After 1,000 days of war, children in Gaza said they had
lost homes, schools and a sense of safety but not their
hopes for the future with even the ongoing violence failing
to stop them from dreaming of peace and careers to help them
rebuild their communities. In emotive, personal testimonies,
children supported by Save the Children told the aid agency
that they wanted people to hear their stories of how the war
was impacting them and realise that they wanted to be
treated like any other child – with a home, an education,
and a safe future.
All spoke of how they are living
through a brutal war and a catastrophic humanitarian
situation, with a recent UN Commission of Inquiry (COI)
report concluding that Israeli authorities and security
forces have deliberately targeted Palestinian children,
resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity and war
crimes in Gaza.
At least 21,000
children have been confirmed killed by the Israeli
forces during the war, but the true number is likely to be
much higher with an unknown number of children buried under
rubble. The number of displaced children exceeds 800,000
– or about 80% of children in Gaza – with over
7,000 unaccompanied and separated from families,
according to the Site Management Cluster (SMC). Gaza’s
625,000 school-aged children have missed three years of
formal education – most of them have experienced disrupted
schooling due to successive escalations.
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Since the
declaration of a “ceasefire” last October, another
275 children have been killed by the Israeli forces. In
the most recent attacks, an eight-year-old
boy was reported killed when an Israeli drone hit tents
sheltering displaced people in Deir el -Balah in central
Gaza on Monday while a 13-year-old
girl was killed by shrapnel from Israeli tank shelling
at the weekend in southern Gaza. Last month Raghad Ashour,
18,
was killed by an Israeli strike on her way to take her
high school exams.
The ongoing violence continues to
terrify children, with the UNFPA reporting that 96% of
children feel that death is imminent.
“We could
die at any moment. I hope the war stops for us,” said
Amani-, a 14-year-old girl, who wanted Palestinian children
to have the same rights as any child. But she has not
stopped dreaming. She continued: “I hope the war stops so
that I can continue my education in Gaza and live my rights
as a human like any girl in other countries. I would like to
live with love, peace, and an easy life. There are many
children in Gaza whose voices are not heard.” Bisan-, 14,
said: “My wish is for the war to stop, for every one of us
to return to their home, and for our lives to return to how
they were.”
Reem-, 16, told Save the Children that she
had many dreams for her future and would not give those up,
wanting to fulfil her mother’s dream of becoming a doctor.
“The most important thing is for my voice and others to
reach everyone, so people know what we’re going through. I
have many, many dreams. Even before the war I always dreamed
of travelling and studying abroad. That hasn’t changed. I
still hold onto that dream l will travel and continue my
education.”
Alongside the ongoing death toll,
displacement continues with many families forced to move
multiple times in the past 1,000 days with more than 370,000
homes estimated to have been damaged in the war,
equivalent to almost 77% of all housing units in Gaza.
Israeli authorities have blocked the entry of construction
equipment and machinery.
Palestinians in Gaza are
being pushed inside less than 40% of the strip’s territory
behind the “Yellow
line”. The “Yellow Line” has also reportedly shifted,
expanding the area under Israeli military control and
further shrinking the space available to Palestinian
families.
Hunger is also ravaging children in Gaza
with estimated 245,000
children in Gaza at risk of or affected by malnutrition
as the flow of humanitarian aid remains limited, while
available food lacks the dietary and nutritional diversity
children need. and food prices are unaffordable for most
families. Families in Gaza are telling us that food items
such as crisps and chocolates are widely available in Gaza,
but nutritious items such as fresh fruit and eggs are often
too expensive for most families.
Ahlam-, 36, a mother
of twins suffering from malnutrition, says: “The children
need food, but I have nothing. I do not have the money to
buy them anything. Since January, I have been looking for
food for them. They are in pain from time to time. They are
not growing normally.”
Save the Children’s Regional
Director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern
Europe, Ahmad Ahendawi, said:
“Every day for the past
1,000 days, the world has failed one million children in
Gaza, by not intervening to stop the killing and maiming of
children.
“As their young fragile bodies were blown to
bits and pieces by bombs and missiles, the world sold those
same weapons to the Government of Israel. As children died
from hunger and disease, the Government of Israel failed to
live up to its legal obligations to provide humanitarian
access, including sufficient nutritious food into Gaza, the
world continued trade agreements with the Government of
Israel.
“Even nine months since a ‘ceasefire’ when
over 275 children have been killed by the Israeli forces,
the world continues to ignore the voices and needs of
children, as they simply demand that they be treated like
any other child in the world.
Save the Children is
calling for the “ceasefire” agreement to become an immediate
and definitive ‘ceasefire’ as the first step to save
lives and end grave violations of children’s rights. There
must be full accountability for crimes against children.
Those responsible must be investigated and held to account,
to break the cycle of impunity and prevent further
harm.
Save the Children is calling on governments to
immediately suspend the transfer of arms to Israel and
ensure that they do not support or sustain unlawful
practices in the occupied Palestinian territory. Member
States must also ban trade, economic cooperation and
services that maintain or support illegal Israeli
settlements, in line with the International Court of
Justice’s 2024 Advisory Opinion, and represents a
necessary step to end the systematic violation of
Palestinian children’s fundamental rights.
-Names
changed to protect
identity
Notes:
- Save the
Children has worked in the occupied Palestinian territory
since 1953, with a permanent presence since 1973. We work
with partners to help provide quality education, protection
for children, early childhood development support, and
employment opportunities for young
people.
Together with our partners, Save the
Children helped nearly 890,000 people in the oPt in 2025,
including almost 430,000 children. As of May 2026, we have
supported over 218,000 people, including over 107,000
children in Gaza, through our multisectoral
programming.
We have been responding to the
humanitarian crisis in Gaza directly and through our
partnerships with local organizations. In Gaza, we’re
currently, running two health clinics, 15 nutrition points,
water and sanitation services (8 hygiene promotion sites, 59
water trucking sites, 49 sanitation facilities, and 39 solid
waste management points), child protection programmes
including mental health support and case management at 21
sites, education in 63 temporary learning spaces, and cash
transfer programmes to support families whose livelihoods
have been decimated.
- The Integrated Food Security
Phase Classification (IPC) is expected to be published in
early July that will provide more details about the
malnutrition crisis facing children in
Gaza. - According to UNOCHA the occupied Palestinian
territory flash appeal is only 12-24% funded against a
minimum need of $2 billion. Humanitarian donors must
urgently scale up their funding to the response to meet the
needs of children and families in Gaza.
Content Packages
- 1000 days of war,
Girls in Gaza tell us about their lives: www.contenthubsavethechildren.org/Package/2O4C2SPDU06I - Ahlam-
mother of malnourished twins Tala- and Ghadeer-: www.contenthubsavethechildren.org/Package/2O4C2SP0C9BT
