Here you will find regular updates on the current situation in the Gaza Strip and on our aid efforts in Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. We are working in all affected areas to protect the lives of children and their families.
Last update: 11 December 2024
Last weekend’s developments could mark a new beginning for Syria. However, stability and security in the lives of children will not come quickly. Recent reports show this: In the last few days, nearly one million people have been displaced by the conflict, half of them are children.
At the same time, many people are returning to Syria with hope in their hearts. But the country has been ravaged by violence for 13 years. Even before the devastating earthquake in February, more than 15.3 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance – including seven million children. That is why the children need our support now. For a future of safety and peace.
While recent developments in Syria offer a glimmer of hope, fighting continues in Gaza.
Our teams are on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt to provide life-saving assistance, protection and support to affected families.
Since 2012, Save the Children has been working tirelessly to help children in Syria. Together with local partners, we provide life-saving medical assistance, distribute food and cash assistance, and provide clean water. We also offer access to safe learning opportunities and child-friendly spaces to play.
After two months of intense violence, there is hope at the end of November: a temporary ceasefire comes into effect between Israel and Hezbollah.
However, the situation remains bleak. More than 240 children have been killed during the fighting, over 400,000 children have been displaced from their homes, and approximately 1,400 children have been injured.
Many families are still struggling to survive – with insufficient food, clean water or medical care.
We have been active in Lebanon since 1953 and have greatly expanded our work there since October 2023. So far, we have reached more than 150,000 people, including almost 63,000 children. We offer safe spaces to play, psychological support and emergency assistance. We also provide families with cash, food and hygiene kits, and we repair water systems and help cover basic needs.
Save the Children has been supporting the welfare of Palestinian children for decades and has had a permanent presence in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1973. Since October 2023, we have significantly increased our aid efforts in Gaza. There are currently 92 aid workers actively operating in the Gaza Strip. Our work is supported by 11 active partner organisations in the Gaza Strip.Our measures at a glance:
Healthcare
Save the Children’s Emergency Health Unit (EHU) has been operational in the Gaza Strip since the end of March 2024, working with the WHO as part of the Emergency Medical Team system. To date, almost 20,000 patient consultations have been carried out and more than 466 health workers have been trained to improve local healthcare under extremely difficult conditions.
At our partner field hospital in Al-Mawasi, we offer maternal and neonatal care and have provided over 3,100 consultations and assisted in 119 births since April. Since May, the primary care clinic in Deir Al-Balah has treated 15,600 patients, who are predominantly children. In addition, our team supports vaccination programmes in the region and immunised over 3,000 children against polio during a three-day ceasefire in September.
Nutrition and hygiene
We distribute aid supplies to affected families in emergency shelters and households. These supplies include food, drinking water, hygiene products, plus educational and play resources. We provide support in the form of health and hygiene training to protect the health of families and children. Together with our partners, we also ensure that sanitary facilities are available and fit for purpose within accommodation to minimise the spread of disease.
Psychosocial support
We provide psychosocial support through programmes specifically designed for children and their families. This includes child-friendly spaces where children can play, learn and process their experiences in a safe environment. We also offer specialised services for severely traumatised children and their families.
Education
We work to provide learning opportunities for children by distributing educational and play resources and by promoting educational activities in safe environments. As soon as the security situation permits, we will collaborate with our partners to restore regular educational opportunities in the Gaza Strip.
Emergency aid
We are providing financial assistance to families to help them purchase essential goods such as food, water and medical supplies. We are extending these cash payments to ensure they reach the households most affected and to help secure their livelihoods.
Despite the challenging conditions, Save the Children continues to operate in the Gaza Strip, collaborating with local partners. Our work is only possible thanks to generous donations and support. So far, we have been able to support over 680,000 people, including many children.
One year after the outbreak of the war, humanitarian aid is still unable to reach those in need due to the severe restrictions. Despite the partial opening and closing of the border crossings, the amount of aid that actually reaches Gaza is still far too little. Hundreds of lorries are stuck in Egypt as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens. Stable and secure land routes are urgently needed to ensure that enough aid reaches the population.
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is desperate. Save the Children calls for an immediate ceasefire to protect the lives and future of children in the Gaza Strip.
13 years of war and displacement, as well as the devastating earthquake in February 2023, have dramatically worsened the situation in Syria. 80% of the population are dependent on humanitarian aid and hunger is an ever-present reality. The escalation of violence in the Middle East is making the situation in the country even worse. Since the Israeli air strikes on Lebanon began, around 60,000 children have fled from Lebanon to Syria in the past few days. Many are suffering from dehydration and exhaustion. The border crossings are particularly crowded with children, women and people with disabilities waiting to enter Syria. There are also reports of air strikes in rural areas of Damascus and Homs.
Save the Children has been on the ground in Syria since 2011. We support children and their families with the help of local partner organisations that are active in various regions of Syria and are often working under dangerous conditions.
Since the escalation of violence in the Middle East, there has been a sharp increase in the number of killed and injured Palestinian children in the West Bank. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 158 children were killed and 1,400 more were injured there between 7 October 2023 and 14 August 2024. This is an average of five per day and more than twice as many as in the previous ten months. Furthermore, since October last year, there has been an increase in the West Bank in the arbitrary arrest, detention and mistreatment of children in the Israeli military detention system. Families have also been displaced as their homes have been destroyed and there has been a sharp rise in violent attacks by Israeli settlers.
We provide financial support for families, educational programmes for children, teachers and caregivers, and psychological and psychosocial support in collaboration with partner organisations.
While aid in the Gaza Strip remains limited, Save the Children is working intensively with refugee children in neighbouring Egypt to help them come to terms with their experiences of war. Our measures at a glance:
Psychosocial support
Save the Children offers group and individual counselling for children and their families to help them cope with trauma and stress. We also train Egyptian ambulance staff and volunteers in how to support frightened and traumatised children and create a safe environment in which children can recover physically and psychologically. They must not only heal their physical injuries but also restore their sense of stability and security.
Supply of medicines
We provide families with cash to cover treatment costs. We also equip ambulances and hospitals with vital medical equipment such as baby incubators. We also train medical staff to treat explosion injuries in children.
Our key demands are clear and urgent:
1) an immediate and definitive ceasefire #CeasefireNOW; and
2) safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid.
We call on the international community to act immediately to protect the lives and future of children. An immediate and definitive ceasefire and safe access for humanitarian aid are essential to prevent further suffering.
Your donation will be used for all of our activities and deployed where disadvantaged children need it the most.