![A boy walks thoughtfully as he inspects the rubble of destroyed houses in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. A boy walks thoughtfully as he inspects the rubble of destroyed houses in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Collections/Embargoed/11-12-2023-UNICEF-Gaza-03.jpg/image770x420cropped.jpg)
Children account for around half of the almost two million Gazans who have been forced to leave their homes and search for shelter elsewhere in the Strip, since Israel’s current military operation began. The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, estimates that around 17,000 have been orphaned.
UNICEF spokesperson, Jonathan Crickx, visited Gaza in early February. Most of the children he met or spoke to had lost a family member.
© UNICEF/Eyad El Baba
![Children play in a classroom at a shelter located in Rafah city. Children play in a classroom at a shelter located in Rafah city.](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Collections/Embargoed/05-02-2024_UNICEF_Gaza-05.jpg/image770x420cropped.jpg)
“Not a single child, whatever the religion, the nationality, the language, the race, should ever be exposed to the level of violence seen on the 7th of October, or to the level of violence that we have witnessed since then”. Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF Head of Communications for UNICEF in Palestine.
© UNICEF/Eyad El Baba