Effect of the Gaza war on children in the Gaza Strip

{{See also|Timeline of the Gaza Strip healthcare collapse|Healthcare in the State of Palestine}}

Since 2007, Israel had implemented a strict land and sea blockade that had prevented items such as food and medicine from moving into the Gaza Strip, with the health system struggling before the war.{{Cite news |last=Mohammad |first=Linah |date=October 19, 2023 |title=Children make up nearly half of Gaza's population. Here's what it means for the war |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/10/19/1206479861/israel-gaza-hamas-children-population-war-palestinians |access-date=February 5, 2024 |work=NPR |archive-date=9 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209080904/https://www.npr.org/2023/10/19/1206479861/israel-gaza-hamas-children-population-war-palestinians |url-status=live}}

Ahmed al-Fara, the head of pediatrics at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, stated due to the lack of water during the war, he was witnessing the "most serious epidemic of gastroenteritis" among children he had ever seen.{{cite web |title=Overcrowding at hospitals grows as more move south |url=https://aje.io/yu4f6n?update=2491642 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=16 November 2023 |archive-date=3 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303002515/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/11/16/israel-hamas-war-live-israel-rejects-un-security-council-gaza-resolution?update=2491642 |url-status=live }} Catherine M. Russell, the executive director of UNICEF, toured Gaza on 15 November, stating many children were lacking medical care.{{cite web |title=First Person: UNICEF chief in Gaza visit, bears witness to grave violations against children |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/11/1143617 |website=UN News |date=15 November 2023 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=15 November 2023 |archive-date=15 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115172240/https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/11/1143617 |url-status=live }} On 28 December, UNOCHA stated 50 percent of all children in the Gaza Strip were experiencing dehydration, malnutrition, respiratory and skin diseases.{{cite web |title=Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel Flash Update #79 |url=https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-79 |website=UNOCHA |date=28 December 2023 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=29 December 2023 |archive-date=29 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231229122556/https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-79 |url-status=live }} Cases of diarrhea in children under the age of five has increased by about 2,000% since October 7 per a UNICEF report.{{Cite web |last1=Rahimi |first1=Rosa |last2=Noor Haq |first2=Sana |date=2024-01-30 |title='We are dying slowly.' Children go to bed hungry and parents scavenge for food as famine looms in Gaza |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/30/middleeast/famine-looms-in-gaza-israel-war-intl/index.html |access-date=2024-02-09 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=9 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209210112/https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/30/middleeast/famine-looms-in-gaza-israel-war-intl/index.html |url-status=live }} A UN spokesperson indicated that between 7 October 2023 and 4 January 2024, disease had skyrocketed in Gaza with more than 400,000 cases of infectious disease reported, which included about 180,000 people with upper respiratory infections and more than 136,000 cases of diarrhea, with half of cases presenting in children under 5.{{Cite web |last1=Jobain |first1=Najib |last2=Jeffery |first2=Jack |date=2024-01-04 |title=Strike kills 12 people, mostly children, in Gaza area declared safe by Israel |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/strike-kills-12-people-mostly-children-in-gaza-area-declared-safe-by-israel |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213185328/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/strike-kills-12-people-mostly-children-in-gaza-area-declared-safe-by-israel |url-status=live }} By July 2024, WHO stated more than 150,000 people had contracted skin infections, with malnourished children most susceptible due to their weakened immune systems.{{cite web |title=Dangerous skin diseases spreading among children in Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/7/3/dangerous-skin-diseases-spreading-among-children-in-gaza |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=10 July 2024 |archive-date=10 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240710042727/https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/7/3/dangerous-skin-diseases-spreading-among-children-in-gaza |url-status=live }}

According to statistics published by the World Health Organization (WHO), only about 30% of medics were still working due to the widespread effects of the war in Gaza.{{Cite web |last1=Barbakh |first1=Arafat |last2=Fick |first2=Maggie |last3=Farge |first3=Emma |date=January 4, 2024 |title=Gaza's child amputees face further risks without expert care |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gazas-child-amputees-face-further-risks-without-expert-care-2024-01-04/ |access-date=February 13, 2024 |website=Reuters |archive-date=10 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510233733/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gazas-child-amputees-face-further-risks-without-expert-care-2024-01-04/ |url-status=live }} An amputee patient in a southern Gazan hospital stated that medication comes through the crossing into Gaza every four days but its not a guarantee that patients receive medication, and that in some hospitals patients have to pay for medication and food up front.{{Cite web |last1=Barghout |first1=Caroline |last2=Chughtai |first2=Waqas |last3=Hassan |first3=Yasmine |last4=El Saife |first4=Mohamed |date=January 29, 2024 |title='No one looks at me': 12-year-old amputee in Gaza on what the war cost him |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gaza-amputees-children-1.7093914 |access-date=February 13, 2024 |website=CBC |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213161804/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gaza-amputees-children-1.7093914 |url-status=live }} Other medications such as insulin pens were temporarily placed on restricted items to be allowed into Gaza by the Israeli government officials. This caused the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Palestine Jamie McGoldrick to state; "On the goods that are being prohibited, it’s a full range...Some of it is medical material such as basic drugs and material for treating not just trauma but for chronic illnesses...One example would be most recently the pens that are used for insulin for children"{{Cite web |last=Qiblawi |first=Tamara |date=2024-03-01 |title=Anesthetics, crutches, dates: The aid Israel is arbitrarily keeping from Gaza |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/01/middleeast/gaza-aid-israel-restrictions-investigation-intl-cmd/index.html |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=CNN |language=en}} A Canadian doctor returning from two weeks in Gaza stated he had seen the "sickest child I had ever seen in my medical career".{{cite web |title=Canadian doctor recounts effects of food crisis in Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/5/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-attacks-on-aid-seekers-continue?update=2749991 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=8 March 2024 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308034536/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/5/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-attacks-on-aid-seekers-continue?update=2749991 |url-status=live }} By July 2024, children in tent camps were infected with a number of skin diseases.{{cite web |last1=Shurafa |first1=Wafaa |title=Lice, scabies, rashes plague Palestinian children as skin disease runs rampant in Gaza's tent camps |url=https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-gaza-skin-diseases-israel-war-c30b26d4c4cad0e3f0069efc05d433ad |website=Associated Press |date=30 July 2024 |access-date=18 August 2024 |archive-date=23 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240923043536/https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-gaza-skin-diseases-israel-war-c30b26d4c4cad0e3f0069efc05d433ad |url-status=live }}

{{See also|COVID-19 pandemic in the State of Palestine#Vaccines|2024 Gaza Strip polio epidemic}}

Shortly after the 7 October attacks and Israel's retaliation in October 2023, preventable diseases were expected to rise due to disruption in vaccination abilities. Childhood vaccinations had already dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and experts cautioned about the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and measles that could be contained primarily with vaccinations.{{Cite web |last=Edwards |first=Erika |date=2023-10-22 |title=Tainted water and viruses put Gaza residents, especially kids, at further risk |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/tainted-water-viruses-put-gaza-residents-especially-kids-risk-rcna120868 |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=29 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329030603/https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/tainted-water-viruses-put-gaza-residents-especially-kids-risk-rcna120868 |url-status=live }}

In mid-December 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry stated it had run out of vaccinations for children, which would have catastrophic repercussions.{{cite web |title=Gaza health ministry says out of children's vaccines |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231213-gaza-health-ministry-says-out-of-children-s-vaccines |website=France24 |date=13 December 2023 |access-date=13 December 2023 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213131846/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231213-gaza-health-ministry-says-out-of-children-s-vaccines |url-status=live }} An UNOCHA representative stated the organization was having difficulty delivering childhood vaccines.{{cite web |title=Vaccines received, but getting them to babies across Gaza is impossible: UN |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/1/israel-hamas-war-live-new-year-in-gaza-under-non-stop-israeli-bombardment?update=2591421 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=2 January 2024 |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102002816/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/1/israel-hamas-war-live-new-year-in-gaza-under-non-stop-israeli-bombardment?update=2591421 |url-status=live }} On 1 January 2024 it was reported by the Palestinian Health Ministry that Israel had allowed and would facilitate the transport of vaccines into Gaza through the Rafa crossing. It was cautioned that the disbursement of the vaccines would be difficult due to displacement and destruction of infrastructure.{{Cite web |date=January 1, 2024 |title=Childhood vaccine doses enter Gaza through Rafah crossing |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/thousands-doses-childhood-vaccines-enter-gaza-palestinian-health-ministry-2024-01-01/ |access-date=March 7, 2024 |website=Reuters}} On 29 January 2024, UNICEF reported that 16,000 children were at risk of missing routine vaccinations.{{cite web |title=Routine vaccines are saving children lives in the Gaza Strip |url=https://www.unicef.org/sop/stories/routine-vaccines-are-saving-children-lives |website=UNICEF |access-date=30 January 2024 |archive-date=30 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130055356/https://www.unicef.org/sop/stories/routine-vaccines-are-saving-children-lives |url-status=live }}

In August 2024, following the outbreak of a polio epidemic in Gaza, the World Health Organization launched a vaccination drive, inoculating around a quarter of children under age 10 by the third day of its campaign.{{cite web |title=Polio vaccination targets surpassed for Gaza children, WHO says |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-surpasses-polio-vaccination-targets-gaza-children-2024-09-03/ |website=Reuters |access-date=9 September 2024}}

File:Fars Photo of Casualties in Gaza Strip during 2023 War 31.jpg

Before the war, there were high numbers of children in Gaza that had documented high levels of emotional distress and mental illness, with a study in 2011 found that among Palestinian children PTSD rates were between 23 and 70%,{{Cite journal |last=Dimitry |first=L. |date=March 2012 |title=A systematic review on the mental health of children and adolescents in areas of armed conflict in the Middle East |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21615769/ |journal=Child: Care, Health and Development |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=153–161 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2214.2011.01246.x |issn=1365-2214 |pmid=21615769 |via=PubMed |access-date=14 February 2024 |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214184329/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21615769/ |url-status=live }} while a UNICEF study in 2021 found one in three children in Gaza needed care for conflict-related trauma.{{Cite web |last=Chatterjee |first=Rhitu |date=November 10, 2023 |title=How a history of trauma is affecting the children of Gaza |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/11/10/1211672951/israel-hamas-war-mental-health-gaza-children |access-date=February 14, 2024 |website=NPR |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214184329/https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/11/10/1211672951/israel-hamas-war-mental-health-gaza-children |url-status=live }} Save the Children reported serious signs of mental health issues among children in Gaza in West Bank and in Israel.{{cite web |title=Children's Mental Health In Gaza Pushed Beyond Breaking Point After Nearly A Month Of Siege And Bombardment |url=https://www.savethechildren.net/news/children-s-mental-health-gaza-pushed-beyond-breaking-point-after-nearly-month-siege-and#:~:text=Under%20current%20conditions%20in%20Gaza,and%20withdrawing%20from%20loved%20ones. |website=Save the Children |access-date=19 November 2023 |archive-date=19 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119172947/https://www.savethechildren.net/news/children-s-mental-health-gaza-pushed-beyond-breaking-point-after-nearly-month-siege-and#:~:text=Under%20current%20conditions%20in%20Gaza,and%20withdrawing%20from%20loved%20ones. |url-status=live }} Describing the impact of war on children's mental health, the Save the Children director of humanitarian policy stated the war had "starved and robbed any sense of safety and security".{{cite web |title=Children in Gaza have paid the highest price in this crisis: Save the Children |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/28/israels-war-on-gaza-live-aid-cuts-are-collective-punishment-unrwa?update=2655790 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=29 January 2024 |archive-date=29 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129033714/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/28/israels-war-on-gaza-live-aid-cuts-are-collective-punishment-unrwa?update=2655790 |url-status=live }} On 2 February 2024, UNICEF reported that one million children, or nearly every child in Gaza, was in need of mental health support.{{cite web |title=UN estimates 17,000 Gaza children left unaccompanied amid Israel's war |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/2/un-estimates-17000-gaza-children-left-unaccompanied-amid-israels-war |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204014422/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/2/un-estimates-17000-gaza-children-left-unaccompanied-amid-israels-war |url-status=live }} Evacuated children were found to be suffering from psychological trauma.{{cite web |last1=Jadou |first1=Monjed |title=These children left Gaza but still suffer mental trauma from Israel's war |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/3/19/these-children-left-gaza-but-still-suffer-mental-trauma-from-israels-war |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=23 March 2024 |archive-date=19 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419132901/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/3/19/these-children-left-gaza-but-still-suffer-mental-trauma-from-israels-war |url-status=live }}

Mohammed Brighieth, a professor at Birzeit University, warned of the psychological impact of the war on children, stating, "The children of Gaza live somewhere between the process of psychological trauma and certain death."{{cite web |title='One of the ugliest wars of the 21st century' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/13/israels-war-on-gaza-live-jordans-king-urges-ceasefire-in-biden-meeting?update=2704732 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=15 February 2024 |archive-date=15 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215052205/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/13/israels-war-on-gaza-live-jordans-king-urges-ceasefire-in-biden-meeting?update=2704732 |url-status=live }} A 5-year-old whose entire immediate family was killed by an Israeli airstrike while evacuating to Rafah, was described as being starkly different by his grandmother, he was reportedly in shock, does not talk much, and was scared of any sounds.{{Cite web |last=Marsi |first=Ruwaida Amer,Federica |title='He was nameless': Orphaned children lose family, identity in Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/2/15/he-was-nameless-orphaned-children-lose-family-identity-in-gaza |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en |archive-date=15 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215210405/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/2/15/he-was-nameless-orphaned-children-lose-family-identity-in-gaza |url-status=live }} Parents in Rafah purchased songbirds for their children to help them cope with the constant sounds of bombing.{{cite web |last1=Soleimane |first1=Mohamed |title=How the songbirds of Rafah help Palestinians cope with the terror of war |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/17/how-the-songbirds-of-rafah-help-palestinians-cope-with-the-terror-of-war |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=18 February 2024 |archive-date=18 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218012121/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/17/how-the-songbirds-of-rafah-help-palestinians-cope-with-the-terror-of-war |url-status=live }} On 21 February 2024, the chair of the Norwegian Refugee Council warned that all children in Gaza would likely suffer from trauma due to the war.{{cite web |title='Israel's war has traumatized all children in Gaza' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/21/israels-war-on-gaza-live-us-ceasefire-veto-a-new-low-as-hunger-spreads?update=2722818 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=22 February 2024 |archive-date=9 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240409034356/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/21/israels-war-on-gaza-live-us-ceasefire-veto-a-new-low-as-hunger-spreads?update=2722818 |url-status=live }}

On 23 February 2024, the director of Doctors Without Borders reported, "Psychological injuries have led children as young as five to tell us that they would prefer to die."{{cite web |last1=Nichols |first1=Michelle |title=MSF slams US on Gaza at UN, says children as young as 5 want to die |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/msf-slams-us-gaza-un-says-children-young-5-want-die-2024-02-22/#:~:text=%22There%20is%20a%20repeated%20displacement,they%20would%20prefer%20to%20die.%22 |website=Reuters |access-date=24 February 2024 |archive-date=25 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425172135/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/msf-slams-us-gaza-un-says-children-young-5-want-die-2024-02-22/#:~:text=%22There%20is%20a%20repeated%20displacement,they%20would%20prefer%20to%20die.%22 |url-status=live }} Save the Children found, "Children in Gaza are going through a period of mass-scale shock and grief. This war and the physical and mental scars it is leaving on children is further eroding their resilience."{{cite web |title="Complete psychological destruction": Children in Gaza have suffered "relentless mental harm" during five months of war |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/complete-psychological-destruction-children-gaza-have-suffered-relentless-mental-harm-during-five-months-war-save-children |website=ReliefWeb |date=12 March 2024 |publisher=Save the Children |access-date=15 March 2024 |archive-date=8 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408143936/https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/complete-psychological-destruction-children-gaza-have-suffered-relentless-mental-harm-during-five-months-war-save-children |url-status=live }} In July 2024, Julia Wendt, the emergency child protection coordinator with the International Rescue Committee, stated children in Gaza were suffering from nightmares and bedwetting due to the mental toll of the war.{{cite web |last1=Khaled |first1=Fatma |title=Bedwetting, nightmares and shaking. War in Gaza takes a mental health toll, especially on children |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/bedwetting-nightmares-shaking-war-gaza-takes-mental-health-112054042#:~:text=For%20children%2C%20the%20mental%20toll,lost%20all%20sense%20of%20security. |website=ABC News |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=28 July 2024 |archive-date=29 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240729122834/https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/bedwetting-nightmares-shaking-war-gaza-takes-mental-health-112054042#:~:text=For%20children%2C%20the%20mental%20toll,lost%20all%20sense%20of%20security. |url-status=live }} In September 2024, children's hair was turning prematurely grey due to their high levels of stress.{{cite web |last1=Osman |first1=Nadda |last2=Ibrahim |first2=Sally |title=Gaza: Children's hair greying, falling out from shock and trauma |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/gaza-childrens-hair-greying-falling-out-shock-and-trauma |website=The New Arab |access-date=15 September 2024 |archive-date=15 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915053615/https://www.newarab.com/news/gaza-childrens-hair-greying-falling-out-shock-and-trauma |url-status=live }} In October 2024, Dr. Bahzad Al-Akhras, a psychiatrist in Al-Mawasi, described the psychological impacts of the war on children, stating they were "learning that nothing is secure, nothing is stable. They have learnt to continuously escape, not to trust others, not to trust life itself."{{cite web |last1=Ahmed |first1=Kaamil |last2=González Paz |first2=Ana Lucía |title='I hate the night': Life in Gaza amid the incessant sounds of war |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2024/oct/17/i-hate-the-night-life-in-gaza-amid-the-incessant-sounds-of-war |website=The Guardian |access-date=1 November 2024}}

