Kate Estevez, Contributing Photographer

Yalies4Palestine — a student group focused on supporting human rights and freedom of Palestinians — organized a fundraiser to support expelled Gazan workers in the West Bank. 

The group’s efforts to support Palestinians come during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. On Oct. 8, Israel formally declared war against Hamas, which had launched a surprise attack on Israel the morning prior and killed at least 1,400 civilians.. The invasion prompted Israeli military retaliation and a “complete siege” of Gaza; as of Monday night, Israel has killed at least 2,800 civilians in Gaza. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to escalate: as Israel signals preparation for a significant ground invasion of northern Gaza, United Nations officials have described Israel’s attacks as “collective punishment” and a violation of international law. 

Hundreds of Gazans who were working in Israel or visiting the West Bank during Hamas’s attack last weekend are now stranded in Ramallah and other West Bank cities, according to the Washington Post.

“Yalies4Palestine has funds to send to volunteers on the ground,” Craig Birckhead-Morton ’24, who organized the fundraiser, wrote to the News. “With this funding they’ve been able to buy hygiene supplies, clothing, food, and water for the displaced Gazans currently living in shelters.”

The donations collected from the fundraiser will be sent directly to volunteers on the ground who will buy essential items for the Gazan workers who are currently sheltered in the West Bank, according to the Yalies4Palestine Instagram page. 

Under normal circumstances, Birckhead-Morton said, thousands of Gazans work as temporary workers in the Gaza Strip, but the conflict forced these workers to the city of Ramallah in the West Bank, separating them from families and belongings. 

“There is an urgent need for donations for the tens of thousands of Gazan workers who were working across Israeli occupied Palestine who were recently expelled,” Yalies4Palestine posted on its instagram page. “Shelters housing them in Ramallah are lacking basic supplies.” 

Francesca Maria, who organizes for Palestinian support in New Haven, emphasized the need to fundraise for Palestinians and said that American tax dollars contribute to the military occupation of Gaza. 

Maria asked to be identified by her middle name instead of her last, citing safety concerns tied to the News’ publication of an opinion column, in which she said “organizers for Palestine were smeared as a hate group,” and that the News also allowed a student to “justify writing a genocidal message unchallenged,” which put her at “personal risk.”

Since its founding in 1948, Israel has been allied with the United States, which has contributed billions of dollars in aid to Israel for defensive and non-defensive efforts, according to The Wall Street Journal. Although the U.S. has previously sent aid to Palestine, funds were designated specifically for economic and humanitarian purposes and not for defensive or military projects.

Maria told the News that it is important to fundraise for civilians in Gaza, especially because the ongoing Israeli blockade has restricted the flow of everyday necessities to Palestinians. According to a 2021 World Bank report, limitations on the movement of goods and workers have contributed to an unemployment rate close to 50 percent and an 80 percent dependency on international aid, and a 2022 report from the United Nations found that Palestinians in the region lack access to clean water and electricity for more than a few hours a day. Human Rights Watch describes Gaza as an “open-air prison” for its 2.3 million residents 

“We have a responsibility to fundraise for Palestinians because right now, just through our tax dollars, we are supporting the occupation of Palestine,” Maria said.

The group did not disclose to the News the specific amount of money that it has raised.

The Gaza Strip is located southwest of Jerusalem.

Update, Oct. 17: The News removed details in a quote to protect the identity of sources involved in the fundraising efforts.