Children of Gaza

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What does it mean for a nation when its children are disproportionately killed by an enemy? What does it mean when almost an entire generation is wiped out clean? When the future cannot be bright – because it is dead? A child is killed in Gaza every 45 minutes.

Thirty children, on average, are being killed every single day for more than a year, the size of an average Pakistani classroom. Homes have been plundered, hospitals and schools have been destroyed, and safe spaces have been decimated. Such is the reality of people of Gaza, who have watched their future get killed in front of their eyes.

At least 17,400 children have been killed by Israel since 7th October 2023. Of them only 15,600 children have been identified, while others – 1,800 or so – have been presumed dead, or are buried under the rubble. The grave reality of this means that 10% of the children killed have not had proper burials and their parents have not said final goodbye to them. While Israel has stripped away their right to a dignified death, it also continues to block food and humanitarian aid into Gaza, leaving more than 60,000 children suffering from malnutrition.

There is an even bigger number of children in Gaza who have been left injured. And the injuries inflicted on these poor children are not just physical; they have sustained lifelong trauma of experiencing a war and living through an active fear of being murdered every single day. The fear itself translates into severe mental health challenges and a drastic decrease in the chance at a normal life.

The children who will survive the end of the war will grow up without siblings, without parents, without schools and colleges to attend, or homes to return to. This is the reality of children in Gaza, looking to the world in hopes that one day they will be saved.