'A spirit of defiance' Why our appeal this year is focusing on victims of conflict

Why our appeal this year is focusing on victims of conflict

- Katharine Viner

When we came to choose the theme of our 2024 charity appeal a few weeks ago, we quickly realised it would be impossible to ignore that this has been an especially harrowing year of conflict, war and human suffering across the world.

In the Middle East, the shocking and brutal attack by Hamas on Israel in October 2023 was followed by the devastating offensive on Gaza by Israel. The destruction and violence in the war has left tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians dead and countless more traumatised, homeless and starving. The conflict has spread into Lebanon, and the situation in the occupied West Bank is increasingly dire.

In Sudan, a civil war has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions in a humanitarian disaster that has contributed to and been exacerbated by catastrophic levels of food insecurity, leaving the country in terrible famine.

In Ukraine, nearly three years of war after Russia's invasion has caused civilian death, displacement and distress.