Photography: © Save the Children - Jon Bugge

What’s happening in Gaza

The recent offensive in Gaza has left 1,342 people dead, of which 318 are children, and injured over 4,000 people, including over 860 children1. Families are in desperate need of food, water and healthcare, as well as psychosocial support to overcome the traumatic events they have witnessed.

Even before the air strikes started in December 2008, tens of thousands of children in Gaza were facing a humanitarian crisis, with limited access to food, water, healthcare, education, electricity or sanitation facilities. Over 1.2 million people from a population of 1.5 million were already dependent on food aid before the most recent military offensive, leaving hundreds of thousands of children at risk of becoming malnourished as families struggle to survive on what little food they have left2.

Access to clean drinking water is extremely scarce, 50,000 people are without any running water and a further 100,000 receive running water only every 7-10 days3. The bombing has severely damaged or destroyed thousands of homes4 and left houses with their windows blown out – as a result, families are exposed to the bitter winter cold and children are vulnerable to illness. With medical equipment in very short supply, some children and their families are unable to access life-saving care – children under 5 and pregnant and lactating mothers are especially vulnerable.

Save the Children is there

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