I am outraged at the forced starvation of Palestinian children, women and men, including the elderly and the disabled.

• One in three people in Gaza is now going without food for days at a time.
• More than 20,000 children have been treated for acute malnutrition since April.
• Total deaths from starvation, including 92 children, reached 162 by Aug. 2, according to UNICEF.
• World Central Kitchen is getting food into Gaza, and we can help.

If Israel does not affect an immediate ceasefire and release of truckloads of food and supplies into Gaza, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, “the entire population in the Gaza Strip will face high levels of acute food insecurity by September 2025, including half a million people in Catastrophe, characterized by an extreme lack of food, starvation, destitution and death.”

The First Church in Belfast is organizing a fundraiser for World Central Kitchen, Gaza. Send tax-deductible donations to The First Church in Belfast, 8 Court St., Belfast, ME 04915 by Aug. 31. Write “World Central Kitchen” in the memo line of checks. The first $1,000 in donations will be matched by a grant from The Missions & Social Justice Team of The First Church. All donations will directly support the emergency food relief efforts of World Central Kitchen in Gaza.

Judy Williams
Belfast