Since the war in Gaza escalated in October 2023, living conditions for children continue to rapidly deteriorate. More than 14,000 children have been killed, and many more are injured and displaced, suffering from life-threatening malnutrition and diarrhoea.
The Gaza Strip has become the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Every child has been exposed to deeply distressing events and trauma marked by widespread destruction, relentless attacks, displacement, and severe shortages of essential necessities such as food, water, and medicine. Their childhoods have been taken away. Despite all this suffering, there is no end in sight.
As the conflict enters its ninth month, children and families in Gaza share their stories of experiences of the enduring war and their longing for peace.
Hanan and her five children have also been deeply affected. "All my children were pulled from under the rubble in Gaza City after we were bombed," Hanan recalls. Now, they live in cramped tents.
Hanan’s eight-year-old daughter echoes her mother’s sadness. "I wish to return home and wear my glasses, I miss my friends; I want to see them again," she said.
"I want to become an Arabic language teacher when I grow up and teach children because there is no school here to educate me, and I miss it a lot."
Despite the severe hardships her family faces, Hanan looks towards a brighter future. "I hope the war ends and my children can live safely and happily," she says.
"I have to fill water every day to help my family drink clean water, it is really hard, and I never imagined myself doing this."
Wisam and her four children have been displaced for seven months. "We lack basic necessities like clean drinking water," she explains. "I walk more than a kilometre for water, which isn't enough and is dirty, causing diseases." Her children and niece are suffering from illness due to drinking contaminated water and lack of hygiene supplies. "We bathe once every two weeks due to water shortages," Wisam says.
Najwa, a mother of four, shares a similar experience. "The weather inside the tent is unbearable; my children cry all night from the heat. Their psychological state has worsened, suffering from extreme fear and involuntary urination," she says. All her children became sick due to unsanitary conditions. The hygiene kit they received from UNICEF provided some relief, but Najwa hopes for an end to the war and her family’s suffering.
"I want to return home and sleep in my bed, I miss my friends and teachers at school."
Fatima is a mother of six who is also experiencing unimaginable hardships during the ongoing war. In their tent for internally displaced persons, Fatima holds her six-month-old girl while her three-year-old, six-year-old, and 10-year-old share a small amount of food. "I am displaced with my family from Rafah and I have nothing here, the situation is very difficult for us." Fatima said.
"I am exhausted from this situation and hope it ends soon, my children always have diarrhoea and [are] sick."
What UNICEF is doing for children and families in Gaza
Despite the challenging humanitarian and security situation, UNICEF and our partners continue to move lifesaving supplies into Gaza and across the strip wherever logistically possible. We will remain in Gaza to provide critical support to children and families, including medical supplies, ready-to-eat food, hygiene kits, bottled water, mental health and psychosocial support, and child-sensitive humanitarian cash assistance.
But only an immediate and permanent humanitarian ceasefire will provide the best chance to save lives, end children’s suffering, and allow the urgent delivery of lifesaving supplies and support. More than anything, the children of the State of Palestine and Israel need a lasting political solution to the crisis, so that they can grow up in peace and free from the shadow of violence.
Children of Gaza Crisis
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