Former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has urged the world not to forget Palestinians in the war-ravaged Gaza strip.
He spoke in a video appeal for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. The video published late on Sunday calls for continued solidarity and asks people to donate to the agency.
“They are not statistics,” Guardiola says of those killed, describing them as people with “names and faces, families, dreams and memories”.
“They are not collateral damage. They are girls and boys.” He warns that accepting language that conceals suffering erodes humanity.
The appeal describes children in Gaza searching for parents in the rubble, going hungry and being left alone. “We see them lose everything before they have even had the chance to grow up,” he says.
He rejects the idea that Palestinian suffering is remote from the rest of the world. “Their lives matter just as much as ours,” he says. “Solidarity with Palestine cannot take a break. Neither can our responsibility.”
The Israeli military has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians in Gaza, health authorities in the territory say, since Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
The video also highlights decades of displacement and violence endured by Palestinian refugees. “We deeply admire the resilience of the Palestinian people. But they should not have to be resilient,” Guardiola says. “No child should grow up learning how to survive before learning how to live.”
Israel launched a military offensive on Gaza after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, which Israeli authorities say killed about 1,200 people and resulted in about 250 being taken hostage. Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed since a ceasefire took effect in October 2025.
UNRWA, established in 1949, provides health care, protection and aid to refugees and helps to preserve their history and identity. It has operated in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Israel has barred the agency from operating in territory that it controls, accusing UNRWA of links to Hamas. The agency denies the allegation.
“Silence today is a way of taking sides, but we cannot look the other way,” Guardiola says. “Palestine matters, and Palestine needs justice and peace.”
Guardiola left his role as Manchester City manager at the end of last season following a 10-year reign that saw the club win 17 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and a Uefa Champions League crown.
