World Vision Calls for Cease to Gaza War

World Vision is urging all parties in the current violence among Palestinian factions to 'put aside their guns and resolve their differences peacefully.'

The international relief charity is calling on them to make paramount the well-being and humanitarian concerns of innocent civilians - especially children.

After a week of intense fighting, the Palestinian Islamist faction Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, leaving more than 100 people have dead and hundreds injured in the clashes. About 1.4 million Palestinians reside in Gaza - among 838,000 of them being children.

"We appeal to all parties to the conflict to cease all hostilities and negotiate an end to the current crisis," said Charles Clayton, director of World Vision Jerusalem. "What children are enduring under the current situation is deeply troubling. The two Palestinian factions must do all they can to protect children's welfare and prioritise their safety," Clayton concluded.

In the midst of the fights, two United Nations employees were found dead. They worked for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which in response suspended all its work in the Gaza Strip apart from emergency medical services and food distribution.

In a similar step, the European Union announced, that it is suspending all humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip. World Vision has also suspended its activities in Gaza, and is updating its emergency response plans in the meantime. Serious food and medicine shortages are expected very soon, since all crossings into Gaza are blocked.

In a message to the world and its leaders, World Vision is calling for an immediate cease-fire, a respect for humanitarian institutions and to refrain from targeting civilians, and a renewed commitment by all sides to trust building measures that will improve the lives of the Palestinian people.