Islamic Relief is increasing the food and medical aid we are sending to civilians in Aleppo and Idlib as fighting rages across northwest Syria. Since Tuesday 26 November 2024, the situation in northern Syria has dramatically deteriorated, with the country now gripped by its most significant military escalation since 2020.
As the shelling and airstrikes have intensified, it is the civilian population that is suffering the most.
The relentless violence has triggered a mass displacement from western rural Aleppo and eastern rural Idlib to safer regions in northern and western Idlib and northern Aleppo.
What was already an increasingly desperate situation has now become a humanitarian emergency.
A severe escalation
Food and medical supplies across much of northern Syria are running low following the sharp escalation in violence over the past few weeks.
Food and medical supplies in Aleppo are running short. Public hospitals are overwhelmed, and many private facilities have been forced to close due to ongoing violence.
In Idlib, an Islamic Relief-supported health centre – the only one of its kind in northwest Syria – has been damaged by the continuous fighting. The centre carries out dozens of surgeries a month free of charge but has now been forced to close.
Food, shelter items, fuel and health services are currently still available in Idlib, but after more than 13 years of crisis the level of unemployment is high, and people are struggling to afford the essentials.
Rajab Haj Salem, Islamic Relief’s Head of Office in Idlib, said:
“Artillery is striking Idlib city centre every 30 minutes at times, and the most heavily populated areas of Aleppo and Idlib are under attack.
“I have already been forced to abandon my own home in Idlib as the area has come under fire. I’ve seen a 7 storey building levelled by an airstrike and the university hospital is under ongoing attack, with an airstrike hitting around it today.
“If this shelling continues then there will be a massive wave displacement to the countryside.”
Scaling up our response
The crisis in northwest Syria has been building for months but has rapidly escalated. And now, with the harsh winter months approaching, the people of Syria need more support than ever.
Islamic Relief has been supporting the people of Syria since 2011, remaining on the ground as the years passed and the crisis deepened; and we are stepping up our response to the recent escalation.
Islamic Relief is sending 140 tonnes of flour to Aleppo so that bakeries can continue to operate and feed their surrounding communities. We plan to send health workers and dialysis kits to support medical facilities that are now overwhelmed with civilian casualties.
Islamic Relief is also calling for civilians and civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and schools to be protected.
Our far-reaching operations include distributing much-needed food aid; supporting healthcare and education systems on the brink of collapse; and helping uprooted families survive the harsh winter weather.
With your generous donations, we can continue to stand with the people of Syria and provide vital humanitarian aid: donate to the Syria Crisis appeal now.
