Home Gaza's Children 2009
Gaza 2009

The attacks into Gaza by the Israeli Defence Force in December 2008 and January 2009 have exacerbated the crisis faced by Gaza's civilian population. As children make up a disproportionately large part of Gaza's population, they have been especially impacted by this most recent attack. This comes on top of the Israeli blockade of most goods into Gaza for the previous nearly two years, and the 60 year occupation that had already left many of Gaza's children living in refugee camps.

 Our focus in 2009 is to work with Gaza's children. Help us by sponsoring our London to Paris bike ride.

 

What's happening in Gaza?

At Hope and Play, we abhor the denial of human rights from children of all national, ethnic or religious origin. We especially abhor these when man-made, such as through acts of physical or psychological violence. In Gaza, the Israeli government's actions of occupation, blockade, and most recently full military assault without due attention to the civilian population has left the local population facing a humanitarian crisis. As a result of these actions, Gaza's children have been subjected to the following:

  • child deaths, with over 400 to date (210 of them are named here);
  • children traumatised because of the incessant bombardment and because of the horrific sights they are subjected to in terms of death, mutilation and dismemberment;
  • child injuries, including as a direct or indirect result of bombardment and of the Israeli army's use of phosphorous;
  • displacement, as homes are destroyed;
  • deaths of relatives, making many children orphans;
  • unnecessary deaths due to lack of medication for sick children;
  • destruction of the education infrastructure, including schools, colleges, universities and the ministry of education;
  • creation of a sense of hopelessness as children see that their parents are unable to defend them, and that wherever and whatever they do, there is no escape from Israel's bombardments;
  • increased infant mortality as mothers are unable to get to hospitals for delivery.

See our media reports page, which has a rich chronicle of events affecting Gaza's children as reported by the world's press. 

 

What are we doing in Gaza?

We are financing a number of projects in Gaza this year focussing on Gaza's children.

We have just had agreement from a community to take on a playground, which we aim to have built by the end of July. These are preliminary pictures of where the site will be and areas where the children currently play.

We are sponsoring a site in the Gaza children's Summer Games organised by UNRWA. Photos of the site coming.

We will announce more projects here as they are confirmed.