Gaza Crisis Press Room
The “Gaza Crisis” Press Room is a dedicated site to keep track of UNICEF’s response in Gaza and the West Bank through press releases and video stories.
For more information or to organise interviews, please contact UNICEF's communications team.
News stories
UNICEF receives RM250,000 from the Humanitarian Fund for the Palestinian People
KUALA LUMPUR, 19 March 2009 – UNICEF received RM250,000 (US$ 68,681) to help further its efforts for children in Gaza, as part of the contributions made by Malaysians to the Humanitarian Fund for the Palestinian People.
Pos Malaysia to help children send goodwill messages to Gaza’s children
KUALA LUMPUR, 12 March 2009 – “To My Friend in Gaza” will benefit from a new partner, Pos Malaysia who has set-up a PO Box address to help children in Malaysia send messages of hope, love and peace to children in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Rotary Club of Malaysia donates RM 20,000 to UNICEF in support of children in Gaza
KUALA LUMPUR, 11 March 2009 – Over 1,800 members of Rotary Club Malaysia’s District 3300 have joined forces to raise a total of RM20, 000 to support UNICEF’s relief efforts in aid of the children in Gaza.
Malaysian Prime Minister launches fund for children in Gaza
PUTRAJAYA, 26 February 2009 - Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has launched a humanitarian fund to support actions by UNICEF for children and their families who survived the recent conflict in Gaza.
Regional Goodwill Ambassador Mahmoud Kabil lends support to hospital serving Gaza
GAZA STRIP, 17 February 2009 – Egyptian actor and UNICEF Regional Goodwill Ambassador for the Middle East and North Africa Mahmoud Kabil paid a special visit last week to El-Arish hospital in Egypt, near the Rafah border crossing to Gaza.
UNICEF seeks $34.5 million to address urgent recovery needs for children and families in Gaza
AMMAN/GENEVA, 3 February 2009 – UNICEF is seeking US$ 34.5 million to address urgent recovery needs for children and their families in Gaza. The request forms part of the UN appeal for US$ 613 million to cover needs for over a nine-month period.
“Make a difference for the children and the world”
KUALA LUMPUR, 29 January 2009 – Nine-year old Dhanya Ashley avidly raised her hand, resolute that her young voice will be heard. She had a simple message for leaders who were determined to bring peace to the battered Gaza Strip.
UNICEF provides educational supplies and safe spaces for children in Gaza
NEW YORK, 26 January 2009 – With the return of hundreds of thousands of children to school in Gaza, UNICEF is providing essential educational equipment and materials to re-establish learning and recreational activities.
UNICEF rehabilitating learning centres for adolescents in Gaza
JERUSALEM, 23 January 2009 – The recent and extreme levels of conflict in Gaza have affected the lives of 840,000 children and young people. Many have lost their schools, health facilities, play areas and even neighbourhoods.
Displaced families in Gaza face public health crisis
NEW YORK, 23 January 2009 – While the fighting in Gaza has stopped, tens of thousands of Palestinians remain in United Nations Relief and Works Agency emergency shelters. Thousands of others who fled their homes remain with friends or relatives.
‘Everything is destroyed’: Siblings describe destruction of their school in Gaza
NEW YORK, 22 January 2009 – When Gaza’s schools reopen in the coming days, Maram, 12, does not know where she’ll go. “I want to see what happened to my school,” she said in a telephone interview with UNICEF Radio.
As early recovery work begins, the toll of conflict on Gaza’s children is clear
NEW YORK, 21 January 2009 – Amira, 15, is a survivor. After her two siblings and father were killed during the conflict in the Gaza Strip, she crawled from her family’s home and was found three days later in a neighbour’s house.
Malaysian children to lend support to children in Gaza
KUALA LUMPUR, 21 January 2009 – Malaysian children are invited to lend their support to children in Gaza through a project called ‘To My Friend in Gaza’ that was launched today.
Ceasefire holds in Gaza: ‘It’s a hopeful day’
NEW YORK, 19 January 2009 – UNICEF is moving swiftly to deliver supplies and support to children after a ceasefire was declared on Saturday following three weeks of conflict.
MEDIA ADVISORY: "To My Friend in Gaza” invites children to send messages of love and hope to children in Gaza
KUALA LUMPUR, 19 January 2009 - The humanitarian crisis due to the recent violence in Gaza is hitting children and women most. Over 800,000 children have been exposed to extraordinary levels of violence, some 1,600 have been injured and more than 400 children have died.
Fighting halts in Gaza but humanitarian challenges remain
NEW YORK, 18 January 2009 – UNICEF emergency supplies are ready to go into the Gaza Strip now that a ceasefire has been declared.
UNICEF: In Gaza, nearly one-third of fatalities are children; massive destruction of homes, schools and health facilities
NEW YORK, 16 January 2009 - After three weeks of fighting, OCHA reports that nearly one-third of those killed in the Gaza Strip – some 340 – were children, and that 1600 more children have been moderately to severely injured.
‘We didn’t sleep at all’ – Gaza aid worker evacuates home
NEW YORK, 16 January 2009 – Shelling and bombing continued in the Gaza Strip yesterday, impeding movement into and within the territory and further damaging infrastructure and public utilities.
