UK-wide appeal for Gaza launched 'after being held up by BBC concerns'

British government pledged to match first £10m in donations to Disaster Emergency Committee's Middle East appeal

An aid convoy moves into the Gaza Strip from Israel on Monday, a few days after the BBC launched its fund-raising appeal for the besieged enclave. AP

Live updates: Follow the latest from Israel-Gaza

A humanitarian appeal for Gaza and Lebanon eventually launched last week had been stalled by objections from the BBC, a source told The National.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal to provide aid in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon raised £11.6 million ($15 million) within two days, with the UK government pledging to match the first £10 million donated.

The appeal was broadcast on the BBC when it started on Thursday and has been advertised on TNT Sports News, the London Underground and elsewhere. The Co-op chain has been taking donations at tills in its shops across the country, while celebrity cook and TV host Delia Smith endorsed the campaign on her social media account.

But the urgently needed appeal was allegedly delayed after the BBC raised concerns about whether or not the aid would get into Gaza, according to a charity director who was not involved in the appeal.

Only a fraction of aid intended for Gaza has entered the strip since the war began, with humanitarian agencies blaming Israeli forces and the closure of the Rafah border crossing into Egypt. Gaza’s north has been blockaded for more than two weeks.

Some humanitarian agencies have raised objections relating to the language and the framing of the appeal, which also contributed to delays, the source added.

“The DEC appeal for the Middle East went ahead last week, following all three criteria the DEC considers when launching an appeal being met," a BBC representative said on Monday.

The BBC is one of a number of stakeholders within the Disasters Emergency Committee process, as its broadcasting reach is key to fundraising. In a statement the DEC said its criteria for the appeal were only met when Lebanon fell into conflict, though it had been monitoring the situation since last October. The criteria are scale of the disaster, capacity to provide aid and public sympathy.

It said that the “volatile situation in Gaza and the wider region, as well as the difficult and complex issues around aid access, have been a huge challenge for all of our stakeholders when reviewing our criteria for an appeal".

“With the added recent humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, it is now agreed that all three criteria have been met to launch the DEC's Middle East Humanitarian appeal."

The BBC refused to broadcast a DEC appeal for Gaza aid in 2009, as did Sky News. At the time, the corporation said it did not show the appeal "because of question marks about the delivery of aid in a volatile situation and also to avoid any risk of compromising public confidence in the BBC's impartiality".

The decision in 2009 led to 40,000 complaints to the BBC. Years later, it agreed to broadcast the DEC's appeal in 2014, which raised £19 million, including £2 million from the UK government's Department for International Development.

The latest campaign has been described by critics as long overdue, with warnings of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza being issued more than a year ago.

Deaths from malnutrition have been reported in Gaza for months. There is still a high risk of famine, with the number of people facing "catastrophic" levels of hunger expected to nearly triple between November 2024 and April 2025, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the global food monitor.

From now until August 2025, it is estimated there will be 60,000 cases of malnutrition in children between six months and five years old.

“It should have been a long time ago,” said Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab and British Understanding, of the timing of the appeal's launch. The campaign and the government’s donation should not serve to replace the urgent need for a political solution and an end to the war, he added.

“There have been a fantastic and generous number of public donations," he said. "But what is really needed is an immediate end to the war. People will be shelling out money to make up for grotesque political failings.

“The [UK] government keeps referring to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. It’s not a humanitarian situation, it is a war on Gaza, an atrocity, a genocide that has humanitarian consequences."

Anneliese Dodds, Minister for International Development, described the suffering of civilians affected by the conflict as "intolerable" when she announced the UK's pledge to match £10 million of donations.

“Humanitarian support is urgently needed for the most vulnerable people," she said. "Charities play a crucial role in providing help to those most affected, and need your support."

The DEC's chief executive, Saleh Saeed, said although member charities are active in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, they "urgently need more funds".

“DEC member charities are responding right now in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, providing life-saving food, water, shelter and medicine – this humanitarian support is a vital lifeline for millions of people in overwhelming need of assistance," he said, urging the public to "please donate now to save lives".

Many did not wait for the DEC's appeal before they started fund-raising. The Co-op, which welcomed the campaign, said it had already been raising funds for Gaza after a demand from members of the co-operative.

“Thousands of Co-op member owners, including colleague members owners, made it clear to us prior to the DEC appeal launching, that they expected their Co-op to act in providing humanitarian aid and putting co-operation and our co-operative assets at the service of building peace in Palestine and Israel,” said chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq.

The company had raised £250,000 in humanitarian aid on behalf of three UK charities to provide clean water for drinking and sanitation. It had also intended to provide medical aid for babies born “in the midst of conflict” in northern Gaza.

“Unfortunately the latter has been impossible due to the current blockade in the north so we are working with our partners to determine where else critical medical aid might be possible," Ms Khoury-Haq said.

The Co-operative said it would also support any drive for peace and co-operation in the future. “At the behest of our members, we hope to work with our friends and partners in the region to do what we can to build a peaceful future for all,” Ms Khoury-Haq added.