Several Syrian civil society organisations have been working tirelessly to support Gaza’s population in the face of the acute humanitarian crisis generated by Israel’s blockade and brutal war.
Drawing on their extensive first-hand experience of emergency relief work in north Syria, they have mobilised to provide effective and practical assistance, despite the complicated circumstances that northern Syria is suffering from due to the widespread poverty and lack of basic resources.
One way in which these organisations have endeavoured to extend their support to Gaza’s population is through fundraising campaigns.
These have raised large sums, benefitting from Syria’s far-flung diaspora which has settled all over the world, as well as active members who utilize their community networks to amass new donors.
Syrian diaspora mobilises for Gaza
Fundraising campaigns have been organised via social media channels and have also involved events held within Syrian communities to raise the money needed to respond to the most urgent needs in Gaza including food, medical treatment and supplies.
Fatima Asad, a Syrian donor who lives in the Gulf, says that while the situation in Syria is dire. “We know what it means to live under bombs and death and to be without shelter and in need of assistance. Therefore, I decided to donate to the Gazan people, because solidarity is part of our culture, and we know that any contribution, no matter how small, can be a lifeline and make a tangible difference.”
Fatima works with several Syrian volunteer teams to provide medicines and medical essentials to Gaza in coordination with international and local organisations.
They are striving to secure treatment for the wounded and support Palestinian medical staff, who are facing shortages of equipment and personnel in the field hospitals.
Local and regional community networks have been central to these efforts and have collaborated with Syrian civil society organisations to make a contribution and show their solidarity, with both social and traditional media platforms serving as effective tools with which to spotlight the humanitarian challenges in Gaza and garner additional supporters.
On-the-ground relief work
Project coordinator at Molham Volunteering Team, Faisal Suwaid, says since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza last October, Molham has been running humanitarian aid campaigns and collecting donations via all its social media accounts.
They have channelled funds raised into emergency assistance for civilians – especially children – in Gaza, following Israel’s imposition of a total siege on the Strip at the start of the war where it cut off water, electricity and aid.
Molham Volunteering Team, whose headquarters are in Germany, quickly enlisted a team of field volunteers and staffers from each region of Gaza, whose role was to assess the immediate needs on the ground and implement emergency relief projects, coordinating with a number of local associations and institutions to do so.
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Suwaid says they relied on the available local resources and began running emergency campaigns for Gaza, including For Gaza’s Children, Gaza Emergencies and Sponsor an Orphan.
These campaigns have sought to secure basic food and non-food essentials as well as cash assistance to families in Gaza.
Faisal says Molham also set up several field kitchens which at their peak have provided food and cooked meals to over 500 families every day, and which secure and distribute drinking water to families all over Gaza. They also put together food baskets of vegetables and tinned foods which were available in local markets.
“We’ve also made many non-food related interventions, like distributing heating materials, preparing a camp for the displaced in Mawasi in Khan Younis and providing health services there, and securing medical supplies for over 10 shelters,” he added.Â
He explained that by cooperating with local medical institutions, they had been able to provide basic medical supplies to Al-Shifa Hospital, and had secured medicines and supplies for a number of critical medical cases and chronic diseases.
During Ramadan, the team also organised several Iftar tables in the displacement camps so Gazans could break their fast together. Mental health support activities and entertainment for the children were also organised. Through an Eid campaign, they bought new Eid outfits and toys to distribute to children, and on Eid Al-Adha fresh meat was given out to hundreds of families. Â
As the war continued and resources inside the Strip started running out, the team started collaborating with partners including the Jordan Hashemite charity Organisation and the Mercy Worldwide Foundation.
In July 2024, Faisal started operating relief convoys which travelled via the Jordanian and Egyptian borders and used all available international channels to get aid to those in need in north and south Gaza.
Until now, Faisal has sent four convoys, containing 17 aid trucks in total. These have carried over 141 tons of food staples, 4,032 food parcels, and over 30 tons of vegetables, eggs and chicken.
In addition, they have delivered 3,000 items of winter clothing including jackets, trousers and children’s shoes, benefitting over 15,000 families and more than 500,000 individuals across Gaza, says Faisal.
Challenges
Faisal also explained that at the start of the war, all the aid provided was sourced in local markets inside Gaza. Now, the main challenge was the scarcity of resources and the massive inflation of prices following the outbreak of the war last October.
Getting aid in from outside was difficult due to the closure of the crossings, and the fact that aid could only enter via international bodies authorised to bring aid in by the crossings. Additionally, relief convoys faced risks of theft, looting, and sabotage during transport or upon arrival.
Many other volunteer teams have also taken part in humanitarian initiatives for Gaza, including Emergency Response, an organisation based in northwest Syria, which has cooperated with other agencies to offer assistance in individual humanitarian cases, with cash sums, cooked meals, food baskets, water distribution, well repair, medical support, in addition to a children’s clothing project.
Yousef Hassan, the Head of Communications at Emergency Response says, “Despite [our] responsibilities and the difficulty of allocating resources, we are committed to standing alongside our brothers in Gaza. As Syrians, we have endured similar circumstances in terms of bombing and displacement, and we feel a responsibility towards the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
He adds: “We have drawn inspiration from our suffering to understand the true meaning of solidarity. This effort is part of a shared humanitarian mission from Syria to Palestine, and strengthens the bonds between us.”
Yousef says one of the main challenges they have faced relates to how to transfer funds. However, aid efforts will continue, he says, and they have managed to reach nearly 150,000 beneficiaries since the start of the war.
In short, the solidarity between Syrians and Palestinians has never been a case of lip service; it has consisted of practical actions, springing from determination, and a desire to shoulder and ease the other’s pain and suffering.
For this reason, despite all the barriers such as resource scarcity and difficult conditions, Syrians have shown their capacity to provide continuous and effective support to the suffering people of Gaza.
Hadia Al Mansour is a freelance journalist from Syria who has written for Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Monitor, SyriaUntold, and Rising for Freedom Magazine
Article translated from Arabic by Rose Chacko
