Without their parents to care for them, they are at greater risk of malnutrition and injury.
And they suffer the daily pain and trauma of being without the love they so desperately need.
UNICEF is working to bring these children back to their parents now through our family tracing programme.
These are the words of Abdullah, whose baby boy Mohammad was only 9-months-old when he held him for the first time.
Abdullah was separated from his pregnant wife and three children after they were forced to evacuate. Tragically, his wife and one of his sons were later killed amid the devastating war. His children that survived – one a tiny infant he had never held – were now without their parents in a war zone.
But through exhaustive work, and the support of our donors, UNICEF was able to trace them.
“Nine months have passed, and every day felt like nine years,” Abdullah said as he awaited the UNICEF convoy that would reunite him with his children. “I have been waiting for them patiently, wishing that I could hug them,.”
When his children were finally brought back to him, Abdullah broke down in tears as he rushed to hold his baby for the first time.
“This is the first time I hug you, hold you. You are my everything,” he said.
Thousands of other parents like Abdullah are still missing their children in Gaza, unsure if they are injured or even still alive. UNICEF’s family tracing team are urgently working to reunite these families now.
Lama, 11, and Sama, 12, were living with their family in northern Gaza when the bombings began, forcing them to seek refuge in a school.
But soon their temporary refuge was also attacked. In the chaos that followed, the family were separated. Their mother fled to southern Gaza with one child, assuming the girls were with their father. At the same time, their father fled thinking they were with their mother.
Left behind and frightened, Sama and Lama found their way to their grandfather’s home. But when he was displaced to the south, the girls were forced to move again. For over a year, they lived apart from their parents.
But when relatives learned about UNICEF’s family reunification programme, they reached out for help.
After months of effort, Lama and Sama were finally reunited with their parents. “Mama,” they cried as they ran towards her, finally back in her loving arms.
Nour was devastated when she was told her two daughters, Suad, 12, and Sewar, 10, had been killed in an airstrike with their father. She lived in the south, and her children in the north. Her worst fears since the war began had been realised - her children had died and she was not there to save them.
But miraculously, Suad and Sewar had survived. Sewar, despite injury, rescued her sister, guiding the fire department to where Suad had been trapped under rubble for over two hours.
When Nour discovered her daughters were still alive, she reached out to UNICEF. Through the family tracing programme, the children were found and Nour was reunited with them at last.
They now live in a tent in very challenging circumstances. But they are together again.
Yahya was born prematurely in Gaza amid the deadly war. Fragile and in need of care, he was transferred to a different hospital for neo-natal treatment.
But before he could recover, fighting erupted around the clinic, forcing his evacuation. His parents, trapped in the north, were unable to follow.
Separated from his family, Yahya was kept safe by being placed in temporary care through the efforts of UNICEF. Months passed as his parents endured the agony of not knowing when, or if, they would see their son again.
Bringing him back to his father was a challenging, complex operation, amid warfare and tight restrictions on movement through Gaza. But the family tracing team would not give up. After months delays, Yahya was finally reunited with his family. He was one of seven children from four families brought back together in a rare, joyful moment amid the devastation in Gaza.
Can you help reunite children with their parents?
So far more than 60 unaccompanied and separated children have been reunited with their parents through UNICEF’s programme. But many more remain separated, desperate to be back with their families. Thanks to UNICEF’s supporters, we can continue to work tirelessly to try and bring them home.
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