UNICEF swiftly responding to increased aid access in Gaza
On 27 July, UNICEF welcomed the announcement by Israel to implement urgently needed humanitarian pauses to increase access to deliver aid into and across Gaza.
Since the collapse of the ceasefire in March, children have been trapped in a nightmare and deprived of the basics to survive. One out of every three people has not eaten for days and 80 per cent of all reported deaths by starvation are children.
According to the latest IPC Alert, two of the three famine thresholds have now been breached, with widespread food shortages and acute malnutrition among children. The only remaining threshold before famine can be officially declared is starvation-related deaths, which is near impossible to track as the health system has collapsed.
With increased aid access we have an opportunity to reverse this catastrophe and save lives.
On 28 July 2025, Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Executive Director for Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations, greets a child while visiting the Project Hope health and nutrition clinic in Deir al Balah, Central Gaza.
How you can support
If you are seeking ways to support and wish to donate by bank transfer, please use the details below:
| Account Name: | UNICEF Ireland |
| Bank Name: | AIB |
| Bank Address: | 7/12 Dame Street, Dublin 2 |
| Account Number: | 24070037 |
| IBAN: | IE37AIBK93338424070037 |
| BIC: | AIBKIE2D |
Donations by cheque can also be sent by post to:
UNICEF Ireland, 33 Lower Ormond Quay, Dublin 1, D01 R283
You are also welcome to get in touch and a member of our team will be in contact directly.
Philanthropy & Major Gifts
Should you or your family office wish to provide support, please contact Donna Marie O’Donovan, Head of Philanthropy at donna.marie@unicef.ie.
Corporate Partnerships
For businesses, please contact Owen Buckley, Head of Corporate Partnerships at owen@unicef.ie.
Thank you for your support.
Delivering for children in urgent need
UNICEF is responding swiftly to the recent announcement and mobilising urgently to ensure that life-saving aid enters Gaza at the required scale and to bring hope to an exhausted, traumatised population.
- 320,000 children under five are at risk of acute malnutrition—that’s every child in this age group in Gaza.
- In Gaza City, acute malnutrition among young children has quadrupled, now reaching 16.5%—a critical emergency level.
- Thousands of infants lack access to safe water, formula, and therapeutic food.
- In June, 6,500 children were admitted for treatment for malnutrition—the highest figure yet. July is on track to exceed it.
Within hours of the announcement of humanitarian pauses, UNICEF collected supplies of Ready-to-Use Infant Formula and 20,000 vials of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccines from the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem border crossing.
Much more is urgently needed, including further vital nutrition supplies for children suffering life-threatening acute malnutrition. While the aid corridors are open, UNICEF is surging humanitarian aid but increased donor support is essential to fully avail of this critical window.
We know from experience that access can be cut off without warning. We need to urgently stockpile supplies and every delay risks more children’s lives.
A child suffering from malnutrition lies on a bed in the Patient Society Hospital in Gaza City on 29 July 2025.
How is UNICEF helping children in Gaza?
Nutrition:
Distribution of micronutrient supplements to prevent anaemia and nutritional deficiencies. Distribution of high-energy and protein food rations. Malnutrition screening of children and mothers, as well as breastfeeding support for caregivers.
Health:
UNICEF is facilitating immunisation catch up activities to prevent outbreaks.
Distribution of emergency health kits, baby kits, first-aid kits, and the provision of health and medical services such as midwifery care, maternal and child health care.
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH):
Distribution of drinking water, as well as fuel to support the operation of essential water and sanitation facilities, and hygiene kits for families. More than 600,000 people rely on the UNICEF-supported desalination plant in South Gaza for water.
Child protection:
Mental health and psychosocial support for children traumatised by ongoing violence. Support for unaccompanied and separated children to be reunited with their families after becoming separated due to the conflict. Distribution of dignity kits to women and girls, including menstrual hygiene kits.
Social protection:
Multi-purpose cash assistance to help vulnerable people to meet their basic needs, including to support pregnant and breastfeeding women, and children with disabilities.
Education:
Distribution of Early Childhood Development kits and recreational kits to displaced children to support their well-being, life skills, and healing.
UNICEF delivering aid into the Gaza Strip. ©UNICEF
Waad holds her two surviving children, Mohammed, 3, and Ibrahim, 2, on her lap in northern Gaza. Her newborn twins died of malnutrition. Her husband, Masoud, was injured by shelling when he tried to get food for his family at a distribution site in Rafah.
To stay up to date with full details of UNICEF’s humanitarian response, view our regular Situation Reports.
Why UNICEF?
UNICEF has been supporting children and families on the ground in the State of Palestine for decades.
The sheer scale of our infrastructure and long-term development work for children means that we are uniquely positioned to respond rapidly and effectively to these crises.
With a vast global procurement and distribution network, including the largest humanitarian warehouse in the world, UNICEF is equipped to respond rapidly with lifesaving supplies and support.
Sustainable interventions are important because crises are not one-time shocks; their impact can last for years. UNICEF’s humanitarian action takes a cross-sectoral approach that includes health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), child protection, education, psychosocial support.
Non-political and impartial, we are never neutral when it comes to defending children’s rights and safeguarding their lives and futures.
And we never give up.
UNICEF teams have remained on the ground throughout the conflict delivering critical supports for children in Gaza. See UNICEF’s Mid-Year Situation Report for January–June 2025.
UNICEF continues to call for a ceasefire, the unfettered access of humanitarian aid across Gaza, the protection of children, and the release of all hostages so that they can return home to their loved ones.
