Children in Gaza need life-saving support
UNICEF continues to work with partners to provide assistance to children and their families.
The war in the Gaza Strip has taken an unconscionable toll on children. At least 63,000 have been reported killed or injured, with more on the brink of starvation. Over half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine as food, water and medical aid remain held from reach. No child will emerge from the horrors of war without the imprint of trauma.
UNICEF continues to run emergency operations in Gaza. But only with safe, unrestricted movement throughout the Strip can frontline workers get meaningful relief into children’s hands. Full humanitarian access and an immediate ceasefire are the only lifelines left.
What UNICEF is doing | What we are calling for | News and updates
How UNICEF is supporting children in Gaza
Since the start of this war, UNICEF staff have remained on the ground, working with partners to provide safe drinking water to displaced families, treatment for severely malnourished children, and medical supplies and vaccines for children in camps and shelters.
But only a sustained ceasefire and an end to aid blockages allow us to surge critical aid to the one million children living beyond the means of survival.
During the brief ceasefire in early 2025, UNICEF delivered essential supplies and services through more than 400 distribution points. Today, we’re active in the following areas of response, where and when access is possible. For the most up-to-date information, see our Situation Reports.
Immunization
UNICEF remains the leading provider of all vaccines for children and women throughout the Gaza Strip, including for polio, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B and more. As infectious diseases continue to rage, we’re prioritizing vaccination to keep children safe from life-threatening disease outbreaks and facilitate the roll-out of other critical services.
Already, UNICEF and implementing partners have reached around 94 per cent of targeted children with both doses of the polio vaccine. Our immunization campaigns also bring essential nutrition supplies to children in need.
Nutrition
The lead agency in Gaza working to prevent and treat malnutrition in children, UNICEF continues to deliver critical nutrition services. But relentless conflict, the collapse of essential services, and severe limitations on the delivery and distribution of humanitarian assistance have led to catastrophic conditions for hundreds of thousands of people across the Strip. More than half a million people are already trapped in famine as widespread starvation, destitution and preventable deaths spread.
Health
With over 80 per cent of health facilities in the Gaza Strip damaged or destroyed, UNICEF will continue to help hospitals protect pregnant women and newborns from medical complications and infections, especially in neonatal units. We’re delivering incubators for newborns, medical kits for midwives and other emergency supplies.
In coordination with partners, UNICEF also continues to press for the medical evacuation of sick and injured children.
Water and sanitation
UNICEF will continue to play a key role in sustaining water production in Gaza after the crippling of two thirds of water and sanitation infrastructure has left children starving, dehydrated and fatally ill from infectious disease. We’ve helped repair water facilities; distributed water treatment chemicals; and delivered millions of litres of fuel for wells, desalination plants and generators.
Family reunification
UNICEF works with partners to identify, protect and find solutions for forcibly displaced children, especially in the face of new displacement orders and shrinking spaces for civilians and humanitarian operations across the Gaza Strip.
Humanitarian cash transfers
UNICEF is providing more humanitarian cash transfers than any other organization in Gaza. We’re supporting vulnerable groups – including female-headed households, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and families of children with disabilities – with cash assistance that allows them to buy food, water and hygiene kits still available in markets.
Mental health support
UNICEF is providing basic mental health and psychosocial services in camps and shelters to give children space to play and seek comfort in one another. These activities can bring a glimmer of relief to parents aching to see their children at ease.
Education
All formal schools remain closed to in-person education, leaving over half a million children without access to formal education for more than a year. Despite efforts to establish temporary learning spaces during the ceasefire of early 2025, renewed fighting disrupted all attempts to resume educational activities.
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What is UNICEF calling for?
- The ceasefire must be reinstated and sustained. All hostages must be released and reunited with their families. International humanitarian law must be respected.
- Safe and unrestricted humanitarian access throughout the Gaza Strip for the flow of all necessary aid, through all reliable entry points, at scale and in a timely manner. This includes taking steps to address the security environment. The safe movement of humanitarian workers and supplies across the Gaza Strip must be guaranteed, and reliable telecommunications networks made available to coordinate response efforts.
- Respect and protection for the civilian infrastructure that children depend on, such as schools, hospitals, and water and sanitation infrastructure. The protection of Gaza’s remaining functional civilian infrastructure is critical to prevent further loss of life and provide care to the sick and wounded.
- Immediate medical evacuation for injured and sick children, in accompaniment with their family members, and for all with urgent medical needs to safely access critical health services or be allowed to leave.
- Protection for people on the move. Children and their families must be allowed to move freely and should not be forced to relocate.
- A lasting political resolution that prioritizes the rights and well-being of this and future generations of children.
Is UNICEF operational in Israel?
In high-income countries such as Israel, Governments generally have adequate capacity to respond to emergencies. Upon request from the Government, UNICEF can extend support, such as mental health and psychosocial support for children.
In over 30 countries where UNICEF does not perform programmatic activities, National Committees for UNICEF serve as our dedicated voice, helping to raise funds for UNICEF’s work worldwide, to promote children’s rights, and to lift visibility for children threatened by poverty, disasters, armed conflict, abuse and exploitation. The Israeli Fund for UNICEF was established in 2009 to raise awareness of children’s rights in Israel and fundraise for UNICEF’s life-saving work across the world.
*Updated 3 October 2025
