For Immediate Release, July 11, 2014

While Muslims are fasting in Ramadan, the Israeli army launched a sustained attack on Gaza and wantonly arrested Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The attack on Gaza since Monday, July 7th has claimed 87 lives and injured more than 550 of the civilian population so far.
As were the series of attacks triggered by Israel previously, civilian homes are still the main target of the Zionist air force that attempt to kill the leaders of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza. Following the increase in the number of injuries, the Ministry of Health in Gaza has declared a state of emergency in which they can no longer meet medical needs.
Medical services in Gaza have already been severely affected prior to this large-scale war waged by Israel and its allies since 2006 after which an embargo ensued. Much of basic medicines and supplies have been depleted and over 50 percent of ambulance services cannot operate due to fuel shortages. The harsh situation becomes even more appalling when the Egyptian government shut the Rafah border crossing, the only non-Israel gateway for the people of Gaza to the outside world. Compared with the attacks in 2012, the hospitals in Gaza are no longer able to transfer critical patients to hospitals in Egypt.
Victims of the attack are also faced with the problem of getting temporary housing and basic needs such as food, potable water and clothing. Massive damage as a result of these attacks led to increased poverty dramatically, causing the people of Gaza not being able to finance their basic needs. More than 30 percent of the population do not have a daily income and the unemployment rate is over 41 percent.
Hence HALUAN launches a campaign to encourage Malaysians to come together and help the victims of the Zionist tyranny in this emergency phase. The aid is intended to meet the cost of their basic needs for treatment and medical supplies, pay rent for temporary accommodation, food, and clothing.
This campaign aims at raising donations of RM3 million. It will continue for one and a half months from the launch date of July 11 until August 22, 2014. Nonetheless, we welcome continued contributions until after the campaign to help the needs of the people of Gaza who we have
Through this campaign, HALUAN volunteers will organise the collection of contributions at Ramadan bazaars, mosques, supermarkets and the likes. We also welcome donors from corporate organisations, government departments or individuals who wish to help or give tithes associated with this campaign.
As per relief efforts extended by Malaysians seen in the event of attacks in 2012, HALUAN collaborated with our NGO partners in Gaza and scrambled to deliver aid through house-to-house deliveries and visits to the victims who are still confined to hospitals. This was done through the approval of the Gaza Ministry of Interior so that the distribution were orderly and without irregularities.
As a guide, each package of emergency food aid is worth about US$100 and the cost to repair a home or renting a home for 1,000 victims is more than US$200,000.
Though this amount is paltry compared to the actual needs in Gaza, we hope that this campaign will open the opportunity for Malaysians to give back and emphatise with the victims with sincerity.
HALUAN urges people of all walks of life to take advantage of the holy month of Ramadan to offer a prayer of safety for the people of Gaza and Palestine as a whole. We should also take advantage of a full month’s mercy and blessings by providing as much aid as possible, because God has promised rewards many times over for every good-intended contribution.
Lastly, we urge the community to propagate the facts and news about what is happening in Palestine comprehensively that covers important issues in Gaza, the West Bank and Al-Aqsa Mosque, so that the plight of Palestine and the al-Aqsa Mosque will gain our attention until it is liberated.
Donations toward the success of this support can be channeled through a special account for the Palestinian Emergency Campaign as follows:
Account name: TABUNG PALESTIN HALUAN
Maybank: 5644-9020-8528, or
Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad: 14-023-01-003429-2