Caitlin Procter, a researcher at the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding in Geneva, highlighted the severe psychological impact on children in Gaza. Some have witnessed the brutal killings of their parents by soldiers, while others have seen their homes destroyed by bombings. Many children endure extreme conditions of cold, hunger, and loneliness, spending days wandering the streets alone. The overwhelming situation has left even mental health experts in Gaza feeling helpless and in need of support. In Rafah, located in the southern part of the Palestinian territory, Karyn Beattie from the NGO Save the Children described the dire situation where displaced Gazan children, some as young as pre-teens, are forced to work as breadwinners, selling aid items to afford basic necessities.[https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/04/05/israel-s-war-in-gaza-has-already-proved-particularly-devastating-for-children_6667509_4.html Israel's war in Gaza is particularly devastating for children] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420121837/https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/04/05/israel-s-war-in-gaza-has-already-proved-particularly-devastating-for-children_6667509_4.html |date=20 April 2024 }} Retrieved 6 April 2024

On 16 January 2024, doctors reported children weakened by starvation were dying from hypothermia.{{cite news |last1=Burke |first1=Jason |title=Aid officials believe there are 'pockets of famine' in Gaza |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/16/no-food-no-water-no-heating-famine-exists-in-gaza-say-officials |website=The Guardian |date=16 January 2024 |access-date=17 January 2024 |archive-date=17 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117000921/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/16/no-food-no-water-no-heating-famine-exists-in-gaza-say-officials |url-status=live }} An Action Aid coordinator stated on 27 January 2024 that children without winter coats were suffering from the cold and rainfall of the winter months, with new commercial products prevented from being brought in.{{cite web |title=Winter brings more suffering for Palestinians in Gaza: Aid group coordinator |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/27/israels-war-on-gaza-live-hospital-blackout-amid-khan-younis-assault?update=2653543 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=28 January 2024 |archive-date=28 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128032107/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/27/israels-war-on-gaza-live-hospital-blackout-amid-khan-younis-assault?update=2653543 |url-status=live }} An Al Jazeera correspondent reported he had witnessed children sleeping in cold, mud-filled tents.{{cite web |last1=Abu Azzoum |first1=Tareq |title=Cold, rain, mud await 'waves' of displaced Palestinians fleeing to Rafah |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/27/israels-war-on-gaza-live-hospital-blackout-amid-khan-younis-assault?update=2653465 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=28 January 2024 |archive-date=28 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128035330/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/27/israels-war-on-gaza-live-hospital-blackout-amid-khan-younis-assault?update=2653465 |url-status=live }} One father stated in an interview on 2 February 2024, " It’s so freezing. Even my children can’t. One to two blankets aren’t enough at all. I have a newborn baby. I fear he will be ill every other day."{{cite web |last1=Abed |first1=Abubaker |title=Conditions in Gaza 'freezing' and 'harsh' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/2/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-downplays-settler-violence-in-west-bank?update=2670487 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204014714/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/2/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-downplays-settler-violence-in-west-bank?update=2670487 |url-status=live }} Children in Rafah were dressed in remaining PPE equipment from the COVID-19 pandemic in order to keep warm.{{cite web |last1=Amer |first1=Ruwaida |title=Displaced, bombed by Israel, Rafah's kids seek warmth in hospital coveralls |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/2/18/displaced-bombed-by-israel-rafahs-kids-seek-warmth-in-hospital-coveralls |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=20 February 2024 |archive-date=30 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430154840/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/2/18/displaced-bombed-by-israel-rafahs-kids-seek-warmth-in-hospital-coveralls |url-status=live }} In Deir el-Balah, children burned books to keep warm.{{cite web |title=Palestinian children resort to burning books to stay warm |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/25/israels-war-on-gaza-live-rafah-strikes-further-harming-aid-efforts-un?update=2731654 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=26 February 2024 |archive-date=6 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240306185408/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/25/israels-war-on-gaza-live-rafah-strikes-further-harming-aid-efforts-un?update=2731654 |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Gaza Strip famine}}

File:Death of Mohammed Assaf due to starvation 1.jpg

On 3 January 2024, UNICEF chief Catherine M. Russell stated many children in Gaza were facing severe acute malnutrition.{{cite web |title='Time is running out' to save children in Gaza from malnutrition, says UNICEF head |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/3/israel-hamas-war-live-hezbollah-vows-revenge-for-israeli-strike-on-beirut?update=2596539 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=3 January 2024 |archive-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103211944/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/3/israel-hamas-war-live-hezbollah-vows-revenge-for-israeli-strike-on-beirut?update=2596539 |url-status=live }} On 5 January, UNICEF found 90 percent of children under the age of two were eating two or fewer food groups a day.{{cite web |title=Nutrition needs of children, pregnant women in Gaza are going unmet, UNICEF says |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/nutrition-needs-of-children-pregnant-women-in-gaza-are-going-unmet-unicef-says |website=PBS |date=5 January 2024 |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=5 January 2024 |archive-date=5 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105151710/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/nutrition-needs-of-children-pregnant-women-in-gaza-are-going-unmet-unicef-says |url-status=live }} On 3 February, Hani Mahmoud, an Al Jazeera journalist in Rafah, stated, "We’re seeing children roaming around in Rafah looking for scraps of food."{{cite web |last1=Mahmoud |first1=Hani |title=Kids in Rafah 'looking for scraps of food' as aid remains blocked |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/3/israels-war-on-gaza-live-us-strikes-drive-fears-of-gaza-war-spillover?update=2673708 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204045637/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/3/israels-war-on-gaza-live-us-strikes-drive-fears-of-gaza-war-spillover?update=2673708 |url-status=live }} In early January 2024 UNICEF reported that around 90% of children in Gaza under 2 were subjected to severe food poverty, which had jumped from 80% about two weeks prior.{{Cite web |last=Tawfeeq |first=Jessie Yeung, Radina Gigova, Mohammed |date=2024-01-08 |title=More than 10 children losing legs in Gaza every day as dire health crisis grows, aid groups say |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/08/middleeast/gaza-children-losing-legs-disease-intl-hnk/index.html |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213160924/https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/08/middleeast/gaza-children-losing-legs-disease-intl-hnk/index.html |url-status=live }}

Price jumps have also been seen by those attempting to purchase food, with a caregiver purchasing through a procurement company infant formula which had cost him $1,680 before the war, but paying $2,160 in February 2024. The United Nations stated on 10 February 2024 that 10 percent of children under five-years-old were suffering from acute malnourishment.{{cite news |title=UN says 10 percent Gaza children under age five are acutely malnourished |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/9/israels-war-on-gaza-live-fear-in-rafah-as-israel-prepares-ground-attack?update=2694958 |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=11 February 2024 |archive-date=9 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209162424/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/9/israels-war-on-gaza-live-fear-in-rafah-as-israel-prepares-ground-attack?update=2694958 |url-status=live}} One mother reported feeding her newborn using date paste.{{cite news |title=Palestinian mother struggles to feed hungry baby due to food shortage |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/10/israels-war-on-gaza-live-death-toll-nears-28000-as-rafah-assault-looms?update=2696937 |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=11 February 2024 |archive-date=10 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210142212/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/10/israels-war-on-gaza-live-death-toll-nears-28000-as-rafah-assault-looms?update=2696937 |url-status=live}} On 19 February 2024, UNICEF found that nearly 16 percent of children in northern Gaza under two-years-old were "acutely malnourished", with 3 percent suffering from severe wasting.{{cite web |title=Children's lives threatened by rising malnutrition in the Gaza Strip |url=https://www.who.int/news/item/19-02-2024-children-s-lives-threatened-by-rising-malnutrition-in-the-gaza-strip |website=World Health Organization |access-date=20 February 2024 |archive-date=21 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221130505/https://www.who.int/news/item/19-02-2024-children-s-lives-threatened-by-rising-malnutrition-in-the-gaza-strip |url-status=live}} In early March 2024 UNICEF reported that over 90% of children aged 6–23 months and pregnant or breastfeeding women face severe food poverty with access to two or fewer food groups a day.{{Cite news |last1=Noor Haq |first1=Sana |last2=Dahman |first2=Ibrahim |last3=Salman |first3=Abeer |last4=Sabbah |first4=AbdulQader |date=6 March 2024 |title=Newborns die of hunger and mothers struggle to feed their children as Israel's siege condemns Gazans to starvation |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/06/middleeast/israel-gaza-starvation-siege-mothers-babies-intl/index.html |access-date=7 March 2024 |work=CNN |language=en |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308051854/https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/06/middleeast/israel-gaza-starvation-siege-mothers-babies-intl/index.html |url-status=live}}

Child malnutrition is varied throughout Gaza, with northern Gaza experiencing worse food shortages then southern Gaza leading to a child malnutrition rate three times higher according to the WHO. In March 2024, 10 children died at Kamal Adwan Hospital from dehydration and malnutrition, leading UNICEF to state, "Now, the child deaths we feared are here and are likely to rapidly increase unless the war ends and obstacles to humanitarian relief are immediately resolved".{{cite web |title=Gaza: 'Babies slowly perishing under the world's gaze,' UNICEF warns |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147182 |website=UN News |date=3 March 2024 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=4 March 2024 |archive-date=4 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304000742/https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147182 |url-status=live}} Doctors at Kamal Adwan stated all staff could give malnourished and dehydrated newborns was saline or sugar solution, with one pediatrician stating, "My message is an appeal to the entire world to intervene and save all the children".{{cite news |title=Doctor treating dehydrated, malnourished newborns appeals for help |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/3/israels-war-on-gaza-live-every-minute-counts-as-hunger-kills-in-gaza?update=2745231 |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=6 March 2024 |archive-date=3 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303030506/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/3/israels-war-on-gaza-live-every-minute-counts-as-hunger-kills-in-gaza?update=2745231 |url-status=live }} A severely malnourished 10-year-old boy named Yazan al-Kafarneh died from starvation.{{cite news |last1=Karanth |first1=Sanjana |title=Palestinian Boy In Photos That Showed Reality Of Gaza Famine Dies Of Malnourishment |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/emaciated-palestinian-boy-dies-gaza-famine_n_65e5f01ae4b013678e162d03 |work=HuffPost |date=4 March 2024 |access-date=6 March 2024 |archive-date=5 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305225900/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/emaciated-palestinian-boy-dies-gaza-famine_n_65e5f01ae4b013678e162d03 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title='Look at Yazan': Mansour pleads for Gaza children at UNGA |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/4/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-repeats-attacks-as-children-die-of-hunger?update=2748750 |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=6 March 2024 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308060512/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/4/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-repeats-attacks-as-children-die-of-hunger?update=2748750 |url-status=live }} On 6 March 2024, WHO secretary-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of "children who survived bombardment but may not survive a famine".{{cite web |title=Allow more aid into Gaza now, pleads UN health agency chief |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147292 |website=UN News |date=6 March 2024 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=9 March 2024 |archive-date=2 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402123709/https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147292 |url-status=live }}

The Palestinian Red Crescent found parents were going without food in order to feed "their hungry children amidst food insecurity and shortage of available food".{{cite news |title=Mothers giving up food to feed children: Red Crescent |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/21/israels-war-on-gaza-live-more-than-100-palestinians-killed-in-24-hours?update=2788377 |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=23 March 2024 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328092843/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/21/israels-war-on-gaza-live-more-than-100-palestinians-killed-in-24-hours?update=2788377 |url-status=live }} Doctors at the Kamal Adwan Hospital stated malnourished infants in the ICU had become the "new normal".{{cite news |title=Doctors in northern Gaza sound alarm on infant malnutrition |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/28/israels-war-on-gaza-live-unarmed-palestinians-killed-buried-by-bulldozer?update=2804055 |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=2 April 2024 |archive-date=2 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402072354/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/28/israels-war-on-gaza-live-unarmed-palestinians-killed-buried-by-bulldozer?update=2804055 |url-status=live}} One doctor at Kamal Adwan stated, "Babies reach critical and severe degrees of dehydration and acidemia disorders and ultimately death."{{cite news |title='Influx of newborns suffering from acute malnutrition' in Gaza hospitals |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/28/israels-war-on-gaza-live-unarmed-palestinians-killed-buried-by-bulldozer?update=2803492 |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=2 April 2024 |archive-date=2 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402152741/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/28/israels-war-on-gaza-live-unarmed-palestinians-killed-buried-by-bulldozer?update=2803492 |url-status=live }} In June 2024, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital stated more than 200 children were at risk due to malnutrition.{{cite news |last1=Khoudary |first1=Hind |title=Palestinians in northern Gaza fear 'another wave of starvation' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/6/14/israels-war-on-gaza-live-no-ceasefire-deal-soon-us-president-biden?update=2974568 |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=22 June 2024 |archive-date=14 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614073441/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/6/14/israels-war-on-gaza-live-no-ceasefire-deal-soon-us-president-biden?update=2974568 |url-status=live}} A clinical nutritionist stated that due to contaminated water and a lack of food security, 90 percent of children were experiencing diarrhea, hepatitis, and other diseases.{{cite news |title=Children in Gaza suffering from disease due to malnutrition |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/6/15/israels-war-on-gaza-live-1-million-exhausted-people-trapped-in-south?update=2976787 |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=24 June 2024 |archive-date=24 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240624140736/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/6/15/israels-war-on-gaza-live-1-million-exhausted-people-trapped-in-south?update=2976787 |url-status=live}} Mothers were so malnourished they were unable to produce breastmilk to feed their newborn babies.{{cite news |last1=Bunkall |first1=Alistair |title=Newborn babies now have little chance of survival in Gaza, hospital director warns |url=https://news.sky.com/story/newborn-babies-now-have-little-chance-of-survival-in-gaza-hospital-director-warns-13162972?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter |work=Sky News |access-date=4 July 2024 |archive-date=4 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704024254/https://news.sky.com/story/newborn-babies-now-have-little-chance-of-survival-in-gaza-hospital-director-warns-13162972?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter |url-status=live}} Children continued to die from malnutrition in August 2024.{{cite web |title=Voices from Gaza: Father loses daughter to malnutrition amid blockade and dire living |url=https://www.msn.com/en-in/video/news/voices-from-gaza-father-loses-daughter-to-malnutrition-amid-blockade-and-dire-living-conditions/vi-AA1oSp9m |website=MSN |publisher=Al Jazeera English |access-date=10 September 2024 |archive-date=1 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241201202133/https://www.msn.com/en-in/video/news/voices-from-gaza-father-loses-daughter-to-malnutrition-amid-blockade-and-dire-living-conditions/vi-AA1oSp9m |url-status=live }}

In October 2024, Save the Children reported that of the approximately 3000 under five-years-old children they had screened, about 20 percent had moderate acute malnutrition and four percent had severe acute malnutrition.{{cite journal |last1=Devi |first1=Sharmila |title=Child health in Gaza |journal=The Lancet |date=October 2024 |volume=404 |issue=10463 |page=1630 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(24)02349-3 |url=https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2824%2902349-3 |access-date=30 October 2024}}

In December 2023, ActionAid reported that there was little water for washing and some shelters only had one shower for every 700 individuals and one toilet for every 150.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-11 |title=Menstrual periods an ordeal, health risk for Gaza women and girls |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231211-menstrual-periods-an-ordeal-health-risk-for-gaza-women-and-girls |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=France 24 |language=en |archive-date=11 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240311150439/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231211-menstrual-periods-an-ordeal-health-risk-for-gaza-women-and-girls |url-status=live }} UNICEF announced on 7 March 2024 that they were distributing wellbeing kits to adolescent girls in Rafah, who reported being unable to "shower more than once a week. The shelters are crowded with people, and there is little water. It is difficult to maintain personal hygiene".{{cite web |title=UNICEF distributing wellbeing kits to adolescent girls in Rafah |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/7/israels-war-on-gaza-live-20-starve-to-death-in-gaza-more-feared-dead?update=2756621 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=9 March 2024 |archive-date=9 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309172448/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/7/israels-war-on-gaza-live-20-starve-to-death-in-gaza-more-feared-dead?update=2756621 |url-status=live }}

It was reported in late February 2024 that there were 690,000 menstruating women and children in Gaza, that have limited access to menstrual hygiene supplies.{{Cite web |date=27 February 2024 |title=Crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory |url=https://www.unfpa.org/occupied-palestinian-territory |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=www.unfpa.org |language=en}} Some women and children have utilized period blocking pills, but those can be hard to find and many are unable to take them for medical reasons.{{Cite web |last1=Batrawy |first1=Aya |last2=Bakr Bashir |first2=Abu |date=January 11, 2024 |title=Another layer of misery: Women in Gaza struggle to find menstrual pads, running water |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2024/01/11/1224201620/another-layer-of-misery-women-in-gaza-struggle-to-find-menstrual-pads-running-wa |access-date=March 11, 2024 |website=NPR |archive-date=11 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240311150439/https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2024/01/11/1224201620/another-layer-of-misery-women-in-gaza-struggle-to-find-menstrual-pads-running-wa |url-status=live }} One girl sheltering in a UNRWA school in Maghazi told reporters that she had begun washing used pads to reuse them, while another indicated that due to the stress of the war she had been having her period more often, about twice a month.{{Cite news |last=Mousa |first=Aseel |date=2024-03-05 |title='My period has become a nightmare': life in Gaza without sanitary products |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/mar/05/my-period-has-become-nightmare-life-in-gaza-without-sanitary-products |access-date=2024-03-11 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} A mom of five daughters told reporters that they were all utilizing Pampers diapers for their periods, and had to cut the diapers in half due to costs while others have utilized rags, old clothes, towels or corners of tents causing chafing and skin infections.

