Humanitarian action and emergencies

The war in the Gaza Strip is weighing heavily on young people – on their day-to-day lives and also their hopes for the future. Marwa, a fourth-year medical student at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, wants to become a surgeon – a dream that like so many others is now on hold.  She spoke with UNICEF a few months ago, and although her family has been…, Part 1: Sometimes I feel it’s driving me mad, Marwa describes a typical day with her family, how the war has made her feel, and why it’s sometimes impossible to get any sleep. It’s not death that we fear. It’s surviving death. Click play for audio experience Listen to Part 1 by Marwa Transcript Transcript “Every day, we wake up at 5 a.m. My brothers bring us water from the nearby houses in…, Part 2: Praying that it doesn’t rain, In the second exchange with UNICEF, Marwa shares the challenges her family have experienced during their most recent evacuation since the fighting escalated in October 2023. It rained so much that night. I can’t imagine how it would have been like if we slept in the street. Click play for audio experience Listen to Part 2 by Marwa Transcript…, Part 3: A hurricane of feelings, In the third conversation, Marwa describes the emotions she has been experiencing since the war erupted. Marwa with her family UNICEF Click play for audio experience Listen to Part 3 by Marwa Transcript Transcript UNICEF I entered medical school because I wanted to save people’s lives. Now, I’m helpless to save even the lives of the people I love…

Months of escalating conflict have turned the Gaza Strip into the most dangerous place in the world to be a child.   Every child across Gaza has been exposed to deeply distressing events, witnessing horrors that no child should. Around 1.7 million people are estimated to have been internally displaced by the violence, half of them children.…

More than three months of escalating conflict, killing and bombardments have left families in Gaza reeling. Each day, children face the risk of death from the sky, disease from lack of safe water, and dangerous shortages of food. Thousands of children have died and thousands more are left confronting a deadly triple threat of conflict, disease,…, Safety, Gaza Strip. A boy walks over the rubble of his destroyed home in Gaza City. A boy walks over the rubble of his destroyed home in Gaza City. Nowhere is safe in the Gaza Strip. The ongoing conflict means that it’s incredibly difficult for UNICEF and partners to move safely across the Gaza Strip and to gain access to children and families in need.…, Logistics, Gaza Strip. People walk past destroyed buildings in the centre of Gaza City. People walk past destroyed buildings in the centre of Gaza City. There aren’t enough trucks and there isn’t enough fuel to operate those that are available. Trucks carrying relief must undergo multiple layers of inspection before entering the Gaza Strip, but the…, Restrictions on commercial goods , Supplies of everyday essentials aren’t getting in to replenish markets. Without the ability to produce or import food, the entire population of Gaza relies on aid to survive. The United Nations, international aid agencies and non-governmental organizations have managed to deliver limited assistance in Gaza, but humanitarian aid alone cannot meet…

The ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has left children reeling. Homes have been destroyed, communities have been shattered and displaced, and access to vital services has been disrupted. Now, the arrival of winter weather – marked by heavy rain, gusting winds, and cooler temperatures – is piling misery upon misery.  Families displaced…

Thousands of children have been killed and thousands more injured across the Gaza Strip. Children are still being held hostage. Their basic rights to life and health are being denied, day after day. The loss and trauma they are experiencing will be borne out for generations to come.   Children bear no responsibility for war, but they suffer its…

Gaza’s children have been left reeling from the violent escalation in conflict in May 2021. Lives have been lost and families shattered, with devastating impacts on children. In Gaza, schools and health facilities have been damaged, homes and offices have been flattened, and entire families have been displaced. In Israel, schools, homes and…