Programme Brief: Gaza Strip Unaccompanied and Separated Children
Unaccompanied children are children who have been separated from both parents and other relatives and are not being cared for by an adult who, by law or custom, is responsible for doing so.
Highlights
October 7th events in Israel triggered an unprecedent military response in the Gaza Strip causing high level of civilian casualties, including death, displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Protection risks increased, including the risk related to family separation, with an estimate of 17,000 unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) one year into the armed conflict.
From the outset, UNICEF prioritized child protection concerns, creating a new programme to prevent and respond to children and caregivers separated by the conflict and in need of assistance.
Since the start of the conflict, UNICEF put in place programmatic interventions to prevent family separation, and to identify, assess, and register UASC, in addition to providing suitable alternative care options, family tracing, reunification and reintegration support services. However, identifying, registering, and reunifying separated children has been severely challenged by the lack of access, security constraints and continuous population movements.