In June 2024, children suffered from intestinal infections and hepatitis C or A, due to the destruction of Gaza's water supply and sanitation systems.{{cite web |last1=Donnison |first1=Jon |title=Gaza's water system, destroyed by war, is sickening its children |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd119dz515wo?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Bbbc.news.twitter%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D&at_link_type=web_link&at_link_id=CD132008-2F8B-11EF-B975-BCE22307FCC8&at_link_origin=BBCWorld&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_medium=social&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_format=link&at_campaign_type=owned |website=BBC |access-date=4 July 2024}}

Annually, the Israeli military arrests approximately 500 to 700 Palestinian children, all under the age of 18. As reported by Addameer, a Palestinian NGO, about 200 of these children remain incarcerated in Israeli prisons. Following the commencement of Israel's aggressive actions in Gaza on October 7, there has been a noticeable surge in detentions - with over 450 children being taken into custody at various points, as stated by the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs. Since the year 2000, an estimated 13,000 children have been subject to arbitrary detention, interrogation, trial in military courts, and imprisonment.[https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/palestinian-childrens-day-puts-spotlight-on-israels-war-on-kids-17657201 Palestinian Children’s Day puts spotlight on Israel’s war on kids] Retrieved 6 April 2024

Many Palestinian children are detained in nighttime operations, with some being placed in administrative detention without a fair trial or formal charges. According to Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, there are numerous significant human rights issues associated with these procedures.[https://time.com/6548068/palestinian-children-israeli-prison-arrested/ The Traumatic Arrests of Children] Retrieved 11 March 2024

In April 2025, it was reported that Walid Ahmad was the first Palestinian child to die in Israeli prisons. Ahmad was arrested six months prior to his death and kept at the Megiddo Prison after being accused of throwing stones at soldiers in the occupied West Bank.{{Cite web |last=Frankel |first=Julia |date=2025-04-01 |title=A Palestinian from the West Bank is first detainee under 18 to die in Israeli prison, officials say |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-palestinian-prisoner-teenager-dead-874271e9c7afe095310143233aec0d38 |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=AP News |language=en |archive-date=1 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250401183217/https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-palestinian-prisoner-teenager-dead-874271e9c7afe095310143233aec0d38 |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Casualties of the Gaza war}}

{{Pie chart

|caption= Breakdown of deaths by age and gender (analysis by professors Michael Spagat and Daniel Silverman), November 2023{{cite web|author=Michael Spagat and Daniel Silverman|title=Is the Hamas-run Ministry of Health data on fatalities in Gaza to be trusted?|url=https://aoav.org.uk/2023/are-the-gazan-casualty-figures-being-reported-reliable-two-conflict-experts-compared-the-numbers-to-previous-attacks-and-conclude-they-are-credible/|date=2023-11-01|access-date=21 February 2024|archive-date=9 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509224342/https://aoav.org.uk/2023/are-the-gazan-casualty-figures-being-reported-reliable-two-conflict-experts-compared-the-numbers-to-previous-attacks-and-conclude-they-are-credible/|url-status=live}}

|value1 = 35.3

|label1 = Men and boys over 14

|value2 = 24.1

|label2 = Women and girls over 14

|value3 = 33.8

|label3 = Children under 14

|value4 = 6.8

|label4 = Elderly, above 60}}

File:Damage in Gaza Strip during the October 2023 - 42 (cropped).jpg

By 3 December, an estimated 6,150 children had been killed in the conflict.{{cite web |title=WATCH: Palestinian boy's farewell to brother killed in Israeli air raid |url=https://aje.io/h1s5og?update=2530939 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=3 December 2023 |archive-date=19 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219160556/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/12/3/israel-gaza-war-live-israel-bombards-gaza-as-talks-break-down?update=2530939 |url-status=live }} More children were killed in Gaza in two and a half months than the total of children killed in all conflicts around the world in the previous three years combined.{{cite web |last1=Johnston |first1=Nicole |title=Israel-Hamas war: The impossible conditions for children born into conflict |url=https://news.sky.com/story/israel-hamas-war-the-impossible-conditions-for-children-born-into-conflict-13037444?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter |website=Sky News |access-date=25 December 2023 |archive-date=25 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231225164759/https://news.sky.com/story/israel-hamas-war-the-impossible-conditions-for-children-born-into-conflict-13037444?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter |url-status=live }} By mid-January 2024, an estimated 10,000 children in Gaza had been killed, with thousands more buried under rubble.{{cite web |title=Gaza: 10,000 children killed in nearly 100 days of war |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/gaza-10000-children-killed-nearly-100-days-war |website=ReliefWeb |date=11 January 2024 |publisher=Save the Children |access-date=26 January 2024 |archive-date=21 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240121175146/https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/gaza-10000-children-killed-nearly-100-days-war |url-status=live }} By 5 February 2024, Defense for Children International estimated that 12,100 children had been killed in Gaza.{{cite web |last1=Nobani |first1=Ayman |title=More than 12,100 children killed in Gaza: Rights group |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/5/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-strikes-level-homes-in-deir-el-balah?update=2680316 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=6 February 2024 |archive-date=6 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206035530/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/5/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-strikes-level-homes-in-deir-el-balah?update=2680316 |url-status=live }} Children have been killed in Israeli airstrikes, even in areas deemed a "safe zone" by the IDF, such as when a family of twelve were killed in a safe zone in Mawasi in southern Gaza, of which 10 were children. In March 2024, the United Nations stated that more children had died in Gaza between October 2023 and February 2024 than the sum of all global conflicts from 2019 to 2022.{{cite web |last1=Lim |first1=Clarissa-Jan |title=More children killed in Gaza in four months than in four years of war globally: report |url=https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/death-toll-children-gaza-israel-rcna143269 |website=MSNBC |date=14 March 2024 |access-date=14 March 2024 |archive-date=14 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314163954/https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/death-toll-children-gaza-israel-rcna143269 |url-status=live }} Catherine M. Russell, the head of UNICEF, stated, "We haven’t seen that rate of death among children in almost any other conflict in the world".{{cite web |last1=Singh |first1=Kanishka |title=UNICEF says over 13,000 children killed in Gaza in Israel offensive |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/unicef-says-over-13000-children-killed-gaza-israel-offensive-2024-03-17/ |website=Reuters |access-date=21 March 2024 |archive-date=18 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240318091312/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/unicef-says-over-13000-children-killed-gaza-israel-offensive-2024-03-17/ |url-status=live }} In June 2024, Save the Children stated approximately 21,000 children were missing in Gaza, including 4,000 children believed to be buried under rubble.{{cite web |title=Gaza's Missing Children: Over 20,000 Children Estimated to Be Lost, Disappeared, Detained, Buried Under The Rubble Or In Mass Graves |url=https://www.savethechildren.net/news/gazas-missing-children-over-20000-children-estimated-be-lost-disappeared-detained-buried-under#:~:text=%5B1%5D%20Save%20the%20Children%20estimates,in%20Gaza%2C%20or%20over%2020%2C000. |website=Save the Children |access-date=3 July 2024 |archive-date=2 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240702111204/https://www.savethechildren.net/news/gazas-missing-children-over-20000-children-estimated-be-lost-disappeared-detained-buried-under#:~:text=%5B1%5D%20Save%20the%20Children%20estimates,in%20Gaza%2C%20or%20over%2020%2C000. |url-status=live }}

Some parents reported speaking to their children about what to do if one or both of their parents were killed, such as where important documents are and where to find aid or shelter. Hospital and emergency workers in Gaza noted that parents and relatives of some children wrote on children's bodies, mostly on their legs and abdomens, so the children would be identifiable if found in the rubble or get lost. One employee stated; "Many of the children are missing, many get here with their skulls broken… and it’s impossible to identify them, only through that writing do they get identified."{{Cite web |last=Said-Moorhouse |first=Abeer Salman,Kareem Khadder,Kareem El Damanhoury,Rhea Mogul,Lauren |date=2023-10-23 |title=Names written on children's bodies speak to the fears of Gazan parents amid the Israel-Hamas war |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/23/middleeast/gaza-hospitals-doctors-disaster-intl-hnk/index.html |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=6 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206194643/https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/23/middleeast/gaza-hospitals-doctors-disaster-intl-hnk/index.html |url-status=live }} The bodies of some children buried under rubble remained unrecovered.{{cite news |last1=Natour |first1=Rhana |title=These Palestinian boys received life-saving surgery in the US. An Israeli airstrike killed them in their home |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/28/palestine-children-surgery-gaza-israel-airstrike-killed |website=The Guardian |date=28 November 2023 |access-date=30 November 2023 |archive-date=30 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130001334/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/28/palestine-children-surgery-gaza-israel-airstrike-killed |url-status=live }} In one case, a newborn was rescued from under rubble after surviving a bombing.{{cite web |last1=Barbakh |first1=Arafat |title=Baby saved from Gaza rubble after mother killed in Israeli strike |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/baby-saved-gaza-rubble-after-mother-killed-israeli-strike-2023-12-29/ |website=Reuters |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=6 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206163220/http://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/baby-saved-gaza-rubble-after-mother-killed-israeli-strike-2023-12-29/ |url-status=live }} In another, a girl was rescued after being buried for more than 40 hours.{{cite web |title=Child saved from destroyed home in Khan Younis: PRCS |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/5/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-attacks-on-aid-seekers-continue?update=2751199 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=8 March 2024 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308013720/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/5/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-attacks-on-aid-seekers-continue?update=2751199 |url-status=live }} UNICEF has warned that the war has become a war on children, as in late December 2023 minors were estimated to account for 40% of those killed in Gaza, comparative to past conflicts were minors would be about 20%.{{Cite news |last1=Mousa |first1=Aseel |last2=Borger |first2=Julian |date=2023-12-22 |title=The plight of Gaza's 'WCNSFs' – wounded child, no surviving family |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/22/the-plight-of-gazas-wcnsfs-wounded-child-no-surviving-family |access-date=2024-02-14 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214190137/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/22/the-plight-of-gazas-wcnsfs-wounded-child-no-surviving-family |url-status=live }}

Police also killed a 13-year-old boy and beat and fired at teenagers that tried to get supplies from aid trucks.{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/gaza-families-face-desperate-conditions-/7427679.html|title=Gaza Families Face Desperate Conditions|newspaper=Voice of America|date=January 5, 2024|author=|accessdate=February 11, 2024|archive-date=12 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212220258/https://www.voanews.com/a/gaza-families-face-desperate-conditions-/7427679.html|url-status=live}} The former head of Mossad told Kan that everyone over the age of four "supports Hamas".{{cite web |title=Gaza kids back Hamas, deserve collective punishment— Ex-Mossad chief |url=https://www.jordannews.jo/Section-20/Middle-East/Gaza-kids-back-Hamas-deserve-collective-punishment-Ex-Mossad-chief-34343 |website=Jordan News |date=18 February 2024 |access-date=18 February 2024 |archive-date=18 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218171828/https://www.jordannews.jo/Section-20/Middle-East/Gaza-kids-back-Hamas-deserve-collective-punishment-Ex-Mossad-chief-34343 |url-status=live }}

Warning of the joint threats of starvation and disease, a UNICEF spokesperson stated on 20 February, "The Gaza Strip is poised to witness an explosion in preventable child deaths which would compound the already unbearable level of child deaths in Gaza".{{cite web |title=CHILDREN'S LIVES THREATENED BY RISING MALNUTRITION IN THE GAZA STRIP |url=https://www.unicef.org.uk/press-releases/childrens-lives-threatened-by-rising-malnutrition-in-the-gaza-strip/#:~:text=“The%20Gaza%20Strip%20is%20poised,and%20Supply%20Operations%2C%20Ted%20Chaiban. |website=UNICEF |access-date=21 February 2024 |archive-date=21 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221062329/https://www.unicef.org.uk/press-releases/childrens-lives-threatened-by-rising-malnutrition-in-the-gaza-strip/#:~:text=“The%20Gaza%20Strip%20is%20poised,and%20Supply%20Operations%2C%20Ted%20Chaiban. |url-status=live }} Following an Israeli airstrike on Deir el-Balah, an emergency first responder stated, "We collected body parts of women and children... What have they done to deserve to die like this? What did this young girl do to Israel to be dismembered like this?"{{cite web |title='We collected body parts of women and children' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/24/israels-war-on-gaza-live-unrwa-no-longer-functional-in-north-gaza?update=2729512 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=25 February 2024 |archive-date=25 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225032013/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/24/israels-war-on-gaza-live-unrwa-no-longer-functional-in-north-gaza?update=2729512 |url-status=live }} A father and two twin infants were killed in an Israeli airstrike, after the father and the babies' mother had struggled to conceive for eleven years.{{cite web |last1=Shurafa |first1=Wafaa |last2=Magdy |first2=Samy |title=After 10 years of trying, a Palestinian woman had twins. An Israeli strike killed them both |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-children-twins-killed-gaza-25282b273b92aec7fc75c3212f8d8e3f |website=Associated Press |date=3 March 2024 |access-date=13 March 2024 |archive-date=16 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416193430/https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-children-twins-killed-gaza-25282b273b92aec7fc75c3212f8d8e3f |url-status=live }} Doctors described children experiencing serious injuries.{{cite web |last1=Shurafa |first1=Wafaa |title=Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children |url=https://apnews.com/article/gaza-aqsa-martyrs-hospital-health-care-israel-7c7a6117efae29e22a61e82151144613 |website=Associated Press |date=28 March 2024 |access-date=4 May 2024 |archive-date=3 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240503225856/https://apnews.com/article/gaza-aqsa-martyrs-hospital-health-care-israel-7c7a6117efae29e22a61e82151144613 |url-status=live }} In one instance, a girl was reportedly shot and killed while in her mother's arms.{{cite web |last1=Al-Sawalhi |first1=Mohammad |title=Palestinian girl shot in mother's arms as they attempted to return to home in northern Gaza |url=https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-04-15-24/h_d1f23606cf67170b6218d0eb79762b4a |website=CNN |date=15 April 2024 |access-date=30 April 2024 |archive-date=30 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430140747/https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-04-15-24/h_d1f23606cf67170b6218d0eb79762b4a |url-status=live }}

In June 2024, Adam Hamawy, a former US army combat surgeon who worked in the European Hospital, stated, "But the level of civilian casualties that I experienced was beyond anything I'd seen before... Most of our patients were children under the age of 14".{{cite web |title=US health workers sound alarm on Gaza medical crisis |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240627-us-health-workers-sound-alarm-on-gaza-medical-crisis |website=France24 |date=27 June 2024 |access-date=6 July 2024 |archive-date=6 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706190131/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240627-us-health-workers-sound-alarm-on-gaza-medical-crisis |url-status=live }} In August 2024, an Israeli airstrike killed Joumana Arafa and her four-day-old twins.{{cite news |title=Four-day-old twins killed in Gaza by Israeli airstrike as father registered births |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/14/twin-babies-killed-gaza-israeli-airstrike?CMP=twt_b-gdnnews |website=The Guardian | date=14 August 2024 |access-date=17 August 2024}}

In February 2024, an American doctor returning from the Gaza Strip wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times stating that she had witnessed children being deliberately targeted by Israeli snipers, writing, "On one occasion, a handful of children, all about ages 5 to 8, were carried to the emergency room by their parents. All had single sniper shots to the head... None of these children survived."{{cite news |last1=Galaria |first1=Irfan |title=I'm an American doctor who went to Gaza. What I saw wasn't war — it was annihilation |url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-02-16/rafah-gaza-hospitals-surgery-israel-bombing-ground-offensive-children |newspaper=LA Times |date=16 February 2024 |access-date=18 February 2024 |archive-date=18 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218012619/https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-02-16/rafah-gaza-hospitals-surgery-israel-bombing-ground-offensive-children |url-status=live }} A Canadian doctor returning from a week in Gaza stated she had seen crimes against humanity, including small children "dying of hunger, bombs, sniper shots."{{cite web |title=The world has failed the children of Gaza: Canadian doctor |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/25/israels-war-on-gaza-live-rafah-strikes-further-harming-aid-efforts-un?update=2732212 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=26 February 2024 |archive-date=9 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241009192436/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/25/israels-war-on-gaza-live-rafah-strikes-further-harming-aid-efforts-un?update=2732212 |url-status=live }} Israeli drone footage released in March 2024 showed Israeli snipers killing an unarmed boy in Jabalia.{{cite web |title=Israeli drone footage documents sniping of a Palestinian boy |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/10/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-is-restricting-lifesaving-aid-unrwa?update=2762254 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=13 March 2024 |archive-date=9 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240409034357/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/10/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-is-restricting-lifesaving-aid-unrwa?update=2762254 |url-status=live }} In April 2024, doctors said they were seeing "a steady stream of children, elderly people and others who were clearly not combatants with single bullet wounds to the head or chest."{{cite news |last1=McGreal |first1=Chris |title='Not a normal war': doctors say children have been targeted by Israeli snipers in Gaza |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/02/gaza-palestinian-children-killed-idf-israel-war?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other |website=The Guardian |date=2 April 2024 |access-date=9 April 2024 |archive-date=8 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240708152039/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/02/gaza-palestinian-children-killed-idf-israel-war?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other |url-status=live }}

Dr. Mark Perlmutter, an American doctor working in Gaza, stated Israeli snipers were targeting children, stating, "No toddler gets shot twice by mistake by the 'world's best sniper.' And they're dead-center shots."{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Tracy |title=Children of Gaza |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/children-of-gaza/ |website=CBS News |date=21 July 2024 |access-date=3 August 2024 |archive-date=2 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240802213308/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/children-of-gaza/ |url-status=live }} In August 2024, an American doctor returning from Gaza stated, "We had kids shot in the chest and shot in the head – in other words, clearly deliberate, clearly targeted".{{cite web |last1=Maçães |first1=Bruno |title=What a surgeon saw in Gaza |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/world/middle-east/2024/08/what-a-surgeon-saw-in-gaza |website=The New Statesman |date=3 August 2024 |access-date=17 August 2024 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817203608/https://www.newstatesman.com/world/middle-east/2024/08/what-a-surgeon-saw-in-gaza |url-status=live }} In October 2024, The New York Times reported compiled testimony from 44 doctors, nurses, and paramedics who treated multiple cases of preteen children with gunshot wounds to the head or chest in Gaza. Inquiries sent to the IDF regarding the experiences of these health care workers received a statement from a spokesperson that did not directly confirm whether investigations into the shootings of preteen children had been conducted or if any soldiers faced disciplinary action for firing at them.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/09/opinion/gaza-doctor-interviews.html|title=65 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza |last=Sidhwa |first=Feroze |date=9 October 2024 |work=The New York Times |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241012012500/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/09/opinion/gaza-doctor-interviews.html |archive-date=12 October 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=12 October 2024}} In response to claims alleging that the report was based on "fabricated evidence", The New York Times issued a statement defending the integrity of the piece, emphasizing that it had undergone rigorous editing and verification, including consultations with experts and the use of supporting photographs, which they deemed "too horrific for publication."

