Red Crescent appeal for Palestine

24 November 2006

An appeal for the victims of troubled Palestine launched six months ago is still in desperate need of funds, a major relief charity has urged.

In April this year, the Palestinian Red Crescent made a six-month emergency appeal to provide aid for victims of the escalating humanitarian and economic crisis in the country, which has now been raised to $11.6m (£6m) to stem the growing crisis.

Palestine's population suffered a further blow in June with the launch of an Israeli military offensive on the region of Gaza. Over 300 people have died since then, more than 50 of them children, while over one thousand have been injured.

Almost 90 percent of Palestinian population in Gaza and 56 percent of those in the West Bank live in poverty, according to figures from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), and are unable to support themselves without international assistance.

The Palestinian Red Crescent emphasised that the public had responded generously to the April appeal, at the same time underscoring the need for additional support in the afflicted region.

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