UNICEF Reunites Children Separated From Their Parents in Gaza
The war in Gaza is tearing children away from their parents. UNICEF family tracing services are working to bring loved ones together. More help is needed: Every family separated by this devastating conflict — Palestinian and Israeli — must be reunited.
UNICEF estimates 17,000 children in Gaza are unaccompanied or separated from their parents
Since the start of the war in Gaza, 1.9 million people, including hundreds of thousands of children, have been pushed out of their homes, scattering family networks and leaving children increasingly vulnerable.
Over 14,500 children have reportedly been killed; an estimated 17,000 children have been left unaccompanied or become separated from their parents or the family members who would ordinarily care for them.
UNICEF family tracing teams are working to reunite children with their loved ones. To date, UNICEF has facilitated the reunion of 63 children in Gaza with parents or caregivers.
VIDEO: A tearful reunion in Deir al Balah
Two sisters cut off from their parents by a catastrophic war
Lama, 11, and her sister Sama, 12, lived with their family in northern Gaza before the war began. Bombing attacks forced the family to take shelter in a school, but one day, that building too was bombed.
In the chaos, the girls' mother evacuated with another daughter, assuming Lama and Sama were with their father. He too fled, thinking the sisters were with their mother.
It would be over a year before the girls would see their parents again.
Children's rights must be upheld — every child has the right to a childhood free of violence
Unable to find their parents after the school bombing, Lama and Sama made their way to their grandfather's house, and ended up living with an uncle. Meanwhile, their mother and father were moved to southern Gaza.
A family member heard about UNICEF's family tracing program, and asked for help to locate the girls' mother and father. After significant effort, UNICEF successfully reunited the family at their offices in Deir al Balah, central Gaza. The girls cried out in happiness as they rushed into their mother's arms.
Children don't start wars, but they pay the highest price. Many more children remain separated from their loved ones in Gaza. Every child, everywhere, has the right to be protected and to be with their family.
HOW TO HELP
There are many ways to make a difference
War, famine, poverty, natural disasters — threats to the world's children keep coming. But UNICEF won't stop working to keep children healthy and safe.
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories — more places than any other children's organization. UNICEF has the world's largest humanitarian warehouse and, when disaster strikes, can get supplies almost anywhere within 72 hours. Constantly innovating, always advocating for a better world for children, UNICEF works to ensure that every child can grow up healthy, educated, protected and respected.
Would you like to help give all children the opportunity to reach their full potential? There are many ways to get involved.