UNICEF aid for Gaza arriving, despite challenges
GENEVA, 15 January 2009 - The humanitarian operation in Gaza has been dealt a blow by the strike today that devastated warehouses in the United Nations compound and destroyed essential emergency goods and products.
Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza
JOHANNESBURG, 14 January 2009 – Over 300 children have been killed and more than 1,500 wounded, since the beginning of the Gaza crisis on 27 December, 2008. Each day more children are being hurt, their small bodies wounded, their young lives shattered.
‘We cannot wait’ – Gaza aid worker’s wife about to give birth amidst crisis
NEW YORK, 14 January 2009 – The conflict in the Gaza Strip holds special terror for Sajy, one of 10 UNICEF staff members who have persevered in the territory throughout the current crisis. His wife is due to give birth any day.
‘I wish the war would end’ – Gaza’s children pay psychological cost of conflict
NEW YORK, 12 January 2009 – The children of Gaza have three hours a day in which it’s safe, at least in theory, to go out. The humanitarian ceasefire does not always hold, but it provides a measure of relief for those who need to find food and water.
UNICEF Project Officer and mother of three copes with Gaza crisis
NEW YORK, 12 January 2009 – Ten UNICEF staff have remained in Gaza, working under very difficult conditions to bring some relief to children in need. One of those workers, Reem, is a Project Officer with the UNICEF child protection team.
Young Malaysian rugby players donate RM 1,000 to UNICEF for children in Gaza
ARAU Perlis, 12 January 2009 – Malaysian children and young rugby players involved in the “Save the Children of Gaza” humanitarian program rallied together recently to raise RM 1,000 for children and women in Gaza.
UNICEF staff perseveres under difficult and dangerous conditions in Gaza
NEW YORK, 10 January 2009 – UNICEF has 10,000 staff working around the world in a wide range of environments, including conflicts such as the one now under way in the Gaza Strip. Ten stalwart UNICEF staff members have remained in Gaza.
UNICEF delivers emergency supplies for children and families in Gaza
NEW YORK, 11 January 2009 – As the conflict in the Gaza Strip escalates into deeper ground incursions, UNICEF is appealing for US$ 16 million in new funding to provide families and children with emergency supplies.
UNICEF: Number of child casualties still rising in Gaza
JERUSALEM/NEW YORK, 9 January 2009 - The number of children being killed and injured in the fighting in Gaza continues to climb and the humanitarian situation is becoming more desperate every day.
UNICEF mobilises emergency supplies for children at risk in Gaza
AMMAN, 9 January 2009 – As the conflict in the Gaza Strip continues into its third week, UNICEF teams are working to ensure that critical supplies are ready to reach women and children at risk.
Security Council calls for immediate, durable, fully respected ceasefire in Gaza leading to full withdrawal of Israeli forces
NEW YORK, 8 January 2009 – The United Nations Security Council tonight overwhelmingly called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza leading to a full Israeli withdrawal, the unimpeded provision throughout Gaza of food, fuel and medical treatment.
As UN aid operations are suspended, a Gaza teenager describes life amidst conflict
NEW YORK, 8 January 2009 – As fighting in the Gaza Strip continued into its 13th day today, UN humanitarian assistance in the territory was suspended for an indefinite period because of the danger facing aid workers there.
Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman regarding the humanitarian operation in Gaza
NEW YORK, 8 January 2009 - “UNICEF is deeply concerned that the ongoing violence has forced UNRWA to suspend its humanitarian operation in Gaza ...."
UNICEF: During short ceasefire, some life-saving supplies delivered in Gaza
AMMAN, 7 January 2009 – A three-hour ceasefire today provided a limited opportunity for UNICEF to release some life-saving supplies for delivery to families in Gaza, including 560 family water kits and 5 health kits.
Palestinian families endure 11 days of conflict in Gaza
NEW YORK, 6 January 2009 – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza to enable humanitarian agencies to deliver aid to the thousands of civilians flooding into hospitals and clinics in the territory.
UNICEF’s Eminent Advocate, Queen Rania, speaks out on Gaza crisis
AMMAN, 5 January 2009 – Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah made an urgent plea on behalf of all the civilians living in Gaza for a “humanitarian ceasefire” and for the international community to do all it can to help alleviate the suffering.
UNICEF delivers supplies for children suffering as a result of critical shortages of food, fuel and medicine in Gaza
AMMAN/JORDAN, 5 January 2009 - In an effort to reduce the suffering faced by children in Gaza, UNICEF is delivering urgent supplies of food, fuel and medicine to Gaza hospitals.
Life in the midst of Gaza conflict, through the eyes of a Palestinian teenager
NEW YORK, 5 January 2009 – Ten days of aerial bombing on Gaza has caused extensive devastation throughout the territory and is threatening the health and welfare of many children.
Commit to a ceasefire to protect the children
NEW YORK, 31 December 2008 – Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, calls on all parties to commit to an immediate ceasefire.
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For more information, please contact:
Patrick McCormick
UNICEF New York
Tel: 1 212 326 7426
Email: pmccormick@unicef.org
Abdel-Rahman Ghandour
Regional Chief of Communication
UNICEF Middle East & North Africa Region
Tel: +9626 550 2407, HP: +96279 700 4567
Email: arghandour@unicef.org
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