• {{cite news |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/nyt-rebuts-claims-fake-images-gaza-children-shot-head |title=NYT rebuts pro-Israeli denial of scans showing Gaza children shot in head by soldiers |date=16 October 2024 |work=The New Arab |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241022011857/https://www.newarab.com/news/nyt-rebuts-claims-fake-images-gaza-children-shot-head |archive-date=22 October 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=22 October 2024}}
• {{cite web |url=https://www.thewrap.com/new-york-times-stands-by-report-child-gunshot-wounds-gaza/ |title=New York Times Stands By Report of Child Gunshot Wounds in Gaza: 'Rigorously Edited' and Double-Vetted |last=Dickey |first=Josh |date=16 October 2024 |work=The Wrap |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241022013025/https://www.thewrap.com/new-york-times-stands-by-report-child-gunshot-wounds-gaza/ |archive-date=22 October 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=22 October 2024}}

{{main|Killing of Hind Rajab}}

In February 2024, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported that a paramedic unit had gone missing attempting to rescue six-year-old Hind Rajab.{{cite news |last1=Sawafta |first1=Ali |last2=Chacar |first2=Henriette |title=Unknown fate of Palestinian girl, ambulance team highlights Gaza rescue challenges |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/unknown-fate-palestinian-girl-ambulance-team-highlights-gaza-rescue-challenges-2024-02-01/ |work=Reuters |access-date=3 February 2024 |archive-date=2 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202012351/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/unknown-fate-palestinian-girl-ambulance-team-highlights-gaza-rescue-challenges-2024-02-01/ |url-status=live}} In released audio of the emergency call, Rajab is heard telling the paramedics, "I'm so scared. Please come," with gunfire in the background immediately after the family's car had been hit by an Israeli tank.{{cite news |last1=Ott |first1=Haley |title=Fate of 6-year-old girl in Gaza unknown after ambulance team sent to rescue her vanishes, aid group says |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hind-rajab-gaza-palestinian-red-crescent/ |work=CBS News |access-date=3 February 2024 |archive-date=3 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240203005719/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hind-rajab-gaza-palestinian-red-crescent/ |url-status=live}} On 3 February, the media director of the Palestinian Red Crescent stated only Israeli forces knew what had happened to Hind.{{cite news |title=PRCS: No one knows the fate of 6-year-old Hind |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/3/israels-war-on-gaza-live-us-strikes-drive-fears-of-gaza-war-spillover?update=2676630 |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=3 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240203232845/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/3/israels-war-on-gaza-live-us-strikes-drive-fears-of-gaza-war-spillover?update=2676630 |url-status=live}} On 5 February, one week after the attack, Rajab's mother stated, "I have been appealing to the whole world, but no one moved a finger."{{cite web |title=Palestinian girl Hind Rajab still missing after seven days |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/5/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-strikes-level-homes-in-deir-el-balah?update=2679876 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=6 February 2024 |archive-date=6 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206041321/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/5/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-strikes-level-homes-in-deir-el-balah?update=2679876 |url-status=live }} Her grandfather stated, "We want to know her fate, whatever it was."{{cite web |title=Grief-stricken grandad demands whereabouts of missing girl |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/6/israels-war-on-gaza-live-staggering-destruction-in-north-gaza-unrwa?update=2681618 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=8 February 2024 |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208001125/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/6/israels-war-on-gaza-live-staggering-destruction-in-north-gaza-unrwa?update=2681618 |url-status=live }} On 8 February, ten days after Rajab went missing, the Palestinian Red Crescent stated, "We want answers, we want the truth, we need the painful silence to end."{{cite web |title=PRCS says 10 days have passed since disappearance of ambulance crew searching for six-year-old girl |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/8/israels-war-on-gaza-live-us-says-space-for-truce-deal-israel-vows-war?update=2692670 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=9 February 2024 |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208203518/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/8/israels-war-on-gaza-live-us-says-space-for-truce-deal-israel-vows-war?update=2692670 |url-status=live }} On 10 February 2024, Rajab was found dead along with the bodies of the two paramedics.{{cite web |title=Hind Rajab's death shows defencelessness of Palestinians in Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/10/israels-war-on-gaza-live-death-toll-nears-28000-as-rafah-assault-looms?update=2698175 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=11 February 2024 |archive-date=10 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210211403/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/10/israels-war-on-gaza-live-death-toll-nears-28000-as-rafah-assault-looms?update=2698175 |url-status=live }}

File:Fars Photo of Casualties in Gaza Strip during 2023 War 26.jpg

Doctors warned children who survived Israeli airstrikes were left with permanent disabilities and trauma.{{cite web |last1=Khaled |first1=Mai |last2=Saleh |first2=Heba |title=Gaza's children fight to survive amid wreckage of Israel-Hamas war |url=https://www.ft.com/content/55d74061-49c2-4a57-b67d-9daab07509fa?shareType=nongift |website=Financial Times |access-date=30 November 2023 |archive-date=1 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201005616/https://www.ft.com/content/55d74061-49c2-4a57-b67d-9daab07509fa?shareType=nongift |url-status=live }} A report by Save the Children in January 2024 stated children were "enduring unspeakable horrors, including life-changing injuries, burns, disease, inadequate medical care, and losing their parents and other loved ones".{{cite web |title=More than 10,000 children killed in Gaza in nearly 100 days of war |url=https://m.reliefweb.int/report/4029165/occupied-palestinian-territory/gaza-10000-children-killed-nearly-100-days-war?lang=ru |website=ReliefWeb | date=11 January 2024 |publisher=Save the Children |access-date=13 January 2024 |archive-date=19 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219160514/https://m.reliefweb.int/report/4029165/occupied-palestinian-territory/gaza-10000-children-killed-nearly-100-days-war?lang=ru |url-status=live }} A Doctors Without Borders doctor stated children were suffering from "terrible injuries, huge burns covering 50-70% of their body and massively broken limbs".{{cite web |title='Catastrophic scenes' at Nasser Hospital: MSF doctor |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/1/israels-war-on-gaza-live-death-toll-in-gaza-nears-27000-66000-wounded?update=2668088 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=3 February 2024 |archive-date=3 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240203022206/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/1/israels-war-on-gaza-live-death-toll-in-gaza-nears-27000-66000-wounded?update=2668088 |url-status=live }} Many of the surgeries performed on the children and other patients were performed without anesthesia due to severe shortages of medical supplies in Gaza, according to WHO. A doctor with Doctors Without Borders reflected that even after working in many war zones, he has seen more injured children in Gaza, stating; "It was really shocking for me because I have never seen babies. So many babies victim of trauma, of war, with war wounds".

A British doctor who spent time in Gaza through a medical charity and returned to the United Kingdom in December 2023 highlighted the concerns of poor hygiene and medical supply shortages that could cause wounds to become worse and make some un-survivable. This was echoed by UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, who recounted seeing a child who had been stuck in a vehicle at an Israeli military checkpoint for days due to delays, with a wound that had started to decompose. In June 2024, children with cancer and other illnesses were prevented from receiving chemotherapy outside of the Gaza Strip when Israel closed the Rafah border crossing during its Rafah offensive.{{cite web |last1=Rouqa |first1=Doaa |title=Closure of Gaza's only route out leaves boy, 10, with no treatment for cancer |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/closure-gazas-only-route-out-leaves-boy-10-with-no-treatment-cancer-2024-06-04/ |website=Reuters |access-date=14 June 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Hasan |first1=Roohi |title=Critically ill baby trapped in Gaza has 'days to live' unless evacuated for lifesaving transplant |url=https://www.itv.com/news/2024-06-02/baby-trapped-in-gaza-has-days-to-live-unless-evacuated-for-transplant?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1717351492-1 |website=ITV |access-date=17 June 2024 |archive-date=17 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240617000601/https://www.itv.com/news/2024-06-02/baby-trapped-in-gaza-has-days-to-live-unless-evacuated-for-transplant?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1717351492-1 |url-status=live }} In July 2024, American and Australian doctors stated that Israel was using bombs that spray shrapnel, which were causing "horrific injuries" to children.{{cite news |last1=McGreal |first1=Chris |title=Israeli weapons packed with shrapnel causing devastating injuries to children in Gaza, doctors say |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/11/israeli-weapons-shrapnel-children-gaza-injured?CMP=twt_b-gdnnews |website=The Guardian |date=11 July 2024 |access-date=24 July 2024}} A one-week old baby was evacuated from Gaza after an Israeli bomb sent shrapnel into his eye.{{cite web |last1=Khaled |first1=Fatma |title=A baby evacuated from Gaza lost an eye and most of his family in the war |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240908131029/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/baby-evacuated-gaza-lost-eye-family-war-113091264|archive-date=8 September 2024|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/baby-evacuated-gaza-lost-eye-family-war-113091264 |website=ABC News |access-date=11 September 2024}} The same month, Israeli PM Netanyahu blocked the creation of a children's field hospital in Gaza.{{cite web |title=Netanyahu Blocks Minister's Order To Build Hospital For Gaza Children |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/netanyahu-blocks-minister-s-order-to-build-hospital-for-gaza-children-4bcc6321 |website=Barron's |publisher=Agence France Presse |access-date=26 July 2024 |archive-date=26 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240726005818/https://www.barrons.com/news/netanyahu-blocks-minister-s-order-to-build-hospital-for-gaza-children-4bcc6321 |url-status=live }}

Save the Children reported 10 children a day in Gaza had lost their limbs, which would result in a lifetime of medical needs.{{cite web |title=GAZA: MORE THAN 10 CHILDREN A DAY LOSE A LIMB IN THREE MONTHS OF BRUTAL CONFLICT |url=https://www.savethechildren.net/news/gaza-more-10-children-day-lose-limb-three-months-brutal-conflict |website=Save the Children |access-date=8 January 2024 |archive-date=8 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108000556/https://www.savethechildren.net/news/gaza-more-10-children-day-lose-limb-three-months-brutal-conflict |url-status=live }} A UNICEF spokesperson James Elder was quoted after returning from Gaza in mid-December 2023, that around 1,000 children had lost one or both legs since the 7 October attacks and the start of the war. According to the British doctor Ghassan Abu-Sittah, "This is the biggest cohort of pediatric amputees in history".{{cite magazine |last1=Griswold |first1=Eliza |title=The Children Who Lost Limbs in Gaza |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-children-who-lost-limbs-in-gaza?utm_medium=social&utm_brand=tny&utm_social-type=owned&mbid=social_twitter&utm_source=twitter |magazine=The New Yorker |date=21 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322004534/https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-children-who-lost-limbs-in-gaza?utm_medium=social&utm_brand=tny&utm_social-type=owned&mbid=social_twitter&utm_source=twitter |access-date=24 March 2024|archive-date=22 March 2024 }}

In mid-December 2023, a teenager's amputation performed without anesthesia on her families kitchen table by her uncle who is a doctor went viral on social media. She and a sibling had climbed to the top of the building to call their father who is overseas before the building was reportedly struck by IDF tank fire, and she was rushed inside to her uncle.{{Cite web |date=January 19, 2024 |title=Gaza doctor amputates niece's leg at home, without anaesthesia |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-doctor-amputates-nieces-leg-home-without-anaesthesia-2024-01-19/ |access-date=March 11, 2024 |website=Reuters |archive-date=11 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240311195156/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-doctor-amputates-nieces-leg-home-without-anaesthesia-2024-01-19/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last1=Mahfouz |first1=Heba Farouk |last2=Morris |first2=Loveday |date=2024-01-20 |title=A kitchen table amputation without anesthetic in Gaza is one of many |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/20/gaza-healthcare-crisis-amputation-anesthesia/ |access-date=2024-03-11 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=2 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502223718/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/20/gaza-healthcare-crisis-amputation-anesthesia/ |url-status=live }} In early-January 2024, an 11-year-old speaking to reporters about her injuries which included an amputated leg and with the other severely injured expressed her hope in getting an artificial limb, and lamented how her life has become "ugly and sad" after the injury. Other children's stumps after amputation had to be re-opened after infections had set in.

By June 2024, doctors in Gaza estimated as many as 3,000 children had lost limbs since October 2023.{{cite web |title=Almost 3,000 Palestinian children have lost limbs in Israel's attacks on Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/6/8/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-army-to-be-added-to-un-child-harm-list?update=2960201 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=16 June 2024 |archive-date=16 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616163343/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/6/8/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-army-to-be-added-to-un-child-harm-list?update=2960201 |url-status=live }} A WHO Emergency Medical Team coordinator also cautioned that due to lack of medical expertise and time, some of the amputations done were unnecessary or due to a time delay. The head of Humanity & Inclusion stated child amputees needed "immediate support" for prosthetics but that wasn't happening.{{cite web |title=Not enough support for amputees in Gaza, says charity |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/6/15/israels-war-on-gaza-live-1-million-exhausted-people-trapped-in-south?update=2976961 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=23 June 2024 |archive-date=23 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240623215933/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/6/15/israels-war-on-gaza-live-1-million-exhausted-people-trapped-in-south?update=2976961 |url-status=live }}

Aid workers coined the term WCNSF, meaning Wounded Child No Surviving Family. In late-August 2024, an estimated 19,000 children had lost one or both of their parents.{{cite web |last1=Saleh |first1=Heba |title='My siblings have become my children': the plight of Gaza's orphans |url=https://www.ft.com/content/a00ef9da-c33c-4928-8f5a-ff12a2da04ef?shareType=nongift |website=Financial Times |access-date=14 September 2024 |archive-date=14 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914055158/https://www.ft.com/content/a00ef9da-c33c-4928-8f5a-ff12a2da04ef?shareType=nongift |url-status=live }} UNICEF reported that extended families were taking on the responsibility of caring for orphaned children.{{cite web |title=Families struggling to take care of additional children orphaned in Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/2/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-downplays-settler-violence-in-west-bank?update=2672875 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=3 February 2024 |archive-date=2 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202204219/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/2/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-downplays-settler-violence-in-west-bank?update=2672875 |url-status=live }} UNICEF expressed further concerns about difficulties with orphaned children, stating, "The youngest ones very often cannot say their name and even the older ones are usually in shock so it can be extremely difficult to identify them".{{cite news |last1=Knell |first1=Yolande |title=Injured, hungry and alone - the Gazan children orphaned by war |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68141039?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Bbbc.news.twitter%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_link_type=web_link&at_campaign_type=owned&at_link_id=3BEE18E6-BFFE-11EE-AD3E-B4B2D0B4AF07&at_link_origin=BBCWorld&at_format=link&at_medium=social&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_bbc_team=editorial |website=BBC |date=31 January 2024 |access-date=7 February 2024 |archive-date=7 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207012514/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68141039?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Bbbc.news.twitter%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_link_type=web_link&at_campaign_type=owned&at_link_id=3BEE18E6-BFFE-11EE-AD3E-B4B2D0B4AF07&at_link_origin=BBCWorld&at_format=link&at_medium=social&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_bbc_team=editorial |url-status=live }} Additional difficulties have been identified as the intensification of Israeli airstrikes and invasion into Gaza and rapidly changing situation within Gaza, with efforts to open communication with hospitals and health staff hindered by the war. Per UNICEF the standard system to identify, document, trace and reunite children with relatives or siblings was barely functional in early December 2023.{{Cite news |last=Haidar |first=Dalia |date=2023-12-04 |title='Wounded child, no surviving family': The pain of Gaza's orphans |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67614139 |access-date=2024-02-14 |language=en-GB |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214190137/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67614139 |url-status=live }} The UN has also estimated that about 40% of all people in Gaza have lost ID cards and documents due to the war, which has also hindered reunification and identification.

