State of Palestine Appeal
Humanitarian Action for Children
UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children appeal helps support the agency’s work as it provides conflict- and disaster-affected children with access to water, sanitation, nutrition, education, health and protection services. Return to main appeal page.
State of Palestine snapshot
Appeal highlights
- Nearly 2 million Palestinians have been displaced and over 36,000 people have been killed since 7 October 2023 including 14,100 children. There are famine-like conditions in the north of the Gaza Strip.
- As many as 3.3 million people, including 1.7 million children, are in need across the State of Palestine.
- Children in the Gaza Strip are displaced, often multiple times, at risk of being killed or maimed, and remain out of school. Acute threats to children include malnutrition, disease, access to safe water, sanitation, and mental health.
- UNICEF is responding at scale in the Gaza Strip with WASH, Nutrition, Health, Child Protection and Multi-Purpose Cash, while preparing for return to learning for children.
- In the West Bank, UNICEF is responding to the deteriorating situation, increased displacements and the impact of grave child rights violations including the killing and maiming of children.
- UNICEF requires US$ 526.1 million for 2024 to provide access to basic services, prevention and treatment of child malnutrition and child illnesses through nutrition, health and WASH interventions; provision of child protection services while restoring learning; and meeting families’ basic needs through humanitarian cash transfers.
![A child's middle-upper-arm-circumference is measured](/sites/default/files/styles/media_large_image/public/2024-HAC-State%20of%20Palestine-revised-June.webp?itok=x7Ur42-p)
Key planned results for 2024
![Health icon](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/styles/crop_thumbnail/public/HAC-icon-health.png.webp?itok=p38PfoVj)
1.5 million people supported through UNICEF-delivered medical supplies
![Nutrition icon](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/styles/crop_thumbnail/public/HAC-icon-nutrition.png.webp?itok=TQuEnOK_)
55,650 children 6-59 months with wasting admitted for treatment
![Child protection icon](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/styles/crop_thumbnail/public/HAC-icon-child-protection.png.webp?itok=SKxcxFvK)
480,000 children provided with explosive weapons prevention and/or survivor assistance
![Wash icon](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/styles/crop_thumbnail/public/HAC-icon-wash.png.webp?itok=I2B9zCyR)
2.1 million people accessing a sufficient quantity and quality of water
Funding requirements for 2024
Country needs and strategy
Humanitarian needs
![Humanitarian needs](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/styles/crop_thumbnail/public/Country%20needs%20and%20strategy_Icon_8%20copy.png.webp?itok=b_UvWuCx)
As of 29 May 2024, over 36,000 Palestinians are reported killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of hostilities. Up to 70 per cent are reported to be women (9,200) and children (14,100) by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. It is estimated that almost 1 million people are internally displaced in the Gaza Strip. This is over 75 per cent of the population and many people are displaced multiple times.
UNICEF estimates that almost all of Gaza’s 1.2 million children need mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), with particular concerns for children who are exposed to repeated traumatic events, have been maimed, have lost parents and close family members, and children with disabilities.
In March 2024, the Famine Review Committee of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) found that famine is imminent in the North Gaza and Gaza Governorates. The nutrition cluster estimated 50,400 children under five years suffer from acute malnutrition. Disease and lack of access to safe water and sanitation is affecting children’s nutritional status. Additionally, only two per cent of children are reaching the minimum threshold for dietary diversity, which remains extremely worrying.
As of May 2024, 60 percent of WASH facilities have been destroyed or severely damaged heightening water shortages and limiting access to sanitation. This increases the risk of waterborne disease while only 31 percent of hospitals remain even partially functional. 86 percent of all schools in the Gaza Strip are damaged or destroyed and 625,000 children are out of school for more than six months in the Gaza Strip. Their schools are used as shelters, or have been damaged or destroyed.
Since 7 October 2023, at least 480 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank. At least 126 Palestinian children and two Israeli children are reported killed in conflict-related violence in the same time period. 3,300 Palestinians, including more than 1,500 children, have been displaced due to settler violence, access restrictions, home demolitions, and destruction of residences during military law enforcement operations.
Israeli authorities report that approximately 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed, mostly in the attacks of 7 October 2023 and more than 7,500 people are reported injured. At least 37 children have been reported killed in Israel. Some 255 people including 36 children were abducted from Israel into the Gaza Strip, of whom 131 were released including 34 children, with very limited information available on the children remaining in captivity.
UNICEF’s strategy
![UNICEF's strategy](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/styles/crop_thumbnail/public/Country%20needs%20and%20strategy_Icon_8%20copy%202.png.webp?itok=mP8jv5yD)
UNICEF is responding to the most critical and immediate needs of children in the Gaza Strip including malnutrition, access to safe drinking water and sanitation, maternal and child health services, and vaccination. Whenever possible UNICEF is supporting restoration of essential basic services. UNICEF is continually adapting its response to address acute needs created by new displacements, public health emergencies, and acute food insecurity.
Given high levels of psychosocial distress due to cumulative exposure to violence, UNICEF is scaling up mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) and other child protection services. Services include alternative care for unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) and awareness raising on explosive ordinance risk education (EORE) through a child-centred approach together with education and the resumption of learning.
UNICEF also supports vulnerable people to meet their basic needs including through multi-purpose cash assistance; sectoral top-ups for pregnant and breastfeeding women, and children with disabilities; as well as incentive payments for front-line workers.
In the West Bank, UNICEF supports health services including through pre-positioning health supplies and supporting services to prevent malnutrition. Child protection services including case management, the provision of MHPSS and legal services for children are being provided to vulnerable children. UNICEF will support a package of return to learning for most vulnerable locations, including integrating child protection and WASH interventions.
Gender and disability inclusiveness are mainstreamed across all programmes, while targeted interventions focus on gender-based violence risk mitigation and addressing the special needs of children with disabilities. UNICEF will partner with Women-led Organizations and Organizations of Persons with Disabilities.
UNICEF is an active member of the UN Country Team and the Humanitarian Country Team and closely coordinates with other organizations and local partners. UNICEF leads coordination of the WASH and Nutrition Clusters and co-leads the Education Cluster. Within the Protection Cluster, UNICEF leads the Child Protection Area of Responsibility as well as the Technical Working Group on Unaccompanied and Separated Children (UASC). UNICEF also participates in the explosive ordinance risk education (EORE) Working Group under the Mine Action AoR and the Legal Task Force under the Protection cluster. UNICEF is part of the Health Cluster, the Inter-Cluster Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Technical Working Group, as well as of the Rehabilitation Taskforce under the Health Cluster. UNICEF co-leads the technical working group on Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) and supports the Inter-Agency Network for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) and participates in the Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) Working Group. UNICEF continues to engage in key recovery activities including the Rapid Damage Needs Assessment.
Programme targets
Find out more about UNICEF's work
Highlights
Humanitarian Action is at the core of UNICEF’s mandate to realize the rights of every child. This edition of Humanitarian Action for Children – UNICEF’s annual humanitarian fundraising appeal – describes the ongoing crises affecting children in the State of Palestine; the strategies that we are using to respond to these situations; and the donor support that is essential in this response.
![Document cover](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/publication/cover_image/2024-HA-State%20of%20Palestine-2024-revised-June-cover.webp?itok=ED1fdQlW)