Arms Embargo: Canada must halt the transfer of weapons and suspend all arms export permits to Israel

Gaza has endured over 5 months of intense Israeli bombardment, subjected to destruction, civilian terror and recurrent breaches of international humanitarian law. Israel’s use of starvation as a "weapon of war” has pushed more than half a million Palestinians into crisis-level hunger. 

As Canada continues to allow the supply of weapons to Israel, there is a high risk of arms and military goods from Canada being used to commit violations of international law, which could make Canada complicit in crimes against humanity. 

Canada has a legal responsibility and must use everything within its means –including the halt of arms export permits– to ensure a ceasefire, respect for international humanitarian and human rights law, and unimpeded humanitarian access.

Take action now, send an email to your political representative. 

Send Urgent Relief to Gaza Charity

The people of Gaza are fleeing for their lives as they experience over 5 months of indiscriminate attacks, ongoing blockade, starvation diet, and mass killing of civilians in the most densely-populated place on earth

These attacks have injured over 70,000 people and killed 29,878 Palestinians, further displacing 1.7 million people. 1 in 25 people in Gaza are now injured or killed. 

After suffering decades of violence and human rights violations, Palestinian people  continue to feel unsafe in their own country. Lack of fuel, clean water and limited food supplies has forced the healthcare system into a state of total collapse, and caused significant levels of dehydration, starvation, and disease among children as essential supplies slowly run out across the Gaza Strip. 

Islamic Relief is delivering daily ready-to-eat meals in Gaza and has so far distributed more than 1 million meals, as well as other aid such as hygiene kits and psychosocial support for children – but the enormity of the crisis means that much more is needed.

Support our Gaza emergency appeal and continue saving lives.

As a member of the Humanitarian Coalition, all donations made through Islamic Relief Canada to the Palestine Emergency Appeal from October 7 - November 12 will be matched up to $10 million. Our joint fundraising appeal brought together 12 of Canada's leading international aid agencies in unity for the same cause, amplifying our impact on the ground.

How is Islamic Relief delivering aid across Gaza?

Islamic Relief has been on the ground, operating in Palestine since 1997. We have offices with staff and volunteers who have been distributing all emergency food and medical supplies they had previously stockpiled or could additionally procure, every day since the escalations began. 

We are working alongside the Ministry of Health, UN humanitarian organizations, and local partners: Beit Lahia Development Association, Gaza Culture and Development Group, Unlimited Friends Association for Social Development, and Bayader for Environment and Development Association. 

From October 7 to February 27, 2024, our team has so far distributed: 

            ⛑️ 2.2 million medical supply items 

            📦 14,170 food packs 

            💵 4,245 food vouchers 

            🥬 Fresh produce to 138,254 households

            🍴 81,173,629 ready-to-eat meals + ready-to-eat items to 151,813 families

             🛏️ 25,457 blankets and mattresses

            💧16,404 people received clean water 

            🧼 43,970 hygiene kits + items to 254 shelters

            🎈62,878 children received psychosocial support

However, all humanitarian agencies in Gaza are running low on essential supplies. We need your support to be able to continue sustaining distributions on a mass scale the moment new aid is allowed in. 

How Your Zakat Can Help Gaza

Your Zakat can help deliver life-saving essentials to communities affected by the ongoing violence across Palestine. 

At Islamic Relief Canada, we follow a scholar-verified Zakat Policy to ensure your Zakat reaches as many poor and needy people as possible to transform their lives.

• $65 can provide living essentials
• $150 can provide a family with life saving food
• $250 can provide urgent medical aid 

We are focused first on areas that are accessible and where our teams can obtain and deliver aid, working with local partners to reach as many people as possible. 

Every dollar you give means we can reach more civilian children, women and the elderly who continue to face hunger, poverty, trauma and loss. 

Provide Therapy for Kids in Gaza

In the face of the most catastrophic destruction and humanitarian crisis to date in Gaza, children are paying the heaviest price. 

Nearly half of Gaza’s population are children, with over 450,000 currently left without a home. 25,000 Palestinian children have been orphaned and no longer have the emotional or financial support to survive, let alone thrive. 

For the children in Gaza experiencing emotional distress, just $20 can provide group therapy for one child so they can gain access to the tools, fun activities, and knowledge to heal from their trauma.

Sponsor an Orphan from Gaza

In the face of the most catastrophic destruction and humanitarian crisis to date in Gaza, children are paying the heaviest price. 

By sponsoring an orphan for $90/month, you can help save and transform the lives of vulnerable children in Gaza currently deprived of their basic rights and protection, facing constant trauma, loss and violence. 

Your support can provide much needed clean water, healthcare, psychosocial support, education, and shelter.

Sponsor an orphan struggling to survive in Gaza and truly change their life for the better. 

The situation in Palestine

The people of Palestine are no stranger to devastation. Ongoing violence and restrictions have severely impacted access to food, water, and healthcare in Palestine, leaving over 1.9 million people in need of humanitarian aid in Gaza.

For people across Palestine, life is incredibly challenging:

• 80% of the population are dependent on humanitarian assistance to survive (European Union, 2023)
• 65% of Palestinians in Gaza live below the poverty line (UN, 2022)
• 9 out of 10 children in Gaza suffer from some form of conflict-related trauma (Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, 2021)
• One third of the Palestinian population suffer from food insecurity, of which 90% live in Gaza (WFP, 2022) 

How your donations are making a difference to the people of Palestine

Islamic Relief has been working in Palestine since 1997. Our work in Gaza is focused on both emergency relief and development support, ensuring sustainable long-term programs that are transformative for the communities involved.

Some of our key projects over the past few years have included:

• Distributing emergency food packs and facilitating access to clean drinking water
• Creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for 755 farmer families by planting olive trees and providing essential tools for cultivation and irrigation
• Empowering orphans and vulnerable children through education and STEM 
• Enrolling children in recreational therapy and psychosocial services

Following the May 2021 escalations in Gaza, Islamic Relief launched new projects for recovery and rehabilitation, ensuring your donations reached those in most need. These projects included:

• Health: Rehabilitated and equipped 2 primary health care clinics with equipment, resources, tools and training.
• Education: Repaired and rehabilitated 3 schools, and 3 special education centers that were damaged.
• Livelihoods: Supported microbusinesses with cash assistance. 
• Food: Provided cash assistance to families so they can buy household staples.
• Water Sanitation and Hygiene: Rehabilitated wastewater connections in housing units and enhanced access to clean water.

Your support for Gaza is helping our teams to deliver vital medical, food, water, and psychosocial support to Palestinians in need.

More questions? See our Palestine FAQ

Islamic Relief works with communities to strengthen their resilience to calamities, and we provide vital emergency aid when disasters occur.

We help the impoverished access basic services, including education, water and sanitation, as well as healthcare. We provide lasting routes out of poverty through our sustainable development schemes. Our integrated approach to progress is transforming communities worldwide.

We tackle the root causes of poverty and make sure that the world’s most vulnerable people have real influence in both our programs and advocacy.

Our key values, of compassion, justice, custodianship, sincerity and excellence – a critical part of our Islamic faith - inspire us each and every day to create positive change and remember the sanctity of life.

In line with Islamic teachings on the value of every human life, we provide assistance to whoever needs it most, regardless of race, religion or gender. We work to transform and save lives of people in crisis both Canada and across the world.