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| Gaza DEC appeal raises £4.5m in less than 24 hours | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| An emergency appeal for people affected by the conflict in Gaza has raised £4.5m in less than 24 hours, the Disasters Emergency Committee has said. | |
| Downing Street has also announced the UK is sending a team of NHS medical experts to the region. | |
| Renewed clashes broke out between Israel and Hamas fighters on Friday after the end of a three-day ceasefire. | Renewed clashes broke out between Israel and Hamas fighters on Friday after the end of a three-day ceasefire. |
| The Stop the War coalition is holding a march for Gaza through central London on Saturday. | |
| The march will pass the US embassy, ending in Hyde Park. | |
| More than 1,900 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in four weeks of Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, the UN says. | More than 1,900 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in four weeks of Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, the UN says. |
| Sixty-seven people have died on the Israeli side, three of them civilians. | Sixty-seven people have died on the Israeli side, three of them civilians. |
| 'Unbearable situation' | |
| The DEC launched its Gaza Crisis Appeal on Friday evening, with the British government saying it would match the first £2m of public donations. | |
| Saleh Saeed, chief executive of DEC - an umbrella organisation bringing together 13 UK aid charities to deal with international crises - praised the "amazing generosity of the British public". | |
| He said: "The funds are desperately needed, with on-going fighting in Gaza creating an unbearable situation for families and children. | |
| "Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes, the healthcare system is on the verge of collapse and many people have little or no clean water. | |
| "Despite the end of the ceasefire, aid is getting through and many of our member agencies are still working on the ground. But with the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, they urgently need more money to scale up their life-saving work." | |
| 'Crucial role' | 'Crucial role' |
| NHS staff including doctors, nurses and anaesthetists will fly out to the region in the next 48 hours. | |
| Prime Minister David Cameron said: "The conflict in Gaza has taken a terrible toll. The UK has been at the forefront of humanitarian efforts to help those affected and it is right that we see what more we can do. | Prime Minister David Cameron said: "The conflict in Gaza has taken a terrible toll. The UK has been at the forefront of humanitarian efforts to help those affected and it is right that we see what more we can do. |
| "The NHS has always stepped up to the plate to help those in need and this expert team will play a crucial role in helping hundreds caught up in this conflict." | "The NHS has always stepped up to the plate to help those in need and this expert team will play a crucial role in helping hundreds caught up in this conflict." |
| The health professionals being flown out to help are on the government's international emergency trauma register, which also includes paramedics and surgeons. | The health professionals being flown out to help are on the government's international emergency trauma register, which also includes paramedics and surgeons. |
| Human cost of the conflict | Human cost of the conflict |
| Palestinian deaths | Palestinian deaths |
| Israeli deaths | Israeli deaths |
| (Source: OCHA; 0500 GMT on 8 August) | (Source: OCHA; 0500 GMT on 8 August) |
| All medics on the register have volunteered their services, and are given training and called upon to respond to situations around the world. | All medics on the register have volunteered their services, and are given training and called upon to respond to situations around the world. |
| Professor Tony Redmond, who is co-ordinating the Gaza operation, said 15 British medics would be sent out initially "in a staged process". | Professor Tony Redmond, who is co-ordinating the Gaza operation, said 15 British medics would be sent out initially "in a staged process". |
| They would be expecting to treat people who have lost limbs and have "chronically-infected wounds", he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. | They would be expecting to treat people who have lost limbs and have "chronically-infected wounds", he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. |
| "There is a sad pattern of injury with these conflicts and it is that that we will be looking at addressing," he said. | "There is a sad pattern of injury with these conflicts and it is that that we will be looking at addressing," he said. |
| 'Desperate need' | 'Desperate need' |
| The NHS staff will initially be based with the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians at Al Mokassed hospital in East Jerusalem. | The NHS staff will initially be based with the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians at Al Mokassed hospital in East Jerusalem. |
| From there, they will co-ordinate with aid agencies and local health authorities and assess the best way to get access to patients in Gaza. | From there, they will co-ordinate with aid agencies and local health authorities and assess the best way to get access to patients in Gaza. |
| Although their main objective is to treat people in the region, Downing Street said some of the injured - particularly children - may need to be brought to the UK for treatment at specialist trauma centres. | Although their main objective is to treat people in the region, Downing Street said some of the injured - particularly children - may need to be brought to the UK for treatment at specialist trauma centres. |
| The medics are being funded by the Department for International Development. The UK has already contributed £17m in emergency relief for Gaza. | The medics are being funded by the Department for International Development. The UK has already contributed £17m in emergency relief for Gaza. |
| That figure includes £3 million for the World Food Programme to provide emergency food and £6 million for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's appeal to buy shelter and cooking equipment. | That figure includes £3 million for the World Food Programme to provide emergency food and £6 million for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's appeal to buy shelter and cooking equipment. |
| "The [emergency trauma] register was launched by the International Development Secretary Justine Greening in December 2012 and enables British medical experts to provide humanitarian assistance during disasters overseas," a government spokesman said. | "The [emergency trauma] register was launched by the International Development Secretary Justine Greening in December 2012 and enables British medical experts to provide humanitarian assistance during disasters overseas," a government spokesman said. |
| Ms Greening added: "A month of violence in Gaza has left people in desperate need of immediate medical help. Every day of continuing violence adds to that. | Ms Greening added: "A month of violence in Gaza has left people in desperate need of immediate medical help. Every day of continuing violence adds to that. |
| "The volunteers on the register are experts in working in the most challenging conditions and will help hundreds of Gazans caught up in this violence." | "The volunteers on the register are experts in working in the most challenging conditions and will help hundreds of Gazans caught up in this violence." |
| 'No military solution' | |
| Conservative peer Baroness Warsi, who resigned from the government over its policy on Gaza, said arms export licences to Israel should be suspended. | |
| She said: "What we need to do right now is put all our efforts into making sure we move the government's position, that they suspend arms export licences immediately, that they start to lead the international effort on accountability on both sides and that they move towards a Middle East policy that is, in the long term, sustainable. | |
| "There is no point in us talking about a two-state solution if we don't do the simple things like recognising Palestine in the way that the majority of the world has at the United Nations." | |
| Hannah Weisfeld, director of Yachad, a UK-based Jewish group which supports a two-state solution, told the BBC: "For the past two weeks, we have been calling for an urgent ceasefire and an immediate return to long-term negotiations, on the basis that there is no long-term military solution to this conflict, and there has to be a political solution." | |
| She added: "Unless we can find a way to bring those two parties together - Israelis and Palestinians - and create a long-term political solution in which both peoples have safety, security and self-determination that they deserve, then we're not going to get out of this current round of violence." |