Many orphaned children recount their difficulty at processing or saying goodbye to their parents and siblings after their deaths, due to lack of funeral or memorial services, uncertainty of the future and delay at being told due to medical fragility. Humanitarian organizations reported difficulties with orphaned children who were too young to know their own names.{{cite web |last1=Amer |first1=Ruwaida |last2=Marsi |first2=Federica |title='He was nameless': Orphaned children lose family, identity in Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/2/15/he-was-nameless-orphaned-children-lose-family-identity-in-gaza |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=17 February 2024 |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217101951/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/2/15/he-was-nameless-orphaned-children-lose-family-identity-in-gaza |url-status=live }} Older siblings and extended family also took on responsibility for caring for their younger siblings after being orphaned.{{cite web |last1=Humaid |first1=Maram |title=Two orphaned teens got their seven siblings to Rafah; now they live in fear |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/2/12/two-orphaned-teens-got-their-seven-siblings-to-rafah-now-they-live-in-fear |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=17 February 2024 |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217172827/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/2/12/two-orphaned-teens-got-their-seven-siblings-to-rafah-now-they-live-in-fear |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Gaza's orphaned children are bearing the brunt of the war as relatives struggle to provide support |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/lifestyle/gaza’s-orphaned-children-are-bearing-the-brunt-of-the-war-as-relatives-struggle-to-provide-support/vi-BB1pCJzg#details |website=MSN |publisher=Al Jazeera English |access-date=20 July 2024}}

In early February 2024, UNICEF estimated that at least 17,000 children had been orphaned.{{cite web |last1=Sebouai |first1=Lilia |title='They've lost everything': What now for Gaza's 17,000 orphans? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/gaza-17000-orphans-palestine-israel-hamas-war/ |website=The Telegraph |access-date=8 March 2024 |date=7 February 2024 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308015605/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/gaza-17000-orphans-palestine-israel-hamas-war/ |url-status=live }} In March 2024, Israel brought 95 Palestinian orphans from Rafah to the SOS Children's orphanage in Bethlehem at the request of the German government.{{cite web |last1=Nobani |first1=Ayman |title=Settlers denounce moving of Palestinian orphans in Gaza to Bethlehem |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/11/israels-war-on-gaza-live-ramadan-begins-with-no-end-to-israels-siege?update=2766071 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=14 March 2024 |archive-date=14 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314032328/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/11/israels-war-on-gaza-live-ramadan-begins-with-no-end-to-israels-siege?update=2766071 |url-status=live }} Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemned the temporary measure, stating, "Any mercy to the cruel will end up being cruel to the merciful".{{cite web |title=Rafah orphans taken to Bethlehem 'not relocated permanently': Germany |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/12/israels-war-on-gaza-live-2000-medical-staff-starving-in-north-ministry?update=2768254 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=14 March 2024 |archive-date=14 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314233214/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/12/israels-war-on-gaza-live-2000-medical-staff-starving-in-north-ministry?update=2768254 |url-status=live }} By October 2024, the estimated number of orphans in Gaza had grown to 20,000.{{cite web |title=Surviving war: A day in the life of one of Gaza's 20,000 new orphans |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S871wBrfd7s |website=YouTube |publisher=Channel 4 News |access-date=2 November 2024 |archive-date=31 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241031133851/https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=scMU1tio3loGupCK&v=S871wBrfd7s&feature=youtu.be |url-status=live }}

A believed to be days old infant was found in a tree near her destroyed presumed home after an Israeli airstrike killed the rest of the family in November 2023, she was known as Unknown and cared for in Emirati Hospital in Rafah, before being adopted by a pediatrician at the hospital.{{Cite web |last1=Abbas |first1=Mo |last2=McLaughlin |first2=Erin |date=2024-04-11 |title=Discovered in a tree after her Gaza home was destroyed, Baby Unknown finds a new family with her doctor |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-hamas-war-gaza-rafah-baby-unknown-al-shifa-incubator-malak-rcna146150 |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=11 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240411181643/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-hamas-war-gaza-rafah-baby-unknown-al-shifa-incubator-malak-rcna146150 |url-status=live }} A 5-year-old boy with cerebral palsy was orphaned and had grenade shrapnel lodged in his brain, after the IDF raided the family's home and executed his parents.{{cite web |last1=Sparks |first1=John |title=Israel-Hamas war: Palestinian siblings see parents killed in IDF raid |url=https://news.sky.com/story/israel-hamas-war-palestinian-siblings-see-parents-killed-in-idf-raid-13071072 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218000215/https://news.sky.com/story/israel-hamas-war-palestinian-siblings-see-parents-killed-in-idf-raid-13071072 |archive-date=18 February 2024 |access-date=18 February 2024 |website=Sky News}} A 15-year-old girl was rescued from the rubble three days after an Israeli bulldozer tore her home down with her family still inside, killing everyone but her.{{cite web |title='We were telling them we surrender': Gaza girl recounts Israeli bulldozer attack |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/7/israels-war-on-gaza-live-20-starve-to-death-in-gaza-more-feared-dead?update=2754983 |access-date=9 March 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |archive-date=9 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309234835/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/7/israels-war-on-gaza-live-20-starve-to-death-in-gaza-more-feared-dead?update=2754983 |url-status=live }} In July 2024, the number of unaccompanied children was unknown but was likely to be above the February 2024 estimate of 17,000.{{cite web |title=Wounded in strike that killed her family, a 2-year-old joins Gaza's ranks of thousands of orphans |url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-07-26/wounded-in-a-strike-that-killed-her-family-a-2-year-old-joins-gazas-ranks-of-thousands-of-orphans |website=Los Angeles Times |date=26 July 2024 |access-date=3 August 2024 |archive-date=3 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803092214/https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-07-26/wounded-in-a-strike-that-killed-her-family-a-2-year-old-joins-gazas-ranks-of-thousands-of-orphans |url-status=live }} Some children were left without even extended family remaining.{{cite web |last1=Shurafa |first1=Wafaa |title=Israeli strikes on Gaza leave children without parents and parents without children |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-gaza-orphans-strikes-36c11d9bb2c01b094e4301bf4e197f0b?utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter |website=Associated Press |date=13 August 2024 |access-date=17 August 2024 |archive-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817231710/https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-gaza-orphans-strikes-36c11d9bb2c01b094e4301bf4e197f0b?utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter |url-status=live }} In August 2024, a three-month old baby was the only survivor of an airstrike that killed her entire family.{{cite web |title=Gaza Medic Says Baby Survives Israeli Strike That Killed 10 |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/gaza-medic-says-baby-survives-israeli-strike-that-killed-10-6c53fc64 |website=Barron's |publisher=Agence France Presse |access-date=24 August 2024}} In early-October 2024, Israel reportedly bombed the al-Amal Institute for Orphans.{{cite web |title=Israeli air strikes hit school and orphanage in northern Gaza: Report |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/israeli-airstrikes-hit-school-and-orphanage-northern-gaza-report?nid=394896&topic=Israel%2527s%2520war%2520on%2520Gaza&fid=532426 |website=Middle East Eye |access-date=6 October 2024 |archive-date=7 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007100556/https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/israeli-airstrikes-hit-school-and-orphanage-northern-gaza-report?nid=394896&topic=Israel%2527s%2520war%2520on%2520Gaza&fid=532426 |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Gaza Strip evacuations}}

On 13 November, UNICEF stated more than 700,000 children in Gaza were displaced.{{cite web |title=In Gaza, more than 700,000 children have been displaced - forced to leave everything behind. |url=https://twitter.com/UNICEF/status/1724155268148191524?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1724155268148191524%7Ctwgr%5E78a7cd78ba86ee0532e86d8148dc1907f48297a9%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fnews%2Fliveblog%2F2023%2F11%2F13%2Fisrael-hamas-war-live-gazas-two-largest-hospitals-shut-amid-nonstop-raids |website=X post by UNICEF |publisher=UNICEF |access-date=13 November 2023 |archive-date=14 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114005847/https://twitter.com/UNICEF/status/1724155268148191524?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1724155268148191524%7Ctwgr%5E78a7cd78ba86ee0532e86d8148dc1907f48297a9%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/11/13/israel-hamas-war-live-gazas-two-largest-hospitals-shut-amid-nonstop-raids |url-status=live }} On 22 November 2023, UNICEF reported "increasing numbers" of unaccompanied children had been identified evacuating from northern to southern Gaza by themselves.{{cite web |last1=Russell |first1=Catherine |title=UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell's remarks at the UN Security Council briefing on the protection of children in Gaza |url=https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-executive-director-catherine-russells-remarks-un-security-council-briefing |website=UNICEF |access-date=27 November 2023 |archive-date=27 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231127002149/https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-executive-director-catherine-russells-remarks-un-security-council-briefing |url-status=live }} On 28 November, James Elder, a UNICEF spokesperson, stated wounded children were sheltering outdoors in car parks and gardens.{{cite web |last1=Arslan |first1=Muhammet İkbal |title=Situation in Gaza 'worse than I imagined': UNICEF spokesperson tells Anadolu |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/situation-in-gaza-worse-than-i-imagined-unicef-spokesperson-tells-anadolu/3067410 |website=AA |access-date=29 November 2023 |archive-date=29 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129002126/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/situation-in-gaza-worse-than-i-imagined-unicef-spokesperson-tells-anadolu/3067410 |url-status=live }}

By December 2023, Save the Children reported that it is likely that about 893,000 children were internally displaced in Gaza, average of 12,000 children a day forced to flee their homes, with some having to evacuate multiple times. Of the about 1.9 million displaced people in southern Gaza children make up almost 50% of the evacuees.{{Cite web |last=Ramallah |date=22 December 2023 |title=12,000 CHILDREN A DAY FORCIBLY DISPLACED IN GAZA, AS NEW 'EVACUATION ORDERS' ISSUED TO CIVILIANS |url=https://www.savethechildren.net/news/12000-children-day-forcibly-displaced-gaza-new-evacuation-orders-issued-civilians |access-date=February 5, 2024 |website=Save the Children |archive-date=5 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205212051/https://www.savethechildren.net/news/12000-children-day-forcibly-displaced-gaza-new-evacuation-orders-issued-civilians |url-status=live }} On 9 February, Catherine Russell stated, "UNICEF is urgently calling on the parties to refrain from military escalation in Rafah Governate in Gaza where over 600,000 children and their families have been displaced – many of them more than once."{{cite web |title=UNICEF chief calls on Israel to 'refrain from military escalation' in Rafah |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/9/israels-war-on-gaza-live-fear-in-rafah-as-israel-prepares-ground-attack?update=2693204 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=11 February 2024 |archive-date=9 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209035154/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/9/israels-war-on-gaza-live-fear-in-rafah-as-israel-prepares-ground-attack?update=2693204 |url-status=live }}

As Israel began its Rafah offensive in early-May 2024, Save the Children stated, "Forcibly displacing people from Rafah while further disrupting the aid response will likely seal the fate of many children".{{cite web |title=Save the Children warns of deadly consequences for children following new relocation orders for families in Rafah |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/save-children-warns-deadly-consequences-children-following-new-relocation-orders-families-rafah |website=ReliefWeb |date=6 May 2024 |publisher=Save the Children |access-date=11 May 2024 |archive-date=8 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240708152110/https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/save-children-warns-deadly-consequences-children-following-new-relocation-orders-families-rafah |url-status=live }}

Evacuation planning for children with medical concerns such as cancer out of Gaza and to continue treatment began in mid-October 2023, with discussions and negotiations among the United States, Egypt, Israel and Palestinian health officials along with World Health Organization and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital representatives. Many families and officials involved in Gaza have described a difficult process with damage to transportation avenues and communication networks causing many to miss crossing or pick-up times, while others were not allowed to evacuate with their children.{{Cite web |last1=LaFraniere |first1=Sharon |last2=Green |first2=Erica |date=November 15, 2023 |title=Inside the Desperate Effort to Evacuate Young Cancer Patients From Gaza |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/14/us/politics/gaza-hospitals-cancer-israel.html |access-date=February 6, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=16 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116015400/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/14/us/politics/gaza-hospitals-cancer-israel.html |url-status=live }} After repeated airstrike damage and lack of fuel at least two dozen premature babies were evacuated out of Gaza hospitals to Egypt to continue the specialized care they needed. Those that were evacuated were suffering from life-threatening conditions including dehydration, vomiting, hypothermia and sepsis due to the lack of medicine and fuel.{{Cite web |last1=Kekatos |first1=Mary |last2=Cobern |first2=Dr. Jade |date=November 21, 2023 |title=Dozens of premature infants were evacuated from Gaza. Here's the care doctors say they will need |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/dozens-premature-infants-evacuated-gaza-egypt-care-doctors/story?id=105032358 |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=ABC News |language=en |archive-date=6 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206194204/https://abcnews.go.com/Health/dozens-premature-infants-evacuated-gaza-egypt-care-doctors/story?id=105032358 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last1=Al-Mughrabi |first1=Nidal |last2=Williams |first2=Dan |date=November 20, 2023 |title=Premature Gaza babies evacuated to Egypt as Israeli tanks encircle second hospital |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-tanks-reported-near-hospital-embattled-north-gaza-2023-11-20/ |access-date=February 6, 2024 |website=Reuters |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213135138/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-tanks-reported-near-hospital-embattled-north-gaza-2023-11-20/ |url-status=live }} Injured children were also evacuated with Turkey offering treatment and resources to at least two groups of children that were receiving intensive care treatment.{{Cite web |last1=Gocumlu |first1=Burcu Calik |last2=Erdogan |first2=Muhammed Nuri |last3=Karaaslan |first3=Yesim Sert |date=November 23, 2023 |title=Turkish health minister welcomes 3 injured children evacuated from Gaza |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkiye/turkish-health-minister-welcomes-3-injured-children-evacuated-from-gaza/3062934 |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=www.aa.com.tr |archive-date=6 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206194205/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkiye/turkish-health-minister-welcomes-3-injured-children-evacuated-from-gaza/3062934 |url-status=live }}

It was reported in early March 2024, that about 300 children had been evacuated to Qatar with the majority being wounded and needing treatment but some being parents or a supporter. Many described the separation from family members as excruciating, with some children being unable to talk to their parents, living with relatives in Gaza or having to monitor and parent younger siblings while their parents care for their injured siblings.{{Cite web |last=Shahld Ahmed |first=Akbar |date=2024-03-05 |title=These Injured Palestinians Made It Out Of Gaza. Their Loved Ones Did Not — And The Distance Is Agony. |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/injured-palestine-qatar-gaza-families_n_65e76032e4b0f9d26cac8ef1 |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=HuffPost |language=en |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308054311/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/injured-palestine-qatar-gaza-families_n_65e76032e4b0f9d26cac8ef1 |url-status=live }}

{{further|Women in the Gaza war#Gaza Strip}}

File:Damage in Gaza Strip during the October 2023 - 45.jpg

An estimated 150 babies were born in Gaza per day since the start of the conflict.{{cite news |last1=Collier |first1=Neil |title='A Horror Film': Mothers in Gaza on Giving Birth in a War Zone |work=The New York Times |date=20 November 2023 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/20/world/middleeast/palestinian-pregnant-women-childbirth-gaza.html |access-date=27 November 2023 |archive-date=26 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126104047/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/20/world/middleeast/palestinian-pregnant-women-childbirth-gaza.html |url-status=live }} A pediatric doctor at the Emirati Hospital in Rafah, stated the number of premature babies born in Gaza had risen sharply.{{cite web |last1=Alsaafin |first1=Linah |last2=Humaid |first2=Maram |title=Emaciated but alive: Gaza mothers, premature babies reunited in Egypt |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/15/gaza-mothers-and-premature-babies-reunited-in-egypt-after-weeks |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=16 December 2023 |archive-date=16 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216052848/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/15/gaza-mothers-and-premature-babies-reunited-in-egypt-after-weeks |url-status=live }} Newborn babies receiving specialized care in Israel and the West Bank while their mothers were trapped in Gaza.{{cite news |last1=Loveluck |first1=Louisa |last2=Taha |first2=Sufian |last3=Harb |first3=Hajar |title=Israel's war with Hamas separates Palestinian babies from their mothers |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/17/israel-gaza-war-babies-families/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=18 November 2023 |archive-date=17 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117062257/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/17/israel-gaza-war-babies-families/ |url-status=live }} Oxfam stated newborn babies were dying from preventable diseases such as infection, hypothermia, diarrhea, and dehydration.{{cite web |title=The Devastating Brunt Of Conflict On Gaza's Women And Girls |url=https://www.oxfam.ca/story/the-devastating-brunt-of-conflict-on-gaza-women-and-girls |website=Oxfam |date=25 November 2023 |access-date=7 December 2023 |archive-date=21 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221065253/https://www.oxfam.ca/story/the-devastating-brunt-of-conflict-on-gaza-women-and-girls |url-status=live }} By mid-December, parents were struggling to feed newborn babies, as mothers had insufficient nutrition to breastfeed.{{cite web |last1=Shana |first1=Fadi |title=Unwashed and underfed, babies born into Gaza war face hardship in tents |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/unwashed-underfed-babies-born-into-gaza-war-face-hardship-tents-2023-12-18/ |website=Reuters |access-date=20 December 2023 |archive-date=5 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205104043/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/unwashed-underfed-babies-born-into-gaza-war-face-hardship-tents-2023-12-18/ |url-status=live }} Newborn babies born during the conflict died in airstrikes, though some were rescued from the rubble.{{cite web |last1=Salem |first1=Mohammed |title=Born and killed in Gaza war: grandmother weeps for one-month-old Idres |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/born-killed-gaza-war-grandmother-weeps-one-month-old-idres-2023-12-12/ |website=Reuters |access-date=21 December 2023 |archive-date=12 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212174019/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/born-killed-gaza-war-grandmother-weeps-one-month-old-idres-2023-12-12/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=3-day-old baby saved following Israeli air raid on Rafah |url=https://aje.io/9igbod?update=2569904 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=21 December 2023 |archive-date=19 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219160556/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/12/20/israel-hamas-war-live-israel-kills-around-100-palestinians-in-one-day?update=2569904 |url-status=live }} A UNOCHA representative stated she had met a woman forced to give birth in the street, and that the baby had died.{{cite web |title='There are so many people in the north of Gaza': UN official |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/12/27/israel-hamas-war-live-israel-vows-to-intensify-gaza-fighting?update=2583239 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=27 December 2023 |archive-date=27 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227190441/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/12/27/israel-hamas-war-live-israel-vows-to-intensify-gaza-fighting?update=2583239 |url-status=live }} One woman reported being unable to bathe her newborns more than ten days after their birth, due to the lack of clean water.{{cite web |title=Displaced Palestinian mother in Gaza gives birth to quadruplets |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/12/27/displaced-palestinian-mother-in-gaza-gives-birth-to-quadruplets |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=28 December 2023 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228002837/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/12/27/displaced-palestinian-mother-in-gaza-gives-birth-to-quadruplets |url-status=live }} Mothers reported extreme difficulty locating or affording milk and diapers for their newborns.{{cite web |last1=Humaid |first1=Maram |title=In Gaza, babies have no more nappies, milk, as Israeli bombing continues |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/7/in-gaza-babies-have-no-more-nappies-milk-as-israeli-bombing-continues |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=12 March 2024 |archive-date=12 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312024822/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/7/in-gaza-babies-have-no-more-nappies-milk-as-israeli-bombing-continues |url-status=live }}

In December 2023, an Israeli shell struck the largest fertility clinic in Gaza; the explosion knocked the lids off five liquid nitrogen tanks, causing temperature within the tanks to rise and destroying more than 4,000 embryos and 1,000 specimens of unfertilized eggs and sperm. According to Bahaeldeen Ghalayini, the obstetrician and gynaecologist who founded the clinic, the corner of the building was hit by a single shell, destroying the ground floor embryology lab; he does not know whether the strike was intentional or not.{{cite web |last1=Salem |first1=Saleh |last2=Creidi |first2=Imad |last3=Mills |first3=Andrew |title=Gaza's IVF embryos destroyed by Israeli strike |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/5000-lives-one-shell-gazas-ivf-embryos-destroyed-by-israeli-strike-2024-04-17/ |website=Reuters |access-date=23 April 2024 |archive-date=20 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420081404/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/5000-lives-one-shell-gazas-ivf-embryos-destroyed-by-israeli-strike-2024-04-17/ |url-status=live }}

