We acknowledge that access to safe drinking water is a fundamental human right.
Innocent civilians are caught up in the escalating conflict between Gaza and Israel.
In Gaza, the escalating risks of severe dehydration and waterborne diseases like cholera are causing increasing concern for the potential loss of life. Following Hamas attacks, Israel has nearly cut off all safe water access and the fuel and electricity needed to power water and sewage treatment facilities.
The head of the UN Palestinian agency states, “Gaza is running out of water, and Gaza is running out of life.”
In Israel, many displaced families are seeking refuge in temporary shelters and tent cities due to the recent attacks. “The spaces they are in are not large, and they can’t access many services,” as reported by our local partners. So far, the water supply for internally displaced individuals in Israel remains reliable, and The Light of Redemption is prepared to offer support when needed.
Currently, Gaza is under almost complete humanitarian blockade, making it challenging for our partners to respond. Additionally, most of Gaza’s available water is saline; unfortunately, our current capabilities do not include desalination. Once aid can enter, we are actively coordinating with partners to identify and support alternative solutions for safe water.
All funds donated in this campaign will be used to support families in Gaza and Israel in accessing safe water. We will provide regular updates on the progress of this fundraising initiative to keep donors informed. Thank you.
About half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million are children. The current offensive is Israel’s fifth major one in 15 years. Thousands of children have been killed, countless more have lost their entire families. Hamas has taken nearly 200 Israeli hostages in Gaza, including babies, and young and disabled children. The most vulnerable of humanity is caught in the middle of this crisis.
Thanks to all the compassionate individuals supporting our cause. On November 3rd, our team has dispatched the first batch of 80,000 LifeStraw personal filters. Non-profit partners have transported relief supplies through Egyptian channels, delivering them to local non-profit organizations for distribution among the people of Gaza.
Questions and Answers:
1.How did these filters get to Gaza?
We sent out the first batch of filters (actually a total of 85,015 filters, optimized for pallets); they went to the GEM warehouse in Florida, then headed to Egypt, and entered Gaza through our partnership with a trusted Palestinian registered nonprofit organization. As many of you may have seen, humanitarian aid has been nearly completely blocked for weeks — but as far as we know, assistance has started to slowly flow in
2.Why is this initiative referred to as “Gaza and Israel？
We believe access to safe drinking water is a universal human right. When we first reached out to potential collaborating organizations in early October, the crisis was just unfolding, and we were informed that Israel might need some shelters for displaced individuals. The relevant organizations took nearly two weeks to approve our donation efforts (they have been “blocking” fundraising and donation activities for large causes like Gaza). Later, we learned that the shelters in Israel didn’t require filters, but we didn’t want to risk pausing this initiative again by updating the title. For this campaign, our team leader, Mr. Alexander Dudley, plans to allocate $1 million for funding. The funds will be used to provide safe drinking water for Gaza, where there is an urgent need for it, and the risk of waterborne diseases is extremely high.
On November 15th, our team is once again preparing tens of thousands of filters (including attaching filter instructions translated into Arabic on each filter) and packing them into large duffel bags. We will airfreight 30,000 personal filters and one LifeStraw Max (the largest capacity purifier, providing safe water for over 550 people per day) to Cairo. These filters will be transported to the Rafah border by the non-profit organization Resala Charity Organization and distributed within Gaza by local non-profit organizations. Our team partners will also be on-site in Egypt, documenting the entire process, meeting with various organizations to better understand how to continue assisting in addressing the water crisis. Thanks for your continuous support; The Light of Redemption is committed to long-term humanitarian support for Gaza (and global crises).
