5-minute Guide to Gaza

Caught in the conflict between Israel and Hamas are the families of Gaza. Here is a quick summary of the challenges faced by many Gazan children and their families.

Minute 1: Gaza’s History

The Gaza Strip is a sliver of towns, villages and farmland at the southeast end of the Mediterranean. It’s located between Israel to the north and east, and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to the south.
Gaza city, the region’s capital, has been continuously inhabited for more than 3,000 years and was a crossroads of ancient civilizations.
The Israeli military occupied Gaza from 1967-2005.
Today, more than 40 per cent of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza are refugees, many of whom live in crowded camps.
An 18-month blockade by Israel has driven most families in Gaza into dire poverty. Closed borders and restricted movement has hampered aid from reaching those in need.

Minute 2: Socio-economic Conditions

49.1 per cent of Gazans are unemployed.
More than 50 per cent of families in Gaza live below the poverty line.
Most Gazans live on less than $2 a day.

Minute 3: Food and Water

Socio-economic conditions in Gaza, which is subject to severe restrictions, have deteriorated sharply, causing nearly 80 per cent of Gaza’s residents to rely on food aid.
46 per cent of all Palestinians are either food insecure or in danger of becoming so.
In Beit Lahya, North Gaza, most households have access to water, but the quality is so poor that 95 per cent have to buy drinking water.

Minute 4: Gaza’s Children

More than half of Gaza’s 1.5 million residents are children.
50,000 children in Gaza are malnourished. About half of children under two are anemic and 70 per cent have vitamin A deficiency. Current malnutrition rates rival levels seen in drought-stricken regions of Africa.
Nearly half of all students in the Palestinian territories have seen their school besieged by troops, and more than 10 per cent have witnessed the killing of a teacher in school.

Minute 5: World Vision’s Work in Gaza

There are two World Vision communities in Gaza.
World Vision supports 23,893 children in the West Bank and Gaza, including 6,000 children sponsored by Canadians.

Help provide relief to families affected by conflict in Gaza.