Islamic Relief alarmed by military escalation in the Middle East

Islamic Relief is deeply alarmed by the escalation of the military conflict in the Middle East and urgently calls on all parties to exercise restraint and favour a diplomatic solution. Civilians always pay the heaviest price during military escalations and must be protected.

This escalation comes in the middle of the month of Ramadan, a month of compassion. Families across the Middle East deserve to experience this holy month without fear.

As one of the world’s largest independent Muslim humanitarian organizations, we are actively monitoring the situation across the region, including in the countries where we provide life-saving assistance: Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Syria, and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. We are gravely concerned that broader regional destabilization could affect and displace millions of civilians in the Gulf and beyond.

Islamic Relief has been helping some of the most vulnerable populations in this region for many years, and we know how quickly humanitarian operations can be disrupted when conflict spreads. An escalating war risks cutting off access to communities that depend on our support for food, shelter, clean water, and health care.

We call on all parties to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, protect civilian lives and ensure that humanitarian organizations can continue to operate safely. The suffering of ordinary people, many of whom have already been living in precarious conditions for years, must not be aggravated by further military action.

Any further major military escalation risks leading to massive displacement of civilians and large flows of refugees into the region. Islamic Relief stands ready to scale up its response as needs become clearer.