Al-Baraka Camp: A Shelter Camp for Gaza’s Youngest Victims

May 14, 2025

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics has reported a heartbreaking figure: over 39,000 children in Gaza have lost one or both parents during the ongoing crisis. Of these, 17,000 have been orphaned entirely, left to survive on their own, or in the care of extended family or neighbors. In their statement, the bureau declared, “The Gaza Strip is suffering from the largest orphan crisis in modern history.” 

Since 2001, Zakat Foundation of America has stood with the people of Gaza and the West Bank, providing vital support through emergency relief, education, healthcare, infrastructure, livelihood assistance, and orphan care. Today, 504 orphaned children in Palestine are receiving ongoing support that empowers them with healthcare and food security.

Al-Baraka Orphanage Camp is our newly established shelter in Khan Younis and Al-Mawasi, providing refuge for 120 orphaned children and their guardians across 120 tents. Here, children receive clean water, hot meals, food packages, and protection from the harsh elements, all in a safe and caring environment. 

As starvation looms and threatens an estimated 60,000 children, Zakat Foundation of America continues to provide food security to the people of Gaza through daily hot meal distributions, water trucking, food packages and more. In 2024, we distributed hot meals to 845,710 people, food packages that nourished 245,530, and water to 50,200 people in Gaza. But the need continues to remain great.