A festival of solidarity for the people of Gaza will be held on Friday, Aug. 8 from 9pm to 11pm, Katara Cultural Village has announced.

The move comes after a weeks-long bombing campaign by Israel has killed over 1,600 Palestinians and injured nearly 9,000 more.

On Friday, a UN and US-brokered ceasefire was called for, but only lasted a few hours as the firing of shells and rockets continued, with both Israel and Hamas accusing each other of breaking the truce.

Katara’s upcoming festival will include cultural events, art shows and exhibitions and musical performances. Katara has stated that all proceeds will be donated to Gaza, and that all Katara and Aspire Zone restaurants will also donate revenue made that day.

The festival is a collaboration between Katara, Qatar Red Crescent (QRC), Qatar TV, Al Rayyan TV and q.media.

This is not the first time that Katara has shown its support for Gaza through the hosting of events.

On July 24, Katara announced that it had cancelled all of its planned Eid activities, because “what is happening (to) the Palestinian people is reflected on everyone.”

The events had been part of a seven-day festival organized by the Qatar Tourism Authority as a way to attract visitors as well as entertain those staying in the country during the holiday season.

Although a string of venues scaled back their Eid festivities, Katara was the only one to fully cancel all action. Instead, Katara and Aspire Zone partnered by donating all earnings from their restaurants to Palestine.

How you can help

For those who wish to help people in Gaza, here are a few options that are locally available:

Qatar Red Crescent

QRC has provided Qatar residents with multiple ways to donate to Palestine. Donations are being accepted via their website and by SMS for Ooredoo users:

• Send an SMS with the word “Qatar” to 92766 to donate QR50; or
• Send an SMS with the number “183” to 92176 to donate QR100.

QRC is also accepting donations at its offices in Old Salata, the Corniche, Al Khor and its women’s branch in Nuaija. Booths are also scattered around City Center, Landmark, Villaggio, Hyatt Plaza, The Mall, Al Amal Hospital and Al Meera supermarkets.

Eid Charity

Eid Charity has been on the ground in Gaza, providing Palestinians with food and medical aid, and has also said it prefers cash contributions for the relief effort.

Eid Charity has launched a “We are all Gaza” campaign. Through the campaign, an SMS service has been set up with a number of payment options available. The service is only available to Ooredoo users, however. To donate, send an SMS with the number “1″ to:

• 928019 to donate QR50;
• 920244 to donate QR100;
• 928606 to donate QR500; and
• 928614 to donate QR1,000

Residents can donate by visiting EC’s main office in Dafna, or by approaching one of the charity’s mall booths.

For more information on the campaign, call 7707-3030.

For more information regarding Eid Charity’s services, call the hotline on 4435-5555. Women can call a special number: 4498-0141

Qatar Charity

Residents can donate cash by stopping at QC booths in one of Qatar’s malls, or items at Qatar Charity’s main office, which is located behind The Mall in Al Hilal. The main office is open from 10am to 10pm everyday.

The charity also has an SMS service with various options. For Ooredoo users who want to donate, send an SMS with the word “Palestine” to:

• 92133 to donate QR25;
• 92632 to donate QR50;
• 92642 to donate QR100;
• 92428 to donate QR500; and
• 92429 to donate QR1,000.

If you’re a Vodafone user who wants to donate, send an SMS with the word “Donate” to:

• 97790 to donate QR10;
• 97286 to donate QR50;
• 97287 to donate QR100; and
• 97289 to donate QR300.

For more information, call Qatar Charity’s hotline at 4466-7711.

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