On 18 January 2024, Natalia Kanem, the executive director of the UN Population Fund, spoke at the World Economic Forum at Davos, stating the situation was the "worst nightmare" the UNPF representative had ever witnessed, as there were 180 women giving birth daily, sometimes on the streets of Gaza, as the territory's health system collapsed.{{cite web |title='Worst nightmare': Giving birth in Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/18/israels-war-on-gaza-live-medicine-arrives-for-captives-palestinians?update=2630177 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=19 January 2024 |archive-date=19 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119040830/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/18/israels-war-on-gaza-live-medicine-arrives-for-captives-palestinians?update=2630177 |url-status=live }} On 17 January, Care International reported a 300 percent increase in the rate of miscarriage in Gaza since the start of Israel's bombing.{{cite web |last1=Cheung |first1=Kylie |title=Miscarriages in Gaza Have Increased 300% Under Israeli Bombing |url=https://jezebel.com/miscarriages-in-gaza-have-increased-300-under-israeli-1851168680 |website=Jezebel |access-date=19 January 2024 |archive-date=19 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119000657/https://jezebel.com/miscarriages-in-gaza-have-increased-300-under-israeli-1851168680 |url-status=live }} UNICEF reported on 19 January that 20,000 babies had been born in the Gaza Strip since 7 October.{{cite web |title=Born into hell |url=https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/born-hell |website=UNICEF |access-date=20 January 2024 |archive-date=20 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120035356/https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/born-hell |url-status=live }} UNICEF described each birth as a baby being "delivered into hell", and stated "humanity cannot allow this warped version of normal to persist any longer."{{cite web |title=Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel Flash Update #98 |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-98-enarhe |website=ReliefWeb |date=22 January 2024 |publisher=UNOCHA |access-date=22 January 2024 |archive-date=23 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240123003910/https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-98-enarhe |url-status=live }} The UN Women's agency reported that since the start of the conflict, two mothers in Gaza had been killed every hour, every day.{{cite web |title=Two mothers killed each hour in Gaza conflict: UN Women |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1145707 |website=UN News |date=19 January 2024 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=21 January 2024 |archive-date=20 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120103533/https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1145707 |url-status=live }} WHO reported an increase in stress-induced stillbirths.{{cite web |title=Women and newborns bearing the brunt of the conflict in Gaza, UN agencies warn |url=https://www.who.int/news/item/03-11-2023-women-and-newborns-bearing-the-brunt-of-the-conflict-in-gaza-un-agencies-warn |website=World Health Organization |access-date=24 January 2024 |archive-date=21 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240121120428/https://www.who.int/news/item/03-11-2023-women-and-newborns-bearing-the-brunt-of-the-conflict-in-gaza-un-agencies-warn |url-status=live }}

Doctors Without Borders stated that women were giving birth in plastic tents, and that those undergoing C-sections were being released within hours.{{cite web |title=Displaced pregnant women at high risk amid dire conditions in Rafah |url=https://www.msf.org/gaza-displaced-pregnant-women-high-risk-amid-dire-conditions-rafah |website=Doctors Without Borders |access-date=30 January 2024 |archive-date=30 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130031152/https://www.msf.org/gaza-displaced-pregnant-women-high-risk-amid-dire-conditions-rafah |url-status=live }} It also reported that women were being turned away from hospitals due to overcrowding, with some forced to birth in public restrooms.{{cite web |title=Displaced pregnant women at high risk amid dire conditions in Rafah |url=https://www.msf.org/gaza-displaced-pregnant-women-high-risk-amid-dire-conditions-rafah |website=Doctors Without Borders |access-date=2 February 2024 |archive-date=1 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240201130535/https://www.msf.org/gaza-displaced-pregnant-women-high-risk-amid-dire-conditions-rafah |url-status=live }} Doctors at Kamal Adwan Hospital performed an emergency c-section on a deceased pregnant woman in February 2024, after which they performed a fetal cardiac resuscitation; however, the baby did not survive.{{cite web |title=Doctors fail to save baby taken from woman killed in Israel bombing |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/17/israels-war-on-gaza-live-icj-warns-of-perilous-situation-in-rafah?update=2713329 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=18 February 2024 |archive-date=18 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218014335/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/17/israels-war-on-gaza-live-icj-warns-of-perilous-situation-in-rafah?update=2713329 |url-status=live }} In April 2024 doctors in Rafah performed a similar emergency c-section after an IDF bombardment targeted a housing block in Rafah, the baby survived in critical condition before dying after 5 days. Her mother, father and 3-year-old sister had all been killed in the bombing.{{Cite news |last=Keane |first=Fergal |date=2024-04-26 |title=Baby saved from dead mother's womb in Gaza dies |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68903591 |access-date=2024-04-26 |work=BBC |language=en-GB |archive-date=8 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240708152013/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68903591 |url-status=live }} In July 2024, yet another baby was delivered by surgeons after the mother was killed by an airstrike.{{cite web |last1=Abed |first1=Ramdan |title='Miracle' baby born in Gaza after airstrike kills heavily pregnant mother |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/miracle-baby-born-gaza-after-airstrike-kills-heavily-pregnant-mother-2024-07-24/#:~:text='Miracle'%20baby%20born%20in%20Gaza%20after%20airstrike%20kills%20heavily%20pregnant%20mother,-By%20Ramdan%20Abed&text=GAZA%2C%20July%2024%20(Reuters),That%20special%20moment%20never%20came. |website=Reuters |access-date=3 August 2024}}

The Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling reported women were suffering from birth complications and a lack of both postpartum care and newborn vaccines.{{cite web |title='They were beaten and searched by male soldiers at gunpoint' – Palestinian NGO on Gaza women |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/20/israels-war-on-gaza-live-un-fears-explosion-in-child-deaths-in-gaza?update=2720711 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=21 February 2024 |archive-date=21 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221031311/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/20/israels-war-on-gaza-live-un-fears-explosion-in-child-deaths-in-gaza?update=2720711 |url-status=live }} The UN Population Fund stated that newborn babies were dying because mothers were unable to access prenatal or postnatal care.{{cite web |title=Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel Flash Update #126 |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-126-enarhe#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20Population%20Fund,are%20leading%20to%20premature%20births. |website=ReliefWeb |date=26 February 2024 |publisher=UNOCHA |access-date=29 February 2024 |archive-date=5 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305211837/https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-126-enarhe#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20Population%20Fund,are%20leading%20to%20premature%20births. |url-status=live }} According to a UNICEF State of Palestine Humanitarian Situation report, from early March 2024 at least 5,500 pregnant women do not have access to pre or post natal check ups due to the continued airstrike and lack of safe shelter. Doctors at the Al-Helal Al Emirati Hospital reported "chaos and suffering" due to the large influx of displaced people arriving to deliver their babies.{{cite web |title=For midwives in Rafah, 'childbirth means chaos and suffering' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/6/israels-war-on-gaza-live-un-food-convoy-blocked-from-north-gaza-by-israel?update=2751738 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=9 March 2024 |archive-date=9 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309165216/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/6/israels-war-on-gaza-live-un-food-convoy-blocked-from-north-gaza-by-israel?update=2751738 |url-status=live }}

{{main|2023–2024 Gaza Strip preterm births}}

File:Fars Photo of Casualties in Gaza Strip during 2023 War 19.jpg

In late October, Gaza's premature babies faced a critical situation as Medical Aid for Palestinians and UNICEF warned that 130 infants were at risk of death due to a hospital fuel shortage caused by Israel's siege.{{Cite tweet |author=Medical Aid for Palestinians |user=MedicalAidPal |number=1715811462029988093 |date=21 October 2023 |title=🚨 URGENT UPDATE: Doctors in #Gaza have issued an urgent warning that the lives of 130 premature babies are in imminent danger if fuel does not reach hospitals soon. |access-date=22 October 2023}}[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/10/21/israel-gaza-war-hamas-and-israel-spar-over-hostage-release?update=2429398 "Let's recap what has happened so far"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107142513/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/10/21/israel-gaza-war-hamas-and-israel-spar-over-hostage-release?update=2429398 |date=2023-11-07 }}. Al Jazeera. Retrieved 22 October 2023. The lack of fuel led to power outages, endangering premature babies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).{{cite web |title=3 premature babies die at Al-Shifa Hospital: Doctor |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/3-premature-babies-die-at-gazas-alshifa-hospital-doctor-says-104834155?id=104617602 |website=ABC News |access-date=18 November 2023 |archive-date=20 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120170829/https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/3-premature-babies-die-at-gazas-alshifa-hospital-doctor-says-104834155?id=104617602 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Magdy |first1=Samy |last2=Shurafa |first2=Wafaa |last3=Kullab |first3=Samya |title=Dwindling fuel supplies for Gaza's hospital generators put premature babies in incubators at risk |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/dwindling-fuel-supplies-gazas-hospital-generators-put-premature-104211808 |publisher=ABC News |access-date=24 October 2023 |archive-date=23 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023021534/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/dwindling-fuel-supplies-gazas-hospital-generators-put-premature-104211808 |url-status=live }} Despite assurances from the IDF to assist in evacuations, the Gaza Health Ministry reported a lack of evacuation mechanisms, resulting in the deaths of several infants.{{cite news |last1=Rosenzweig-Ziff |first1=Dan |title=Medical workers trapped at main Gaza City hospital; IDF offers to move babies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/11/israel-hamas-war-gaza-palestine-live/#link-EW7MCHNHIRHUJFV4I4KIUODLWA |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=11 November 2023 |archive-date=11 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111070105/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/11/israel-hamas-war-gaza-palestine-live/#link-EW7MCHNHIRHUJFV4I4KIUODLWA |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=No way to evacuate babies to a safer hospital: Health Ministry |url=https://aje.io/bt6i03?update=2480911 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=12 November 2023 |archive-date=21 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121141256/https://aje.io/bt6i03?update=2480911 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Yee |first1=Vivian |title=Premature Babies Are Evacuated From Embattled Hospital in Gaza |work=The New York Times |date=19 November 2023 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/19/world/middleeast/premature-babies-al-shifa-hospital-gaza-evacuation.html#:~:text=Since%20Nov.%2011%2C%20at%20least,for%20more%20than%20a%20week. |access-date=19 November 2023 |archive-date=22 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122180621/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/19/world/middleeast/premature-babies-al-shifa-hospital-gaza-evacuation.html#:~:text=Since%20Nov.%2011%2C%20at%20least,for%20more%20than%20a%20week. |url-status=live }}

The situation escalated in mid-November when Israel launched a raid on al-Shifa Hospital.{{cite news |last1=Boxerman |first1=Aaron |title=Babies are among the thousands inside Al-Shifa as Israeli troops close in. |work=The New York Times |date=14 November 2023 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/11/14/world/israel-hamas-gaza-war-news/babies-are-among-the-thousands-sheltering-at-al-shifa-as-israeli-troops-close-in?smid=url-share |access-date=15 November 2023 |archive-date=15 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115014826/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/11/14/world/israel-hamas-gaza-war-news/babies-are-among-the-thousands-sheltering-at-al-shifa-as-israeli-troops-close-in?smid=url-share |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Israel's claims of providing incubators 'false', says al-Shifa director |url=https://aje.io/2jzuwp?update=2494252 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=17 November 2023 |archive-date=18 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118163021/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/11/17/israel-hamas-war-live-thousands-in-danger-of-death-amid-hospital-siege?update=2494252 |url-status=live }} Evacuations eventually occurred, facilitated by the Palestinian Red Crescent, World Health Organization, and UNOCHA, with 31 premature babies moved to southern Gaza, with most then to Egypt.{{cite web |title=Palestinian Red Crescent, UN agencies evacuate Al Shifa premature babies |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-red-crescent-un-agencies-evacuate-al-shifa-premature-babies-2023-11-19/ |website=Reuters |access-date=19 November 2023 |archive-date=20 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120115139/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-red-crescent-un-agencies-evacuate-al-shifa-premature-babies-2023-11-19/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Mpoke Bigg |first1=Matthew |title=28 Premature Babies Evacuated From Gazan Hospital Arrive in Egypt |work=The New York Times |date=20 November 2023 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/20/world/middleeast/premature-babies-gaza-hospital-egypt.html |access-date=20 November 2023 |archive-date=22 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122180708/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/20/world/middleeast/premature-babies-gaza-hospital-egypt.html |url-status=live }} Not all infants were accompanied by their parents, and two died at al-Shifa before the evacuation.{{cite web |last1=Jobain |first1=Najib |last2=Magdy |first2=Samy |title=31 'very sick' babies have been evacuated from Gaza's largest hospital, where trauma patients remain |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-11-19-2023-08a2f441a9ea03bf0bb3db0de6fc5408 |website=Associated Press |date=19 November 2023 |access-date=19 November 2023 |archive-date=21 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121004814/https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-11-19-2023-08a2f441a9ea03bf0bb3db0de6fc5408 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Two Premature Babies Died Before Evacuation From Gaza: UN |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/two-premature-babies-died-before-evacuation-from-gaza-un-6cdd470e |website=Barron's |publisher=Agence France Presse |access-date=21 November 2023 |archive-date=21 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121152623/https://www.barrons.com/news/two-premature-babies-died-before-evacuation-from-gaza-un-6cdd470e |url-status=live }}

The distress extended to Al-Nasr Children's Hospital, bombed by the IDF in early November, where medical workers had to leave babies in incubators during evacuation.{{cite news |last1=Parker |first1=Claire |title=North Gaza hospitals have turned into 'a graveyard,' Doctors Without Borders says |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/11/israel-hamas-war-gaza-palestine-live/#link-RABMZMGPRBAI5CZDYRIOQX2OAU |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-date=11 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111070105/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/11/israel-hamas-war-gaza-palestine-live/#link-RABMZMGPRBAI5CZDYRIOQX2OAU |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Kilbride |first1=Erin |last2=Van Esveld |first2=Bill |title=Birth and Death Intertwined in Gaza Strip |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/01/birth-and-death-intertwined-gaza-strip |website=Human Rights Watch |date=December 2023 |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-date=1 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201231038/https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/01/birth-and-death-intertwined-gaza-strip |url-status=live }} Video footage later revealed the aftermath, with five premature babies found dead in their incubators.* {{cite web |title=Alarming footage shows Israel left premature babies to die alone in Gaza hospital it forcefully evacuated |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-left-premature-babies-die-alone-gaza-hospital |website=The New Arab |date=29 November 2023 |access-date=29 November 2023 |archive-date=29 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129205306/https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-left-premature-babies-die-alone-gaza-hospital |url-status=live }}

• {{cite web |title=5 Premature Babies Found Dead In Gaza Hospital: Hamas Health Ministry |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/5-premature-babies-found-dead-in-gaza-hospital-hamas-health-ministry-df4423e0?refsec=topics_afp-news |website=Barron's |publisher=Agence France Presse |access-date=29 November 2023 |archive-date=1 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201005611/https://www.barrons.com/news/5-premature-babies-found-dead-in-gaza-hospital-hamas-health-ministry-df4423e0?refsec=topics_afp-news |url-status=live }}
• {{cite web |title=Abandoned babies found decomposing in Gaza hospital weeks after it was evacuated |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/abandoned-babies-found-decomposing-gaza-hospital-evacuated-rcna127533 |website=NBC News |date=2 December 2023 |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-date=4 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204173032/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/abandoned-babies-found-decomposing-gaza-hospital-evacuated-rcna127533 |url-status=live }}
• {{cite web |title=Infants were left for dead after Israel forcibly evacuated al-Nasr hospital |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEW874ow6wU |website=AJ+ | date=29 November 2023 |access-date=30 November 2023 |archive-date=1 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201151815/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEW874ow6wU |url-status=live }}
• {{cite web |last1=Kumar |first1=Nikhil |title=Five Premature Babies Found Dead, 'Partly Decomposed' in Gaza City Hospital: Report |url=https://themessenger.com/news/prematures-babies-dead-decomposed-gaza-hospital-israel |website=The Messenger |access-date=1 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106195142/https://themessenger.com/news/prematures-babies-dead-decomposed-gaza-hospital-israel |archive-date=6 January 2024 }}
• {{cite web |title=Decomposing Bodies of Premature Babies Discovered in Besieged Gaza Hospital |url=https://www.democracynow.org/2023/11/30/headlines/decomposing_bodies_of_premature_babies_discovered_in_besieged_gaza_hospital |website=Democracy Now! |access-date=1 December 2023 |archive-date=30 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130201507/https://www.democracynow.org/2023/11/30/headlines/decomposing_bodies_of_premature_babies_discovered_in_besieged_gaza_hospital |url-status=live }}
• {{cite web |last1=Russell |first1=Lauren |title=Gaza: Decomposing bodies of babies 'seen in footage' from abandoned children's hospital |url=https://news.sky.com/story/gaza-decomposing-bodies-of-babies-seen-in-footage-from-abandoned-childrens-hospital-13021772 |website=Sky News |access-date=17 December 2023 |archive-date=17 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217165351/https://news.sky.com/story/gaza-decomposing-bodies-of-babies-seen-in-footage-from-abandoned-childrens-hospital-13021772 |url-status=live }} The IDF initially denied responsibility, though an Israel official was heard providing assurances to evacuate the hospital in a released audio.{{cite news |last1=Berger |first1=Miriam |last2=Hill |first2=Evan |last3=Balousha |first3=Hazem |title=A Gaza hospital evacuated, four fragile lives and a grim discovery |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/03/gaza-premature-babies-dead-nasr/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=4 December 2023 |archive-date=3 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203192834/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/03/gaza-premature-babies-dead-nasr/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Goodwin |first1=Allegra |title=Infants found dead and decomposing in evacuated hospital ICU in Gaza. Here's what we know |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/08/middleeast/babies-al-nasr-gaza-hospital-what-we-know-intl/index.html |website=CNN |date=8 December 2023 |access-date=18 December 2023 |archive-date=17 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217000811/https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/08/middleeast/babies-al-nasr-gaza-hospital-what-we-know-intl/index.html |url-status=live }} In mid-December, a military siege on Kamal Adwan Hospital worsened the situation, as IDF soldiers reportedly prevented staff from supporting 12 babies in intensive care.{{cite web |title=Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel Flash Update #69 |url=https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-69-enarhe |website=UNOCHA |date=14 December 2023 |access-date=16 December 2023 |archive-date=16 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216143431/https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-69-enarhe |url-status=live }}

In April 2024, a World Health Organization spokeswoman stated, "Different doctors particularly in the maternity hospitals are reporting that they’re seeing a big rise in children born [with] low birth weight and just not surviving the neonatal period because they are born too small".{{cite web |last1=Da Silva |first1=Chantal |title='I kept on saying goodbye': Gaza hospital reports rise in stillbirths and neonatal deaths |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/gaza-hospital-stillbirths-neonatal-deaths-rcna145582 |website=NBC News |date=2 April 2024 |access-date=9 April 2024 |archive-date=8 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408204652/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/gaza-hospital-stillbirths-neonatal-deaths-rcna145582 |url-status=live }}

{{further|Attacks on schools during the Israeli invasion of Gaza}}

Education in the Gaza Strip is seen as a point of pride and a high priority. More than 95% of the children aged between 6-12 were attending school before the war, with the majority graduating from high school. In December 2023, Jonathan Crick, a spokesperson for UNICEF in Jerusalem stated that there is absolutely no form of education or schooling in the Gaza Strip, and the about 625,000 school age children in the Strip are being deprived of an education due to war.{{Cite news |last1=Mousa |first1=Aseel |last2=Graham-Harrison |first2=Emma |date=2023-12-18 |title=War's toll on education in Gaza casts shadow over children's future |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/18/wars-toll-on-education-in-gaza-casts-shadow-over-childrens-future |access-date=2024-02-05 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=5 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205202905/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/18/wars-toll-on-education-in-gaza-casts-shadow-over-childrens-future |url-status=live }} In January 2024, the United Nations reported that children in Gaza would lose at least one year of education due to the war.{{cite web |title=Gaza: A struggle to keep young hopes alive, amid shattered dreams |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1146102 |website=United Nations |date=31 January 2024 |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204043011/https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1146102 |url-status=live }} According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, the war has caused the death of about 4,327 students and injured about 7, 819 others by January 2024.{{Cite web |last=Hearst |first=Katherine |date=31 January 2024 |title=Killing of Gaza's academics amounts to 'educide,' say campaigners |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-israel-killing-academics-educide-campaigners-say |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en |archive-date=5 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205205755/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-israel-killing-academics-educide-campaigners-say |url-status=live }} Additionally at least 200 teachers have been killed and more than 500 injured by December 2023 with the number increasing to 231 teachers and administrators killed and 756 wounded by January 2024.

