Gaza Ceasefire Must Remain in Place: Children Need Humanitarian Aid Now
More than 600,000 children were vaccinated during the latest round of a mass polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire must resume now to allow UNICEF to continue reaching children with the support they urgently need.
Humanitarian aid is a critical lifeline for children in the Gaza Strip
Despite the cold weather, parents lined up to get their children vaccinated during the third round of a large-scale campaign to protect every child under 10 in the Gaza Strip from polio at the end of February. In just four days, more than 600,000 children were vaccinated against the highly infectious and potentially lethal disease.
It was a moment to celebrate, proof of the impact that dedicated humanitarian aid workers can have on the lives of children caught in a devastating conflict. But days later, as the first phase of a fragile ceasefire came to an end, further humanitarian aid was blocked from entering Gaza.
Aid restrictions announced on March 2 "will severely compromise lifesaving operations for civilians,” warned Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “It is imperative that the ceasefire — a critical lifeline for children — remains in place, and that aid is allowed to flow freely so we can continue to scale up the humanitarian response.”
UNICEF supply deliveries tripled during the first phase of Gaza ceasefire
During the ceasefire's initial phase, UNICEF and its partners were able to bring in more essential supplies and reach more children in need. Between Jan. 19, 2025 and Feb. 28, 2025, nearly 1,000 UNICEF trucks with lifesaving aid crossed into the territory, bringing clean water, medical supplies, vaccines, therapeutic food and other lifesaving materials — a more than three-fold increase in delivery of UNICEF supplies over the previous six-week period.
Since the start of the ceasefire, UNICEF and our partners have been working on the ground to scale up the humanitarian response. This includes:
- Providing warm clothing to 150,000 children and 245,000 tarpaulins for 70,000 families
- Reaching over 25,000 people with essential medical care
- Increasing water distribution for nearly 500,000 people daily in more remote areas, and repaired water infrastructure, including critical desalination plants
- Treating more than 2,600 children suffering from acute malnutrition
- Providing humanitarian cash assistance to over 195,000 people, including at least 100,000 children
Conditions remain extremely dire
Despite the increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza, conditions for children remain extremely dire. Seven newborn babies reportedly died from hypothermia over the past week because they lacked access to sufficiently warm clothes and blankets, shelter or medical care. These heartbreaking, preventable deaths serve as a stark reminder that more aid is desperately needed.
After more than 15 months of continuous bombardment, deaths, injuries and displacement, children and families across Gaza are struggling to survive without adequate food, medicine or shelter. And with 19 out of 35 hospitals only partially functioning, the health system has been stretched far beyond its limits.
VIDEO: The ceasefire allowed polio vaccinators to reach children living in previously inaccessible areas
The recent success of the emergency polio vaccination campaign, implemented by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners, offers a ray of hope for children and their parents in Gaza, where water and sanitation systems remain severely damaged and many children missed their routine vaccinations during the conflict, setting the stage for a massive public health crisis.
In July 2024, the poliovirus was detected in environmental samples from Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. A month later, an unvaccinated 10-month-old child was partially paralyzed by polio, marking the end of 25 polio-free years in Gaza.
Earlier back-to-back vaccination rounds conducted in September and October 2024 reached hundreds of thousands of children, achieving over 95 percent coverage, but some children remained inaccessible in areas of central, north and south Gaza that required special coordination to enter during the conflict. No additional cases have been reported since August 2024, but sewage water samples collected in December 2024 and January 2025 confirmed ongoing poliovirus transmission.
Related: UNICEF helps vaccinate over 400 million of the world's children against polio every year
More funding is needed to address the needs of children in the Gaza Strip
UNICEF's annual Humanitarian Action for Children appeal addressing the needs of children across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank showed a funding shortfall of $88.2 million (17 percent) at the end of 2024. In order to continue to provide lifesaving assistance to children and their families in 2025, UNICEF estimates that $716.5 million in funding will be needed.
Learn more about UNICEF's ongoing response for children in the Gaza Strip.
Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.
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.
