OVERVIEW
The current conflict in the Gaza Strip, which started on 7 October 2023, has been the deadliest of hostilities involving the Gaza Strip and Israel (Oxfam 11/01/2024; UNICEF 21/12/2023; RSF 31/10/2023). As at 28 January 2024, at least 10,000 of the 26,400 people killed since in Gaza were Palestinian children (OCHA 29/01/2024; STC 11/01/2024). As at 24 October 2023, the daily estimate of children killed or injured was 400 (UNICEF 24/10/2023). As at 20 January 2024, almost one million children were estimated to be internally displaced within Gaza. Most were in the southern Rafah governorate bordering Egypt, currently the most populated governorate in the Gaza Strip (PRCS 15/01/2024; STC 22/12/2023; OCHA 18/01/2024).
Before the current hostilities, children comprised 47% (1.1 million) of Gaza’s population; since 7 October 2023, the conflict has affected nearly all of them. Children are exposed to death, injury, and the loss of family and homes, and they endure physical and psychological trauma (OCHA 14/01/2024; STC 11/01/2024). The conflict has led to the destruction of safe spaces such as schools and hospitals and the denial of humanitarian aid access, leaving children in overcrowded shelters with limited access to essential goods and services (STC 11/01/2024; UN accessed 27/12/2023). The hostilities particularly affect children under five years old, displaced children, unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), and children with disabilities or with family members with disabilities because they often are unable to flee attacks and are at high risk of abandonment, malnutrition, and trauma (ICRC 11/2022; Rotenberg et al. 10/01/2024).
KEY FINDINGS
• Exposure to violence, loss of relatives, food deprivation, and lack of water since 7 October 2023 have increased the mental health and psychosocial needs of children. Children are experiencing anxiety and sleep deprivation, among other traumas. The psychological consequences are likely to have long-term effects, such as developmental issues.
• As at 24 January 2024, nearly 1.7 million displaced people, close to 50% (850,000) of whom were children, were staying in emergency collective shelters (UNRWA and public shelters), in informal sites close to UNRWA shelters and distribution sites, and with host families (UNRWA 25/01/2024; UNICEF accessed 24/01/2024; STC 22/12/2023). Despite being UN shelters, UNRWA facilities have been attacked on multiple instances, leaving no safe spaces for children.
• The lack of shelters and safe spaces for children exposes them to violence and protection, nutrition, and health risks. Israeli forces have designated Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip as a safe zone that Palestinians from the north were instructed to evacuate to, but military operations have also targeted these zones (Al Jazeera 24/01/2024; PBS 07/12/2023). The intense Israeli bombardments and fighting in Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah have coerced a significant number of IDPs to move further south (UNRWA 24/01/2024).
• Damage to water systems and drinking water contamination have resulted in a water shortage, putting children at high risk of dehydration and waterborne diseases. It is estimated that children only access an average of 1.5–2L of water every day, well below the recommended requirements for survival (UNICEF 20/12/2023).
• Without a ceasefire allowing for an adequate humanitarian response, children will continue to have immediate and long-term needs resulting from the hostilities.
• According to WHO, diseases have more potential to cause fatalities than direct military conflicts in the long run, as the rates of infectious diseases are soaring (NPR 26/12/2023). The cold weather, heavy rainfall, and subsequent flooding increase the risks of respiratory diseases, such as pneumonia and hypothermia, and waterborne diseases, including bacterial infections and diarrhoea, among children (UN 14/12/2023; NYT 11/12/2023).
• The number of dead, wounded, and orphaned children in Gaza increases every day, and humanitarian workers continue to lack access to granular information because of communication disruptions (OCHA 14/01/2024 and 04/01/2024; The Guardian 22/12/2023).