The Israeli bombardment against Gaza for three weeks after keeping the region under embargo and blockade for months and killing civilians indiscriminate of children and women saddened the Muslim world greatly. Poor or wealthy all Muslim societies mobilized for Gaza. Protest marches were organized in many countries to halt the Israeli offensive and fundraising campaign were launched to alleviate the pain of Gazan people.
Macedonian, Kyrgyz, Kazakh and Indonesian people, who suffered from similar tragedies as Gaza or were hit by natural disasters, offered support to their Palestinian brothers and sisters. Although people of these countries are themselves in need of aid, they shared what they have with the people of Gaza, which shows the extent of fraternal solidarity in the Muslim world.
The Macedonian people, who received support from the IHH and the Turkish people during the 2001 civil war, handed the €60,000 they have collected for Gaza to the IHH.
In Indonesia, 300,000 people were either killed or got lost in a tsunami of 9.3 magnitudes on December 26, 2004. Thousands of people lost their houses and thousands of children were made orphan. The IHH rushed foodstuff, blankets, tents and prefabricated houses to the affected people and built an orphanage in Aceh Province to shelter the children who lost their parents in the tsunami. About 100 orphans are still living in the orphanage.
The Indonesian people, who are still receiving aid from the IHH, handed the money they raised to the IHH to be delivered to Gaza.
Muslims of Kyrgyzstan and of Kazakhstan handed $2,000 and $500 respectively to the IHH to be sent to the people of Gaza. The IHH is supporting cultural and educational projects in the both countries.
The US-based Zakat Foundation and Helping Hand, with which the IHH co-organizes social projects in different regions, sent $80,000 and $30,000 respectively to Gaza through the IHH.
The Netherlands-based Jerusalem Foundation announced it would donate €50,000 to Gaza through the IHH.
"The donations sent to Gaza from different parts of the Islamic world show the solidarity and fraternity among Muslims. We are pleased by the fact that certain aid agencies worldwide preferred to deliver their donations to Gaza through the IHH," IHH deputy president Yavuz Dede said.
