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The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has launched an "urgent" fundraising appeal to help people affected by the conflicts in the Middle East.

The DEC is an organisation which brings together 15 of the UK’s biggest aid charities including Oxfam, British Red Cross and ActionAid to raise money.

It says millions of people across the Middle East need food, shelter and medical care after fleeing their homes in search of safety from war.

The Middle East Humanitarian Appeal will feature across the Â鶹ԼÅÄ on 17 October, as well as on other broadcasters including Sky, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

The DEC committee said the damage caused by conflicts meant thousands of people were ill from hunger and disease.

The appeal aims to provide food, water, shelter and medicine.

The leader of the DEC, chief executive Saleh Saeed, said member charities are already responding to the situation in Gaza and Lebanon but they "urgently need more funds to meet the huge levels of need".

He also said the group was monitoring the situation in Israel, where there are "tens of thousands" of displaced people, and it would provide support "if significant unmet humanitarian needs are identified".

The charity Save the Children is a member of the DEC, and its humanitarian director Rachael Cummings said that there had been a rise in the number of children with illnesses.

“Children have also had their education completely disrupted for over a year and will bear the brunt of this conflict for years to come," she explained.

Anneliese Dodds, the UK government's Minister for Development, said: “The suffering of civilians impacted by the conflict across the Middle East is intolerable.

"Humanitarian support is urgently needed for the most vulnerable people."

Donations will be matched by the UK government up to the first £10m.