Friday 15th March 2019 Christchurch, New Zealand
Following the terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand on 15th March 2019 where fifty people were killed, Australian author, speaker and social activist wrote these words.
In the early hours of Tuesday 18th March, Israel launched fresh bombing raids on Gaza, tearing up what was left of the ceasefire agreement. These raids killed over 404 people (including 100 children), injured hundreds more and terrified the entire community. Read our update on the current situation in Gaza following the end of the ceasefire.
Above: “This picture was taken last night when Israeli airstrikes bombed us suddenly while I was sleeping. I was about to get injured.” Photographer Ahmed Dader
Gaza Appeal update
April 2025
“It is unbelievable. It is like the first days of the war all over again.”
“Colleagues in Gaza are really terrified and expecting the worst. For 18 days, nothing has entered Gaza. It has an additional impact during Ramadan.”
“Ramadan is supposed to be a holy month. In the past, the Israelis did not demolish homes in Jerusalem and the West Bank during Ramadan. This year, it is so different.”
“Many people at the hospital are feeling very down about the current situation. They had started to feel optimistic, but now it is so hard to keep any hope. It feels like the world will just watch us starve and say nothing.”
Fresh attacks shatter ceasefire
In the early hours of Tuesday 18th March, Israel launched fresh bombing raids on Gaza, tearing up what was left of the ceasefire agreement. These raids killed over 404 people (including 100 children), injured hundreds more and terrified the entire community.
The scale and callousness of the attacks — and the political machinations that preceded them — were shocking but, sadly, not surprising. Protests have broken out across Israel, as many see this as yet another attempt by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to hold onto power by perpetuating ‘an endless war’.
Once the attacks had started, former Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party rejoined Netanyahu’s coalition government, bolstering his parliamentary position. Ben-Gvir had previously left the government when the ceasefire began and had demanded a return to conflict, alongside a complete cessation of aid, water and electricity to Gaza.
Al Ahli Hospital overwhelmed
A Place of Peace: Al Ahli Baptist Hospital
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Many of those killed or injured in Tuesday’s attack were taken to our partner, Al Ahli ‘Baptist’ Hospital, one of the only operational trauma hospitals in Gaza City. The hospital has been longing to shift away from constant emergency care and resume its regular programmes — reconstructive and standard surgeries, diagnostic testing and cancer treatments, physiotherapy, burns treatments and infant health and nutrition services — yet the need for emergency care remains overwhelming.
Aid blocked as famine looms
Blockade: Prices for limited goods have soared
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No aid has entered Gaza since 2nd March 2025 and the situation is rapidly deteriorating. Our partners at MA’AN Development have been providing hot Iftar meals, though supplies have become increasingly difficult to obtain and they have been unable to source any meat.
Palestinians report that, since the blockade was tightened, prices for limited goods have soared — basic necessities now cost up to 300% of their usual price, a situation described as “reminiscent of the famine period” before the ceasefire. We are sending further donations to MAAN for food and water, which they are still able to source.
Psychosocial support amid trauma
Psychosocial Trauma: How can you provide trauma therapy when people are being re-traumatised?
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Our partner, DSPR, has resumed its full psychosocial trauma support work with children and women, even in buildings that have been badly damaged. They hope to continue, but how can you provide trauma therapy when people are being re-traumatised by daily bombings, displacement and the latest ground incursion? They recognise that they may need to shift back to more general support programmes for children.
Crisis in the West Bank
Devasting: Increased pressure, a surge in home demolitions, settler violence and roadblocks
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Aid is needed not only in Gaza but also across the West Bank. The destruction and forced evacuation of camps in Jenin and Tulkarem, the increasing pressure on Bedouin communities in places like Masafer Yatta to leave their land, the surge in home demolitions, settler violence, and roadblocks — combined with a severe lack of work — are having a devastating impact on daily life.
We call on the UK government to act:
We do not want to be providing aid to Gaza and the West Bank. We want to be working with our partners and all those committed to ending the occupation and building a future free from apartheid for Palestinians.
Yet our solidarity with the Palestinian people — their acute suffering and the desperate situation they face — means that we must continue providing this support.
Welcome to the first On Her Terms update of 2019. This year marks 30 years since the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This landmark in children’s rights has remained a hugely important reference point for those working for justice for children and young people.
“Climbing Kilimanjaro has been on my bucket list for some time. At 5,895 metres it is both the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world.” Neil Irving writes about ticking-off one item from his bucket list to raise funds for Amos Trust.
18-year-old Millie Rose, who first visited Nicaragua in 2015, is spending 4 months working in CEPAD’s office before starting an International Development course at University. We asked her to share a little about her impressions of CEPAD’s work — particularly after the recent flooding and unrest.
“I’ve been guilty over the last few months of shirking my responsibilities towards a cause that is very close to my heart. On the eve of International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I’ve decided to renew my commitment to this cause, to seeking justice and equal rights for everyone who calls the Holy Land home.” Sarah Baron writes about how we can reinvigorate our support for Palestine.
“The idea was beautiful and crazy. The logistics alone would be an organisational nightmare. The risk assessment would run for pages. It would be a five-month, 3,300 kilometres trek across eleven countries with mountains, rivers and seas to navigate. And then there was no guarantee that the walkers would even be allowed to cross the border into the occupied West Bank, let alone reach Jerusalem.” Amos trustee Robert Cohen writes the forword for ‘Walking To Jerusalem’ – Justin Butcher’s book about his experience of walking from London to Jerusalem as part of Amos Trust’s ‘Just Walk To Jerusalem’ project in 2017.
Amos Trust
7 Bell Yard, London
WC2A 2JR
UK
Telephone:
+44 (0) 203 725 3493
Email:
[email protected]
Registered Charity No.
1164234
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