A death sentence for Gaza’s children

Gaza’s children are dying from a lack of clean water. The shortage is forcing desperate parents to give their children dirty seawater to drink. Disease and infection is now spreading fast – cholera, severe diarrhoea, and polio.

In Lebanon too, the shortage of safe water is having a devastating effect. Here, the Gaza crisis has escalated instability, with more than 300,000 children driven from their homes. They too will almost certainly contract life threatening diseases. 

These are all preventable—yet, in Gaza and Lebanon, they are becoming a death sentence.

Thousands of children are at risk. In Gaza, they are drinking from puddles, surrounded by sewage and garbage. The water crisis is killing them. If clean water doesn’t reach them soon, tens of thousands of children will die. They need your help now.

No child should have to live like this. They are finding worms in their water and insects in their tents. They have to scoop sewage into containers from the entrance of their temporary homes. Cases of scabies, lice and skin rashes are rapidly on the rise – causing pain so bad children are unable to walk.

Water and sanitation systems in Gaza are almost non-existent. 9 in every 10 people are internally displaced, crammed into overcrowded areas that are often bombed.

More than 14,000 children have died since the conflict began. But you can help stop the spread of disease, feed starving families and save lives. Every second counts. Please donate today.

Alone, in pain and afraid

“The children refuse to play with me, they are afraid of the rash on my skin” – 8-year-old Ahmad.

Ahmad’s story is typical of Gaza’s children. He has no clean water, no shampoo or soap. As a result, he has contracted a painful skin rash that itches so much he cannot sleep.

The camp where Ahmad and thousands of overs live is surrounded by mountains of rotting rubbish. The streets are awash with raw sewage.

Despite these conditions, and thanks to supporters like you, UNICEF is on the ground, every day, providing thousands of bottles of emergency water and family hygiene kits.

Among those helping is Dara Johnston, a water engineer from Wicklow who works as UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Chief in Palestine.

He has seen first-hand the immediate and desperate dangers children face.

“I can’t imagine how hopeless parents must feel because they can’t keep their children safe from horrible diseases,” he said.

“The fact that Gaza’s water is contaminated with sewage is extremely alarming. It means cholera is a deadly threat.

“There isn’t a minute to lose. If you could spare €150 now, you could help supply clean water and hygiene kits to 23  families like Ahmad’s.”

Bombs and bullets will not stop UNICEF helping the children of Gaza

Delivering essential supplies in Gaza comes with deadly risks: 295 aid workers, including 217 UN staff, have been killed since the conflict began.

But despite these challenges UNICEF staff are getting essential supplies to children whose lives are hanging in the balance. And putting their own lives at risk to do so.

In April, UNICEF Spokesperson Tess Ingram came under fire while delivering vital aid to malnourished children.

Her NGO convoy had to turn back after their car was hit by bullets. But they did not give up.

A few days later they tried again. This time they had an even greater task: the medical evacuation of a seven-year-old girl with severe malnutrition.

Despite the dangers, this time they were successful. Your donation can support missions like this and help aid workers overcome bombs and bullets to save Gaza’s children.

Our teams on the ground in Gaza are working around the clock to reach as many children as possible with vital, life-saving aid. 

Tess Ingram, UNICEF Spokesperson, on a mission to deliver aid to the north of Gaza. 

How you can make a difference right now

Please help children before it’s too late. A gift from you right now can bring a child back from the brink of death. Donate what you can today.

• €100 can supply clean drinking water to help 20 families keep their children safe.

• €150 can provide emergency water and family hygiene kits for 23 families to protect them.

• €250 can provide vital medicine to keep 20 children safe from deadly diseases.

DONATE NOW