Children bear brunt of violence in Gaza

Gaza’s children have been left reeling from the violent escalation in conflict in May 2021. Lives have been lost and families shattered, with devastating impacts on children. In Gaza, schools and health facilities have been damaged, homes and offices have been flattened, and entire families have been displaced. In Israel, schools, homes and buildings have also been damaged.

Prior to the escalation in violence, 1 in 3 children in Gaza already required support for conflict-related trauma. But the need for mental health and psychosocial support services for children has undoubtedly only grown. Meanwhile, the deterioration of water production capacity in Gaza due to electricity shortages means tens of thousands of children will require humanitarian assistance to access safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

UNICEF is on the ground, supporting the humanitarian needs of families delivering water, distribution and purification materials, medical supplies and psychosocial support to children and families. Being a child in the Gaza Strip has always been extremely difficult, even before the recent escalation. For some children, this was the fourth conflict they lived through. No place is safe for children across the Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian boy sits on his father’s lap outside a closed shop in front of their destroyed home in the Gaza Strip. The scale of violence has been massive and children in the State of Palestine and Israel have borne the brunt of this escalation.

BY UNICEF