Islamic Relief is heartbroken to report that 117 children and young people cared for by our Orphan Sponsorship Program in Gaza are now known to have been killed.

In the last 8 months, more than 36,000 Palestinian people, including women and children, have been killed in Gaza. The grim death toll continues to rise as the crisis escalates. Islamic Relief’s team on the ground is doing all they can to deliver humanitarian aid – including through our Orphan Sponsorship Program.

We have rapidly expanded our sponsorship program, with the backing of generous Islamic Relief supporters worldwide. Now, we support over 14,000 orphans in Gaza.

The program provides financial support to thousands of the most vulnerable families. A feat possible thanks to our incredible colleagues in Gaza working tirelessly to support them despite the challenges.

With around 75% of Gaza’s population displaced, often repeatedly, telecommunications restricted, and travel dangerous, even keeping in touch with families for regular welfare checks is very hard.

Where an orphan’s whereabouts is now unknown, Islamic Relief social workers do everything they can to help locate them. But this can take a long time.

Often, the first clue that something is wrong is in the payment system. Families access their sponsorship money using an ATM card. If this money goes uncollected for a sustained period, then we check in on the family’s situation.

The team’s responsibilities now include going through a quarterly Ministry of Health list of the dead to identify any sponsored orphan or guardian that has been killed. We also work to confirm this information.

Sadly, we can now confirm the deaths of 64 sponsored children and young people, as well as 53 who the Orphan Sponsorship Program previously supported.

Sponsored children as young as 5 killed

Omar is the youngest sponsored child known to have died

When he was killed, Omar had recently turned 5. A very energetic little boy, he was always on the move. He loved being outside, playing, swinging, jumping, and riding his bike.

An adventurous spirit, he climbed everything and was a playful, happy, friendly, and fun child. Part of a loving, happy family, Omar lived with his mother, siblings, and grandparents in Gaza City.

His mother dreamed that Omar would become an engineer when he grew up.

Aysha died just a month after her 12th birthday

She had spent her last summer holiday at a summer camp, determined, as always, to live life to the fullest.

Described by her Islamic Relief social worker as a “friendly, brave and polite girl”, Aysha had been thriving at school and aspired to become a doctor. She also liked to read, draw, and paint.
She lived with her big family in Al Nusairat City. Since 2016, Aysha has been enrolled in Islamic Relief’s Orphan Sponsorship Program.

Ayman loved football and gymnastics

He was a caring son, helping his mother, who had rheumatoid arthritis, with housework and shopping. He lived with her, as well as his stepfather and 2 siblings in a modest flat in Jabalia City.

Ayman dreamed of becoming a doctor. He had also been supported by the Islamic Relief Orphan Sponsorship Program for over a decade.

He was killed shortly after his 17th birthday.

Sajeda was living with her family in a flat in Middle City when the escalation began

8-year-old Sajeda was the youngest of 5 children. Known for her friendly and calm personality, she loved drawing, playing with dolls, and watching cartoons.

Her favourite subject at school was Arabic language. She too hoped to become a doctor one day.

She died alongside her mother.

Courageous and helpful Ahmed also died with his mother

The smart 11-year-old had lived in Gaza City with his mother. His hobbies included reading stories, watching cartoons, swimming and cycling.

His favourite subject was mathematics. He was also hoping to become a police officer or teacher in the future and was working to improve his school grades.

Islamic Relief had been sponsoring Ahmed since he was a baby.

Happy and friendly, Saly always had a ready smile

She enjoyed reading, dancing, taking photos and swimming. A university student, she looked forward to becoming a pharmacist.

She wanted to help provide for her mother and sister, Rawan, with whom she lived in a flat in Rafah City before the escalation.

She lost her life aged 21 years old.

Orphaned children left without guardians

Some 72 guardians of sponsored orphans are now known to have been killed. 21 died alongside their child. Others leave behind children grieving the loss of their only caregiver.

With 24 sponsored orphans left without a guardian, Islamic Relief is working to identify surviving relatives to take on the role of guardian and collect Islamic Relief sponsorship money to provide for the child.

Islamic Relief offices around the world are breaking the news to sponsors of the children and young people who have died.

Many of our incredible sponsors are agreeing to continue their sponsorship of the grief-stricken family for 6 to 12 months, to avoid adding to their hardship.

Wherever possible, we transfer sponsorship to a sibling, which means the family does not lose the support from the program. If that is not possible, we move the sponsorship to support another child newly enrolled on the Orphan Sponsorship Program.

We fear that the death toll of sponsored orphans and guardians may increase. The dire situation in Gaza has left many Palestinians missing or displaced multiple times. Many bodies have also not been recovered from the debris of destroyed buildings.

As we reflect on the sponsored children, young people and their guardians killed alongside tens of thousands of other Palestinians, Islamic Relief redoubles our efforts to press for action to end the suffering of ordinary families in Gaza.

We urge the Islamic Relief family – our supporters, volunteers, staff, and partners – to join us in calling on world leaders to bring about an immediate and lasting ceasefire.