefire.

January 13-19, 2024

Trip to Palestine and Refugee camps in Jordan with Canadian Parliamentarians

Islamic Relief Canada's CEO and Government Relations Manager joined the Canadian-Muslim Vote as they took 2 Liberal and 3 NDP MPs to Palestine and Jordan to witness the legacy of the Nakba and realities of Israeli occupation in the West Bank.

This trip included visits to UNRWA camps in Jordan, where MPs had the chance to meet our rights-holders and hear about Islamic Relief's work on the ground. The impact was clear: shortly after returning, Parliament passed a motion with a set of arms restrictions on Israel — spearheaded by many of the MPs who were part of the delegation.

February 7, 2024

Arms Embargo Campaign

25,000 email signatures

February 12, 2024

Rafah Under Attack Campaign

12,000 email signatures

“I see your advocacy, and I feel proud that the world is speaking up. I believe in the power of people. I believe in a better future where peace prevails and the killing stops.”

– Islamic Relief Staff in Gaza

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Funds & Money Transfers

How does Islamic Relief Canada send money to Gaza?

As a global family, Islamic Relief works in several highrisk areas, and has been doing so for over 40 years, with a presence in Palestine specifically for over 28 years.

Our global infrastructure includes an established banking network with several options for sending funds, as well as back-up routes in case of banking failures. This may include, but is not limited to, direct banking transfers or sending funds to local partners in the event that direct funds experience challenges or delays.

For our work in Gaza, Islamic Relief Canada transfers funds to Islamic Relief Worldwide in the UK, which are then transferred to Islamic Relief staff in Gaza through local partners.

What is the exact process for fund transfers?

Our fund transfer mechanism operates on an expenditure threshold basis. Islamic Relief Canada agrees with implementing partners and field offices on specific payment schedules. Once partners reach the agreed threshold, Islamic Relief Canada transfers funds to Islamic Relief Worldwide in the UK, which then channels the funds to Islamic Relief staff in Gaza through local partners.

Some local vendors, such as those involved in ongoing emergency efforts, are paid directly by Islamic Relief Worldwide. Others receive payments through our local partners via bank transfers made from Palestinian banks.

We have spent $63 million on emergency programming in Gaza since October 2023.

Sourcing Supplies

How are food and other items being sourced?

Food distributions are currently on pause due to a lack of adequate supplies. However, prior to March of this year, we worked alongside the World Food Program to supply in-kind food items. Meanwhile, items like hygiene kits were purchased from local suppliers, who sourced these items themselves through the commercial border crossing.

With the ceasefire deal now in effect, we anticipate the opening of access points and are on standby to resume full-scale effort of our humanitarian work in Gaza.

What does the World Food Program partnership look like?

We have three projects with the World Food Program:

Hot Meals: Ingredients are provided in-kind by the World Food Program, and we prepare meals in our kitchens

Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplement: the World Food Program supplies these supplements as in-kind items, which we then distribute to rights-holders

Ready-to-Eat Food Packs: These are distributed exclusively to right-holders who also receive the lipidbased nutrient supplement

Right now, we are working with the World Food Program to carry out community awareness sessions that aim to improve the safety of civilians by highlighting the vital importance of families staying clear of buffer zones. These sessions are ongoing.

How are we managing scarcity of supplies in Gaza if Israel is controlling what goes in and out?

We do not solely rely on humanitarian aid; we also purchase items from local suppliers who source goods through commercial crossings. Commercial suppliers were completely banned for several months, but in midAugust some were allowed to enter and continue their operations.

We are now seeing more goods available on the local markets and a small reduction in inflation compared to just a couple of months ago. However, so far it is still nowhere near enough to meet the enormous needs, stop the spread of famine in Gaza, or to enable humanitarian operations to resume at a large scale.

Long-term Plans

What are our long-term plans for Gaza?

At the moment the situation is uncertain, and we are constantly adapting our plans to match the changing context and needs on the ground.

The humanitarian needs are urgent and enormous, and hundreds of thousands of families remain displaced in tents and have lost everything they had. So, at the moment our activities are focused on emergency relief such as distributing food, water, and other vital aid, wherever possible.

We anticipate that our long-term recovery plan includes:

+ Repairing damaged homes, schools, and hospitals

+ Rehabilitating centers for children and adults with disabilities

+ Providing families with transitional shelters while their homes are rebuilt, as well as kitchen sets and solar powered energy systems

+ Creating paid employment opportunities for workers who have lost their livelihoods – including hiring laborers to help remove rubble and employing people in the health and agriculture sectors

+ Supporting children to kickstart their education by providing educational kits and school bags, as well as providing schools with furniture and equipment

+ Strengthening healthcare systems by providing medical supplies and other support to improve the quality and accessibility of medical services, especially for women, children, elderly people, and people with disabilities

Orphan Sponsorship

What updates can we expect on the Gaza Orphans we are sponsoring?

Islamic Relief Canada has been sending general bimonthly updates to donors regarding sponsorship updates, including payment status. Our most recent update email was sent on July 11, 2025, to more than 5,400 Orphan Sponsorship Program (OSP) donors.

The field team in Gaza is working under extremely difficult conditions to contact orphan families more regularly and validate their information. Due to ongoing displacement, many families have been forced to move frequently, which has impacted communication and data accuracy.

As part of the ongoing validation:

+ The team recently received an updated list of martyred orphans, which included 63 cases.

+ In two instances, orphans who were previously believed to be deceased were later confirmed to be alive and accounted for.

We had been forwarding all donor inquiries to the field team, who were very responsive and provided personalized updates that we shared with donors. However, now that the Annual Progress Report process has resumed in April 2025, we have paused these individual updates, as donors will receive the full reports by the end of the year.

Despite these challenges, the team remains committed to maintaining accurate records and ensuring that sponsorship support reaches children in need.

Can orphan sponsors arrange virtual meetings, send letters, or monetary gifts to their sponsored orphans in Gaza?

Due to the current situation, we are unable to arrange virtual meetings or facilitate letter exchanges with sponsored orphans in Gaza at this time. However, sponsors can still send monetary gifts, which are distributed to the children on a quarterly basis.

At present, we are also unable to directly contact the Field Office in Gaza for proactive follow-ups on monetary gift distributions, but our teams are working diligently to ensure that orphans receive the support intended for them.

Thank You

Jazakum Allahu Khairan for your support and solidarity the past two years. We are extremely grateful to donors like yourself for contributing to our life-saving humanitarian work in Gaza, continuing to advocate for Palestine on all fronts, and showing up as a united community when Gaza needed our support most.

Your continued generosity will never be forgotten. We could not do it without you, thank you.

“Whoever relieves the hardship of a believer in this world, Allah will relieve their hardship on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever helps ease one in difficulty, Allah will make it easy for them in this world and in the Hereafter..."

– Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)