A year of tears: 12 months of war on children – UNICEF Report

07 October 2024

Highlights

One year of war marked by killing, injury, abduction, displacement, disease, malnutrition, dehydration, constant fear and profound trauma, have brutally disrupted the lives of children and their families across the State of Palestine, in Israel and in the region.

In Gaza, at least 14,000 children have reportedly been killed, many more injured, while thousands are likely under the rubble, and an estimated 17,000 others are unaccompanied or separated from their caregivers.

More than 55 displacement orders remain in effect, covering up to 86 per cent of the Gaza Strip. Children have lost access to quality healthcare, education, and other services. All children are now in need of mental health and psychosocial support. One year into the war, children’s most basic needs remain unmet.

Persistent restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial commodities, and the inability of humanitarians to safely reach all children and families, have rendered the Gaza population acutely food insecure . All 335,000 children under five are at high risk of malnutrition.

The attacks on health facilities, relentless displacement of almost all of the population multiple times, overcrowding conditions and the collapse of electricity as well as water provision have created a public health catastrophe. Waterborne diseases, including diarrhea, hepatitis A and polio, have been thriving in these highly unsanitary conditions, threatening the lives of children, especially children under five. Poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) was detected in Gaza in July 2024, after 25 years of absence.

Regular attacks on schools – which have been serving as shelters for displaced civilians – and continued displacement orders have rendered access to regular, full-time education impossible for over 658,760 school children in Gaza. One year of classroom learning has already been lost, and education will not be able to restart in this academic year either. Children’s education is projected to be set back by up to five years.