Loan and purchase conditions, prices and usage rights

For the estimated 21,100 Syrian Arabs living in the occupied Golan, travel to Syria proper is severely restricted, if not impossible. The ICRC works as a neutral intermediary with officials in Syria and in Israel to help students and pilgrims cross the demarcation line for educational and religious purposes.

The situation in northern Yemen has deteriorated dramatically in recent weeks, with tens of thousands forced to flee the conflict zones. To meet the most urgent needs, the ICRC and the Yemen Red Crescent Society are distributing food and other essentials to thousands of displaced people and the families hosting them.

For families who used to visit their relatives detained in Bucca, southern Iraq, the journey was always long, perilous and costly, but well worth it. Since October 2005, the ICRC had helped make the journey possible, not least by covering part of the costs. In September 2009, with the American facility at Camp Bucca set to close down, the ICRC ended its family-visit allowance programme. During the four years that the programme ran, almost 30,000 detained people received 146,000 visits from their relatives with ICRC support.

Israel launched a three-week military operation in Gaza in December 2008. Half a year on and the people of Gaza are still reeling from the effects of that attack. Homes remain destroyed, and access to public services, such as hospitals and water supply, limited. Most people in Gaza are feeling the impact of the strict Israeli closure which they have now endured for over two years. As the entire society becomes increasingly impoverished, some people are relying more on donkey carts and bicycles.

Three months after Israel’s military operation, people in the Gaza Strip still struggle to exist. Tens of thousands have had their homes wrecked. Aid has been pledged, but without a courageous peace process, no meaningful reconstruction can take place.

Agriculture is a lifeline for a sizeable portion of Gaza's population. When the sector took a severe blow during the recent fighting, a lot of people were left struggling to cope with this fresh setback. Now, those who can are picking up the pieces, as the ICRC’s Iyad Nasr explains.

A wedding day is supposed to be a day of great happiness for the bride. But for Nihal Arin, it was bittersweet.

Drought, harsh climate and restrictions on movement have a devastating effect on Bedouins. In these photos, pastoralists ponder their future as they struggle to find pasture and water for their sheep. The ICRC provides emergency water supplies to the worst-hit areas.

Cluster munitions continue to endanger civilians in Lebanon one year after the war's end.

These photos show just some examples of the work carried out by staff and volunteers of the Iraqi Red Crescent on behalf of Iraqis caught up in the conflict and violence that has affected the country over the past few years.

This gallery captures the human face of the conflict, focusing on support to displaced people, with an overview of the broad scale activities of the ICRC, Lebanese Red Cross and Magen David Adom both during the hostilities and post-ceasefire.

A selection of photos from Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian Territories. The media is welcome to download these high resolution photos for professional use.

50 years of photography by Jean Mohr.
An exhibition produced by the ICRC and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum (MICR).