This is the beginning of a long, difficult road to recovery

Whatever happens next, the suffering is far from over but now must be the time to bring long overdue relief - time for the DEC’s 15 members charities and their indefatigable local partners to take stock, restock and revitalise their operations for a monumental task ahead.

It’s more than a month since the UN backed global hunger monitor, the IPC confirmed famine in and around Gaza City, with three in 10 children under five being acutely malnourished with people dying daily from hunger.

We’ve seen desperate scenes from the few remaining hospitals where doctors have been forced to make impossible decisions about the treatment they can provide, with a surge in mass casualties at aid distribution sites further overwhelming emergency services.

For those who may have already supported the DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal, it may be hard to fathom how anything has been done with their donations in such difficult circumstances. But, remarkably, through the determination and ingenuity of local staff and partners, who continue to risk their lives and those of their families, thousands of lives have been saved and protected.

The British Red Cross has been supporting its partner, the Palestine Red Crescent Society at a field hospital in Rafah. Oxfam has been running psychosocial support sessions in makeshift camps, helping people to come to terms with what has happened to them, their families and their communities. In similar tented villages Christian Aid’s partners have been providing seeds and tools to help people grown their own vegetables – tomatoes, cucumbers and more - in the small patches of fertile soil between their flimsy, temporary homes, so they can supplement their meagre diets.

With roads destroyed, health workers have used bikes or simply walked to give advice to pregnant women and support those who have recently given birth. Many of our members have continued to find ways to get much needed cash to people struggling to afford the limited food on offer at hugely inflated prices at remaining local markets. Cash is an increasingly effective way of supporting the most vulnerable families as it gives them much needed dignity and choice to decide what they most need in time of crisis.

None of this could have been achieved without the support of people here in Scotland with nearly £4.5 million raised for the Appeal thus far, and more than £50 million raised UK wide. Many humanitarian workers in Gaza tell us that this generosity has not only saved lives but has also kept their hopes alive, showing them that we do care, they are not forgotten. We say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped so far but at this crucial time we need your assistance more than ever.

Truckloads of supplies are standing ready at Gaza’s borders, packed with lifesaving food, water, medicine and essential supplies. At a warehouse near Cairo, the humanitarian director of one of the DEC charities, Plan International UK, Dr Unni Krishnan, has been watching rice and canned beef being packed into boxes, along with flour and yeast to make bread and vitamin fortified oil, beans and chickpeas. Each truck that leaves this warehouse contains about 820 food packets to give around 6,000 people in Gaza enough food for five days.

He tells us that every truck that leaves the warehouse is a ray of hope, every one of them that enters Gaza will be a lifeline. He sees hope in the quiet rhythm and shared purpose of staff and volunteers – in their hands, their eyes and their belief that Gaza’s children deserve a peaceful tomorrow.

It’s clear from the latest pictures of devastation from Gaza City that this is only the beginning of a long, difficult road to recovery - the needs remain urgent and immense but with your support, we can not only build on this early, precious hope but we will be able to save and protect many more vulnerable lives in the difficult days and months to come.

Huw Owen is from the Disasters Emergency Committee, Scotland

You can donate to the DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal at http://bit.ly/DECScotHope