Schools were closed at the start of the war, and underwent sustained bombing by the Israeli military, while others, such as the Israa University, were occupied and then destroyed by the Israeli military.{{cite web |title=Children Suffer as Education Under Attack in the West Bank and Gaza |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/children-suffer-education-under-attack-west-bank-and-gaza |website=ReliefWeb |date=February 2024 |publisher=Action Against Hunger |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=19 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219170511/https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/children-suffer-education-under-attack-west-bank-and-gaza |url-status=live }} By mid-December 2023 about 352 school buildings had been damaged, which is over 70% of the Strip's education infrastructure, with others being utilized to hold evacuated individuals and interiors utilized for fuel and survival. Some teachers attempted to continue lessons as they could, in courtyards and other areas not utilized by evacuated populations, with one teacher calling it an act of defiance and a small return to normal.{{Cite web |date=2023-11-30 |title=In Gaza, teacher brings school to displaced children |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231130-in-gaza-teacher-brings-school-to-displaced-children |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=France 24 |language=en |archive-date=5 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205204701/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231130-in-gaza-teacher-brings-school-to-displaced-children |url-status=live }} On 22 February, however, a Save the Children representative stated, "Even if the war were to end tomorrow, education can not just resume. More than half of Gaza’s schools have either been destroyed or are too damaged to even function".{{cite web |title='Total absence' of education in Gaza as parents struggle to feed children |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/22/israels-war-on-gaza-live-gaza-has-become-a-death-zone-says-who-chief?update=2726896 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=23 February 2024 |archive-date=23 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223030336/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/22/israels-war-on-gaza-live-gaza-has-become-a-death-zone-says-who-chief?update=2726896 |url-status=live }} In August 2024, UNRWA launched a "back to learning programme" in Khan Younis.{{cite web |title=The Gaza Strip: UNRWA launches "Back to Learning" activities |url=https://www.un.org/unispal/document/the-gaza-strip-unrwa-01aug24/#:~:text=“Children%20in%20Gaza%20are%20traumatized,make%20new%20ones”%20he%20added. |website=United Nations |access-date=17 August 2024}}

In August 2024, the Education Cluster, Save the Children, UNICEF stated students and children in Gaza had lost a year of education and warned the "majority of them may never return to school again".{{cite web |title=A year of silence in Gaza's classrooms: the urgent need for educational revival |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/year-silence-gazas-classrooms-urgent-need-educational-revival-3-august-2024#:~:text=As%20of%2030%20July%202024,never%20return%20to%20school%20again. |website=ReliefWeb |date=3 August 2024 |publisher=Education Cluster, Save the Children, UNICEF |access-date=17 August 2024 |archive-date=7 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240807012827/https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/year-silence-gazas-classrooms-urgent-need-educational-revival-3-august-2024#:~:text=As%20of%2030%20July%202024,never%20return%20to%20school%20again. |url-status=live }} Some students enrolled in online classes or learned in tent classrooms.{{cite web |last1=Murray |first1=Clara |title=The Gazan teenagers defying war for competitive maths |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e2b56356-f03d-49e2-95f5-cb6742f7176f?shareType=nongift |website=Financial Times |access-date=4 November 2024 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=7 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241107014658/https://www.ft.com/content/e2b56356-f03d-49e2-95f5-cb6742f7176f?shareType=nongift |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Teachers struggle to educate Gaza's children with many schools reduced to rubble |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/teachers-struggle-to-educate-gazas-children-with-many-schools-reduced-to-rubble |website=PBS |access-date=4 November 2024 |archive-date=11 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111120430/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/teachers-struggle-to-educate-gazas-children-with-many-schools-reduced-to-rubble |url-status=live }}

{{POV section|date=February 2024|talk="Use of children by Hamas"}}

{{See also|Misinformation in the Gaza war#Israeli officials}}

The IDF has accused Hamas of using child soldiers and of positioning children on the frontlines.{{cite web |author= |date=December 17, 2023 |title=IDF soldiers find tunnel entrance next to crib in Gaza home |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-778345 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213173420/https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-778345 |archive-date=13 February 2024 |accessdate=February 13, 2024 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post}} Israeli officials claim Hamas and Islamic Jihad had for years run summer camps in the Gaza Strip where children underwent military training.{{cite news |last=Fabian |first=Emanuel |date=4 January 2024 |title=IDF destroys Shifa Hospital tunnels, accuses Hamas of using child soldiers |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-destroys-shifa-hospital-tunnels-as-fighting-intensifies-in-central-southern-gaza/ |access-date=6 January 2024 |work=The Times of Israel |archive-date=5 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105230952/https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-destroys-shifa-hospital-tunnels-as-fighting-intensifies-in-central-southern-gaza/ |url-status=live}} According to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, a unit of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, "a senior Hamas militant" said Hamas used children to transport explosives.{{cite news |title=מפקד בחמאס הודה בחקירתו: משתמשים בילדים כדי להעביר חומרי נפץ בעזה {{!}} צפו |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/hkqvj1xvt |access-date=22 December 2023 |publisher=Ynet |date=22 December 2023 |language=he |archive-date=22 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222105701/https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/hkqvj1xvt |url-status=live }} Israel also claims Hamas sent over one hundred children and women to a compound the IDF was targeting to act as human shield in November 2023, that they had found entrances to multiple Hamas tunnels near and under children's beds during the war, and that children are used by Hamas to scout and observe the IDF forces, reporting activity, locations, and extent of the forces.

• {{cite web |last1=Bachner |first1=Michael |last2=Horovitz |first2=Michael |last3=Fabian |first3=Emanuel |date=November 2, 2023 |title=Israel accuses Hamas of using over 100 women and children as human shields in Gaza |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-accuses-hamas-of-using-over-100-women-and-children-as-human-shields-in-gaza/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205055245/https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-accuses-hamas-of-using-over-100-women-and-children-as-human-shields-in-gaza/ |archive-date=5 December 2023 |access-date=December 13, 2023 |website=The Times of Israel}}
• {{cite web |author=Maighna Nanu |date=November 10, 2023 |title=Hamas tunnel found under child's bed after house in Gaza searched by Israeli soldiers |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/11/10/hamas-tunnel-under-childs-bed-gaza-israel/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213173420/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/11/10/hamas-tunnel-under-childs-bed-gaza-israel/ |archive-date=13 February 2024 |accessdate=February 13, 2024 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph}}
• {{cite web |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-781148 |title=Children, women with strollers and the elderly: Sinwar's informants |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=January 7, 2024 |author=Amir Bohbot |accessdate=February 14, 2024 |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214083304/https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-781148 |url-status=live }}

Human rights groups have said that "even if Hamas were using human shields", Israel must still abide by international law, especially the principle of proportionality.{{cite web |date=July 25, 2014 |title=Israel/Gaza conflict: Questions and Answers |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2014/07/israelgaza-conflict-questions-and-answers/ |access-date=December 6, 2023 |website=Amnesty International |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215192356/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2014/07/israelgaza-conflict-questions-and-answers/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Protect civilians from the impact of hostilities |date=27 October 2023 |website=B'tselem |url=http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20231027_protect_civilians_from_the_impact_of_hostilities |access-date=29 November 2024 |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102215900/https://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20231027_protect_civilians_from_the_impact_of_hostilities |url-status=live }}

Neve Gordon, professor of international law and human rights and co-author of the 2020 book Human Shields: A History of People in the Line of Fire,{{cite book |last1=Gordon |first1=Neve |author1-link=Neve Gordon |last2=Perugini |first2=Nicola |title=Human Shields |publisher=University of California Press |publication-place=Berkeley, California |date=25 August 2020 |isbn=978-0-520-30184-9 |page=iv}} has stated that Israeli military and government claims of Hamas using Palestinian civilians as human shields "should be understood as a pre-emptive legal defence against accusations that Israel is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza."{{Cite web |last=Gordon |first=Neve |date=1 December 2023 |title=Neve Gordon {{!}} On Human Shields |url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2023/december/on-human-shields |access-date=11 August 2024 |website=LRB Blog |language=en |archive-date=11 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240811203750/https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2023/december/on-human-shields |url-status=live }} Janina Dill, a laws of war professor at University of Oxford, stated, "Even if Hamas uses civilians as human shields, those civilians are entitled to full protection under international law unless they directly participate in the fighting".{{cite news |last1=Yee |first1=Vivian |date=17 December 2023 |title=More Than 100 Members of This Gaza Clan Have Been Killed in War |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/17/world/middleeast/gaza-al-astal-loss.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219005736/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/17/world/middleeast/gaza-al-astal-loss.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare |archive-date=19 December 2023 |access-date=19 December 2023 |work=The New York Times}} Scholars in international law have cautioned that accusing Hamas of using human shields requires proving intent to shield a military target with civilians.{{cite news |last1=McQuade |first1=Chris |date=20 December 2023 |title=On Forcing Civilians to Remain in Hostile Zones: The Prohibition of Shielding and the Corresponding Obligations of an Attacking Party Under International Humanitarian Law |url=http://opiniojuris.org/2023/12/20/on-forcing-civilians-to-remain-in-hostile-zones-the-prohibition-of-shielding-and-the-corresponding-obligations-of-an-attacking-party-under-international-humanitarian-law/ |work=Opinio Juris |archive-date=2 December 2024 |access-date=29 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241202043216/http://opiniojuris.org/2023/12/20/on-forcing-civilians-to-remain-in-hostile-zones-the-prohibition-of-shielding-and-the-corresponding-obligations-of-an-attacking-party-under-international-humanitarian-law/ |url-status=live }}

{{See also|Human shields in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict#Use by Israeli forces}}

Israel has used Palestinian children as human shields in Gaza in violation of Geneva conventions.{{Cite news |last=Tantesh |first=Malak A. |last2=Borger |first2=Julian |last3=Taha |first3=Sufian |date=2024-10-21 |title=Palestinians describe being used as 'human shields' by Israeli troops in Gaza |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/21/palestinians-describe-being-used-as-human-shields-by-israeli-troops-in-gaza |access-date=2024-11-28 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} In May 2024, the Israeli military released the information of Palestinian children who they claimed were Hamas informants, leading the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories to state the Israeli army often forces detained Palestinian children to become informants.{{cite web |title=Israeli military claims to expose Palestinian minors as 'Hamas informants' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/18/israels-war-on-gaza-live-battles-in-jabalia-and-rafah-as-israel-advances?update=2908134 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524014644/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/18/israels-war-on-gaza-live-battles-in-jabalia-and-rafah-as-israel-advances?update=2908134 |archive-date=24 May 2024 |access-date=24 May 2024 |website=Al Jazeera}}

In May 2023, before the beginning of the Gaza war, Defence for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) had already documented that five children had been used as human shields by the Israeli army since the beginning of that year, with two of the victims being 2-year-old twins.{{cite news |date=18 May 2023 |title=Israeli forces use five Palestinian children as human shields |url=https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces_use_five_palestinian_children_as_human_shields |access-date=26 June 2024 |publisher=Defence for Children International |archive-date=18 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518123408/https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces_use_five_palestinian_children_as_human_shields |url-status=live }}

An investigation by the DCIP detailed that the Israeli army is "systematically" detaining and torturing children.{{cite news |date=21 August 2024 |title="They were trying to exterminate us": Palestinian children in Gaza tortured by Israeli military |url=https://www.dci-palestine.org/_they_were_trying_to_exterminate_us_palestinian_children_in_gaza_tortured_by_the_israeli_military |access-date=8 September 2024 |publisher=Defence for Children International |archive-date=8 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240908162021/https://www.dci-palestine.org/_they_were_trying_to_exterminate_us_palestinian_children_in_gaza_tortured_by_the_israeli_military |url-status=live }} Israel used several children as human shields in the Al-Tuffah area of Gaza City on 27 December 2023. On that occasion, 50 Palestinians were detained, including children. Two brothers, aged 12 and 13, told investigators that soldiers forced them to strip off, tied their hands and forced them to walk in front of Israeli tanks along with other Palestinians. The younger brother also reported being slapped, kicked and beaten.

In November 2024, Defence for Children International reported on three separate incidents, during 15–20 October 2024, of families with young children being used as human shields to protect the Israel Defense Forces in attacks at the Jabalia refugee camp and Indonesia Hospital.{{Cite web |title=Israeli forces use Palestinian children as human shields in Jabalia refugee camp |url=https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces_use_palestinian_children_as_human_shields_in_jabalia_refugee_camp |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=Defense for Children Palestine |archive-date=26 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126153733/https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces_use_palestinian_children_as_human_shields_in_jabalia_refugee_camp |url-status=live }}

According to a Haaretz investigation based on many Israeli soldiers' testimony, Palestinian teenagers, adults, and occasionally elderly men are regularly used as human shields to explore the tunnel network in the Gaza Strip. These shawashim are dressed up, apart from sandshoes, to look like Israeli soldiers, handcuffed, blindfolded and, with a video camera attached to their bodies, sent into houses where Hamas combatants are suspected to hide, or into tunnels that might be booby-trapped. The practice is said to be widely known to IDF field commanders.Yaniv Kubovich, Michael Hauser Tov, [https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-08-13/ty-article-magazine/.premium/idf-uses-gazan-civilians-as-human-shields-to-inspect-potentially-booby-trapped-tunnels/00000191-4c84-d7fd-a7f5-7db6b99e0000 Haaretz Investigation: Israeli Army Uses Palestinian Civilians to Inspect Potentially Booby-trapped Tunnels in Gaza] Haaretz 13 August 2024{{Cite news |last1=Odenheimer |first1=Natan |last2=Shbair |first2=Bilal |last3=Kingsley |first3=Patrick |date=October 14, 2024 |title=How Israel's Army Uses Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/14/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-military-human-shields.html |access-date=October 16, 2024 |work=The New York Times |archive-date=1 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241201203852/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/14/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-military-human-shields.html |url-status=live }} Palestinians were used when neither sniffer dogs nor drones were available. An October 2024 investigation by CNN found that while the scale and scope of the practice was unknown, testimony from civilians and an Israeli soldier showed Israel's use of Palestinians as human shields was widespread across the Gaza Strip.{{cite web |last1=Krever |first1=Mick |last2=Diamond |first2=Jeremy |last3=Salman |first3=Abeer |date=24 October 2024 |title=The Israeli military has used Palestinians as human shields in Gaza, soldier and former detainees say |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/24/middleeast/palestinians-human-shields-israel-military-gaza-intl/index.html |access-date=28 October 2024 |website=CNN |archive-date=14 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241114194306/https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/24/middleeast/palestinians-human-shields-israel-military-gaza-intl/index.html |url-status=live }} In November 2024, an investigation by The Washington Post further corroborated these investigations, with witnesses, victims, and an Israeli soldier stating civilians were being used as human shields to prevent harm to Israeli soldiers.{{cite news |last1=Loveluck |first1=Louisa |last2=Harb |first2=Hajar |last3=Hudson |first3=John |title=Israeli forces used civilians as human shields in Gaza, Palestinians and soldiers say |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/11/03/israel-gaza-human-shields-palestinians-idf/ |access-date=4 November 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

Meirav Ben-Ari, an Israeli Knesset member, stated, "The children in Gaza brought it upon themselves."{{cite web |title=Israel-Palestine: More than 1,000 Palestinian children killed in Gaza air strikes, NGO reveals |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-more-than-1000-palestinian-children-killed-gaza-airstrikes-ngo-reveals |website=Middle East Eye |access-date=22 December 2023 |archive-date=6 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206100842/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-more-than-1000-palestinian-children-killed-gaza-airstrikes-ngo-reveals |url-status=live }} Far-right Israeli Nation Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the death of any child or woman who got too close to the border during a debate with Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi, claiming that "We cannot have women and children getting close to the border... anyone who gets near must get a bullet [in the head],". Ben-Gvir claimed that the open-fire policy he was advocating for was based on the perceived use of women and children by Hamas to target Israel.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-02-13 |title=Ben-Gvir says Israeli army can shoot women, children in Gaza |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/ben-gvir-says-israeli-army-can-shoot-women-children-gaza |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=The New Arab |language=en |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214182730/https://www.newarab.com/news/ben-gvir-says-israeli-army-can-shoot-women-children-gaza |url-status=live }}

