Letters are vital to getting a Gaza cease fire

Each of us can support the humanitarian agencies in Gaza who are appealing for a cease fire in the Israel-Hamas war. By writing letters to your elected officials you can make a difference in getting the cease fire. It's urgent with food, water and medicine running out in Gaza.

The directors of Save the Children, CARE, Mercy Corps, Catholic Relief Services and other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) just sent a public letter to President Biden pleading for him to keep working for “an immediate and lasting cease fire” in Gaza.

These aid groups are calling for safe access for humanitarians to reach starving war victims in Gaza. Without this aid, famine is inevitable.

Their letter warns “As many as 1.1 million Palestinians are experiencing famine conditions now including child mortality rates rising at famine-level rates …. An intensification of the hostilities in Gaza, particularly in Rafah, will render famine response impossible."

You can help the humanitarian appeal by also writing to President Biden and your representatives in Congress. Let them know you believe a cease fire in Gaza and feeding the hungry is a top priority.

It was letters to Congress that made a difference in getting funding for global humanitarian assistance included in the recent Ukraine aid package.

Your letters can make a difference in getting a cease fire in Gaza, too. With a cease fire humanitarian aid can reach the starving Palestinians in Gaza. Hostages can be released and returned home safely to Israel.

The focus between Israel and Palestine should be on humanitarian aid to those in need. Hunger, poverty and desperation are the enemies that must be defeated in the region. For ending those scourges is the only way to build a foundation of peace.

We all want to see Israel and Palestine live in peace, and end the cycle of violence. But we know war cannot bring that peace. There can be no peace built upon destruction, chaos and starvation.

A Save the Children team just visited Khan Younis, the second largest city in Gaza. The city is now in ruins.

“I’ve been to a lot of warzones and disasters, but I’ve never been in a situation where as far as the eye can see, every building is rubble” said Sacha Myers, a Save the Children spokesperson.

“We are all just so angry at what has happened and the extent of the damage. How is it possible to raze a city like this? And seeing the schools totally destroyed — with the colored murals on the sides — and knowing that children have been killed in them. How can you not be angry?” said Karyn Beattie, Save the Children Team Leader in Gaza.

Many of us are thousands of miles away from this horror and may feel helpless. But you can do something by using your voice to help get aid to the war victims in Gaza.

The humanitarian relief agencies need you as an advocate. These aid groups are facing numerous hunger emergencies beyond Gaza and are short on funding to reach everyone in need. They need the public's support.

By writing letters you can make a powerful appeal for a humanitarian cease fire in Gaza to save lives and build peace.

William Lambers is an author who partnered with the U.N. World Food Program on the book “Ending World Hunger.”