During an interview on Israeli television, a former Mossad official Rami Igra who had headed the agencies "Captive and Missing Division", claimed that there were no uninvolved civilians in Gaza. He raised claims that "anyone over four is a Hamas supporter" and that only those under four could be considered children, while anyone above that age could starve.{{Cite web |last=Ofir |first=Jonathan |date=2024-02-15 |title=Former Mossad official: Children in Gaza over the age of 4 deserve to be starved |url=https://mondoweiss.net/2024/02/former-mossad-official-children-in-gaza-over-the-age-of-4-deserve-to-be-starved/ |access-date=2024-02-26 |website=Mondoweiss |language=en-US |archive-date=27 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227205308/https://mondoweiss.net/2024/02/former-mossad-official-children-in-gaza-over-the-age-of-4-deserve-to-be-starved/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Ofir |first=Jonathan |date=2024-02-23 |title=Over 2/3 of Jewish Israelis oppose humanitarian aid to Palestinians starving in Gaza |url=https://mondoweiss.net/2024/02/over-2-3-of-jewish-israelis-oppose-humanitarian-aid-to-palestinians-starving-in-gaza/ |access-date=2024-02-26 |website=Mondoweiss |language=en-US |archive-date=25 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225233517/https://mondoweiss.net/2024/02/over-2-3-of-jewish-israelis-oppose-humanitarian-aid-to-palestinians-starving-in-gaza/ |url-status=live }}

The head of a Seder yeshiva in Jaffa; Rabbi Eliyahu Mali stated that the ongoing war was a mitzvah war and that not a soul shall live in Gaza as they will all grow up to become Hamas. When asked about babies and children in context with his comments, he stated; "Babies too?...The same thing. You can't be clever with the Torah. Today he's a baby, tomorrow he's a fighter. There are no questions here. Today's terrorists were 8-year-old children in the previous operation. So you can't To be satisfied here. That's why the Gaza law is different here."{{Cite news |last=Fox |first=Nina |date=2024-03-08 |title=ראש ישיבת הסדר ביפו: לפי העיקרון ההלכתי - להרוג את כולם בעזה, גם תינוקות |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/sy3bfhu6p |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=ynet |language=he |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308164217/https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/sy3bfhu6p |url-status=live }}

In Gaza, a father whose one-year-old child was killed in an Israeli bombing stated, "This is a crime in which everyone participated. The US veto participated in this crime as did those Arabs and Muslims who failed to support us".{{cite web |title=Families of children killed in Gaza blame US, Arab countries |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/21/israels-war-on-gaza-live-us-ceasefire-veto-a-new-low-as-hunger-spreads?update=2722737 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=22 February 2024 |archive-date=22 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222082808/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/21/israels-war-on-gaza-live-us-ceasefire-veto-a-new-low-as-hunger-spreads?update=2722737 |url-status=live }} The grandfather of children killed by an Israeli airstrike stated, "What wrong did those innocent children do? Were they posing any danger to Israel? Were they carrying arms?"{{cite web |title=Family, including six children, among 25 killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/18/family-including-six-children-among-23-killed-in-israeli-attacks-on-gaza |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=10 September 2024 |archive-date=10 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240910043256/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/18/family-including-six-children-among-23-killed-in-israeli-attacks-on-gaza |url-status=live }}

In November 2023, a group of children outside al-Shifa Hospital held a press conference asking the world for an end to the war.{{cite web |title=Children of Gaza hold a press conference |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/children-gaza-hold-press-conference-134718240.html |website=Yahoo! News |access-date=9 March 2024 |date=9 November 2023 |archive-date=9 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309050214/https://uk.news.yahoo.com/children-gaza-hold-press-conference-134718240.html |url-status=live }} A small group of children in Rafah held their own protest in advance of a planned Rafah offensive in February 2024, holding signs in English that read "We refuse to die" and "Save us from this genocide".{{cite web |title='Save us from this genocide' – Children in Rafah protest for their lives |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/15/israels-war-on-gaza-live-four-dead-as-israel-hits-city-in-lebanons-south?update=2709027 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=17 February 2024 |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217171918/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/15/israels-war-on-gaza-live-four-dead-as-israel-hits-city-in-lebanons-south?update=2709027 |url-status=live }} Children in Rafah again held their own protest against the Gaza Strip famine on 6 March, holding a banner reading "Stop our daily death".{{cite web |title='Stop our daily death' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/6/israels-war-on-gaza-live-un-food-convoy-blocked-from-north-gaza-by-israel?update=2753922 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=9 March 2024 |archive-date=9 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309044426/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/6/israels-war-on-gaza-live-un-food-convoy-blocked-from-north-gaza-by-israel?update=2753922 |url-status=live }}

In February 2024, a boy wounded in an Israeli attack stated, "I don’t know why they attacked me. They are picking fights against the children of Palestine. Why?"{{cite web |title='They are picking fights against the children of Palestine. Why?' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/22/israels-war-on-gaza-live-gaza-has-become-a-death-zone-says-who-chief?update=2725434 |access-date=24 February 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |archive-date=24 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224020429/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/22/israels-war-on-gaza-live-gaza-has-become-a-death-zone-says-who-chief?update=2725434 |url-status=live }} In July 2024, a 10th grade student in Ramallah said hearing explosions on the news "just twisted something inside of me, like I felt those emotions coming out. I was scared. I was terrified, actually. It could be me next."{{Cite web |last=Hendricks |first=Kern |date=2024-07-03 |title=Young Palestinians Face a Steep Toll on Mental Health |url=https://undark.org/2024/07/03/video-mental-health-toll-palestinian-youth/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704141651/https://undark.org/2024/07/03/video-mental-health-toll-palestinian-youth/ |archive-date=2024-07-04 |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=Undark Magazine |language=en-US}}

File:Protest art at sdsu.png - April 2024]]

UNICEF spokesperson Toby Fricker stated, "There is no safe place for children anywhere across the strip right now."{{cite web |title='No place safe for children in Gaza': UNICEF |url=https://aje.io/bt6i03?update=2480844 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=12 November 2023 |archive-date=16 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240316095255/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/11/12/israel-gaza-war-live-israeli-army-surrounding-al-quds-hospital?update=2480844 |url-status=live }} On 19 December, the United Nations stated Gaza was "by far the most dangerous place in the world to be a child".{{cite web |title='Ten weeks of hell' for children in Gaza: UNICEF |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/12/1144927 |website=UN News |date=19 December 2023 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=20 December 2023 |archive-date=20 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220022200/https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/12/1144927 |url-status=live }} James Elder, a UNICEF spokesperson, called the conflict in Gaza a "war on children."{{cite web |title=UN official describes 'immense relief' as water, food arrive in north Gaza amid truce |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/un-northern-gaza-1.7040635 |website=CBC |publisher=Reuters |access-date=29 November 2023 |archive-date=28 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128000326/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/un-northern-gaza-1.7040635 |url-status=live }} On 6 January 2024, Tanya Haj-Hassan, a doctor with Doctors Without Borders, stated children in Gaza were "dying in every way possible."{{cite web |title=Children in Gaza dying 'in every way possible' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/6/israel-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-forces-raid-occupied-west-bank-towns?update=2601163 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=6 January 2024 |archive-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106160731/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/6/israel-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-forces-raid-occupied-west-bank-towns?update=2601163 |url-status=live }} On 18 January 2024, the deputy executive director of UNICEF stated the suffering of children in Gaza were the "most horrific conditions I have ever seen."{{cite news |last1=Timotija |first1=Filip |title=UN warns of viruses spreading in Gaza |url=https://thehill.com/policy/international/4417536-gaza-un-warns-viruses-spreading-poor-conditions/#:~:text=After%20finishing%20a%20three%2Dday,before%20the%20escalation%20in%20hostilities. |website=The Hill |date=19 January 2024 |access-date=20 January 2024 |archive-date=20 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120043735/https://thehill.com/policy/international/4417536-gaza-un-warns-viruses-spreading-poor-conditions/#:~:text=After%20finishing%20a%20three%2Dday,before%20the%20escalation%20in%20hostilities. |url-status=live }} On 2 February 2024, the UNICEF chair stated, "The situation for children in Gaza grows bleaker every day. The world cannot abandon them."{{cite web |title='World cannot abandon' Gaza's children: UNICEF chief |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/2/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-downplays-settler-violence-in-west-bank?update=2670130 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204015634/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/2/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-downplays-settler-violence-in-west-bank?update=2670130 |url-status=live }} On 5 March, UNICEF called the war on Gaza "a test of human conscience" and stated that the lack of humanitarian aid in the north was worsening children's health situation.{{cite web |title=UNICEF: Children in Gaza are paying the highest price for this war |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/5/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-attacks-on-aid-seekers-continue?update=2750253 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=8 March 2024 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308032140/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/5/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-attacks-on-aid-seekers-continue?update=2750253 |url-status=live }} Adele Khodr, UNICEF's Middle East regional director, stated on 19 March: "The world’s inaction is shocking as more children succumb to a slow death."{{cite web |title=UNICEF official slams world's 'shocking inaction' on impending famine in Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/19/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-holds-al-jazeera-reporter-for-12-hours?update=2782667 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=22 March 2024 |archive-date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322052553/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/19/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-holds-al-jazeera-reporter-for-12-hours?update=2782667 |url-status=live }}

File:Bombing Children is Not Self-Defence -1 (53334886688).jpg protest - November 2023]]

In an open letter to the United Kingdom government the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) called the perceived systematic targeting of universities, schools, laboratories and libraries as a component of a genocidal strategy aimed at destroying the Palestinian educations system in Gaza. The chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child stated on 8 February, "The rights of children living under the state of Israel’s effective control are being gravely violated at a level that has rarely been seen in recent history."{{cite web |title=UN says assistance needed to address psychological impact of war on children in Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/8/israels-war-on-gaza-live-us-says-space-for-truce-deal-israel-vows-war?update=2692304 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=9 February 2024 |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208163755/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/8/israels-war-on-gaza-live-us-says-space-for-truce-deal-israel-vows-war?update=2692304 |url-status=live }} The Gulf Cooperation Council called on the UN Human Rights Council to "shoulder their responsibility in ending the tragedy of the children in Gaza and securing their right to live, safety, and protection".{{cite web |title=GCC calls on UNHRC, international community to 'shoulder their responsibility' to children in Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/15/israels-war-on-gaza-live-new-horrific-massacre-on-starving-palestinians?update=2773529 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=17 March 2024 |archive-date=17 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317205558/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/15/israels-war-on-gaza-live-new-horrific-massacre-on-starving-palestinians?update=2773529 |url-status=live }} The UN Population Fund stated in late-March 2024 that "Pregnant women and new mothers face a constant struggle to keep themselves and their newborns alive."{{cite web |title='Constant struggle' for Gaza mothers to keep children alive: UN |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/20/israels-war-on-gaza-live-multiple-attacks-kill-dozens-of-palestinians?update=2785984 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=23 March 2024 |archive-date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323042925/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/20/israels-war-on-gaza-live-multiple-attacks-kill-dozens-of-palestinians?update=2785984 |url-status=live }} In response to reports that one-third of under-two-year-olds in northern Gaza were acutely malnourished, UNICEF's James Elder, stated, "That is a terrifying number".{{cite web |title='Malnutrition was never an issue in Gaza' before Israel's war: UNICEF |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/22/israels-war-on-gaza-live-the-choice-is-clear-a-2-state-solution?update=2791259 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=24 March 2024 |archive-date=24 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324040015/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/22/israels-war-on-gaza-live-the-choice-is-clear-a-2-state-solution?update=2791259 |url-status=live }} The UN added Israel to a blacklist of countries that violate the rights of children.{{cite web |last1=Sorgi |first1=Gregorio |title=UN to add Israel to blacklist for violations against children |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/un-israel-hamas-blacklist-violation-children/ |website=Politico |date=8 June 2024 |access-date=11 June 2024 |archive-date=11 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240611225824/https://www.politico.eu/article/un-israel-hamas-blacklist-violation-children/ |url-status=live }}

In June 2024, the United Nations stated that grave violations against children in conflict zones had increased 155 percent globally, due especially to explosive weapons used in the Gaza Strip.{{cite web |last1=Lederer |first1=Edith M. |title=UN says violence against children in conflict reached extreme levels in 2023, including in Gaza |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/violence-children-conflict-reached-extreme-levels-2023-including-111037268 |website=ABC News |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=21 June 2024 |archive-date=21 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240621215632/https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/violence-children-conflict-reached-extreme-levels-2023-including-111037268 |url-status=live }} In September 2024, a UN committee stated Israel had committed severe breaches against children's rights in Gaza, saying, "The outrageous death of children is almost historically unique. This is an extremely dark place in history. I don't think we have seen before, a violation that is so massive, as we are seeing in Gaza now".{{cite web |last1=Farge |first1=Emma |title=Israel violated global child rights treaty in Gaza, UN committee says |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-violated-global-child-rights-treaty-gaza-un-committee-says-2024-09-19/ |website=Reuters |access-date=22 September 2024}} In October 2024, members of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory condemned child deaths in Gaza, stating, "Kids aren't terrorists."{{cite web |title='Kids aren't terrorists': UN Independent Commission denounces killing of children in Gaza |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjJ3xtpGTAM |website=YouTube |publisher=The New Arab |access-date=1 November 2024}}

Brian Mast, a United States House representative, stated that the babies killed in the Gaza Strip were not innocent civilians.{{cite magazine |last1=Otten |first1=Tori |title=GOP Congressman Says Dead Palestinian Babies Aren't All That Innocent |url=https://newrepublic.com/post/178679/gop-congressman-brian-mast-dead-palestinian-babies-not-innocent |magazine=New Republic |date=November 2022 |access-date=3 February 2024 |archive-date=1 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240201235221/https://newrepublic.com/post/178679/gop-congressman-brian-mast-dead-palestinian-babies-not-innocent |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Shuham |first1=Matt |title=Babies Killed In Gaza Are 'Not Innocent Palestinian Civilians,' House Republican Says |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/brian-mast-palestinian-babies-innocent-civilians-gaza_n_65bbd225e4b05c8779f84791#:~:text=According%20to%20one%20congressional%20Republican,a%20peace%20group%2C%20on%20Wednesday. |website=Huffpost |date=February 2024 |access-date=3 February 2024 |archive-date=3 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240203003730/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/brian-mast-palestinian-babies-innocent-civilians-gaza_n_65bbd225e4b05c8779f84791#:~:text=According%20to%20one%20congressional%20Republican,a%20peace%20group%2C%20on%20Wednesday. |url-status=live }} Qatar's prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani stated, "I think that we should all unite behind stopping this war, saving those lives, saving those children".{{cite web |last1=Fadel |first1=Leila |title=Qatar's prime minister warns an intolerable Gaza situation poses regional risk |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/01/31/1228067573/qatar-prime-minister-negotiating-end-fighting-between-hamas-israel |website=NPR |access-date=3 February 2024 |archive-date=2 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202221639/https://www.npr.org/2024/01/31/1228067573/qatar-prime-minister-negotiating-end-fighting-between-hamas-israel |url-status=live }} Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated Israel was killing children under "the pretext of fighting Hamas".{{cite web |title=Israel kills women and children under pretext of fighting Hamas: Brazil's president |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/15/israels-war-on-gaza-live-four-dead-as-israel-hits-city-in-lebanons-south?update=2710573 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=17 February 2024 |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217052516/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/15/israels-war-on-gaza-live-four-dead-as-israel-hits-city-in-lebanons-south?update=2710573 |url-status=live }} German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock stated, "There are also children who have lost their parents. Imagine our own children living without any parents, any water, any food".{{cite web |title='Situation can't go on like this' says German minister |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/16/israels-war-on-gaza-live-17000-children-torn-from-parents-un-says?update=2712540 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=17 February 2024 |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217190150/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/16/israels-war-on-gaza-live-17000-children-torn-from-parents-un-says?update=2712540 |url-status=live }}

According to The Guardian, the war had a catastrophic effect on children in Gaza and weeks of sustained air strikes and explosions have contributed to their psychological destruction. Following 16 days of bombardment, children developed severe trauma, with symptoms including convulsion, aggression, bed-wetting, and nervousness. 90% of children in pediatric hospitals in Gaza exhibited or reported symptoms of anxiety, the majority exhibited post-traumatic stress symptoms, and 82% reported fears of imminent death.{{cite news |last1=Sherwood |first1=Harriet |date=October 22, 2023 |title=Children in Gaza 'developing severe trauma' after 16 days of bombing |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/22/children-in-gaza-developing-severe-trauma-after-16-days-of-bombing |work=The Guardian |quote=Children had "started to develop serious trauma symptoms such as convulsions, bed-wetting, fear, aggressive behaviour, nervousness, and not leaving their parents’ sides." The "lack of any safe place has created a general sense of fear and horror among the entire population and children are most impacted," he said. |access-date=3 April 2024 |archive-date=22 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022134849/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/22/children-in-gaza-developing-severe-trauma-after-16-days-of-bombing |url-status=live }} In the Los Angeles Review of Books, historian Alma Igra wrote, "The children of Gaza will forever be marked by the duration of time they spent in 'hunger-time,' when their growth was arrested by starvation, their minds marred by trauma."{{cite web |last1=Igra |first1=Alma |title=Hunger-Time |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/hunger-time/ |website=Los Angeles Review of Books |date=16 June 2024 |access-date=4 July 2024 |archive-date=24 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240624165530/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/hunger-time/ |url-status=live }}

{{Portal|Israel|Palestine}}

• Children in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
• Effect of World War I on children in the United States
• Women in the Gaza war
• Humanitarian aid during the Gaza war
• Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, documentary film featuring Gazan children
• Gaza genocide
• Israeli war crimes

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqusa-96WLs Children of Gaza]" by CBS Morning News via YouTube (21 July 2024)

{{Gaza war|state=collapsed}}

Category:Israeli war crimes in the Israel–Hamas war

Category:War crimes against children in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

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Children

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