Shattered childhoods: Gaza's children first face bombs, then hunger
In 2014, Palestinian poet Khaled Juma wrote a painful verse about the 'Rascal Children of Gaza' amid Israel's bombardment of the Strip. Juma lamented how he yearned for their mischief and laughter. More than a decade later, the children of Gaza seem to have nowhere left to go.Between the beginning of the present conflict in October 2023 and May 20 this year, about 18,000 Palestinian children were killed in Israeli strikes. More than 800 of them were infants under the age of one. And at least 274 were born and killed in the past 19 months.advertisementThe violence shows no sign of slowing: more than 950 children have been killed in the last two months alone.Starvation of children
Children who have survived airstrikes and bombardment now face hunger. According to the United Nations Human Rights Office, more than eleven weeks into the blockade on humanitarian aid by Israeli authorities, Gaza's food crisis has reached catastrophic levels. Over 50 children have already died from starvation, and many others are on the verge of death.UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher warned two days ago that without immediate intervention, as many as 14,000 infants could die within just 48 hours.As of May 14, over 90 per cent of children aged between six and 23 months, along with pregnant and breastfeeding women, were not meeting their nutritional requirements.advertisementAccording to the State of Palestine Nutrition Cluster, more than 1.2 million people in Gaza have required lifesaving nutrition interventions and malnutrition prevention services in 2025 alone. This includes approximately eight lakh children under the age of five, and over three lakh pregnant or breastfeeding women. More than 60,000 children under the age of five need acute malnutrition, and nearly three lakh children need supplementary feeding and micronutrient support.Over 16,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women are suffering from acute malnutrition, 1.5 lakh require preventive supplementation, and 20,000 need cash-based assistance to stave off hunger.No quality of life for the livingAs of May 14, more than 13,000 school students and 663 education workers have been killed, and around 22,000 students and 2,825 teachers have been injured. Education has been upended for 6.6 lakh school-aged children and 8,700 tertiary students, who now lack access to formal learning spaces.Mental health support is another urgent need. Over 1 million children now require psychosocial and mental health support due to sustained trauma. According to a World Health Organisation report, Palestinians in Gaza, children and adults alike, suffer from high rates of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and acute stress disorders.The report cited various studies, one of which estimated that 54 per cent of children in Gaza had PTSD, with comorbid depression (41 per cent) and anxiety (34 per cent), due to traumatic events like bombings and loss of loved ones.In January, UNICEF noted that between 13,455 and 17,550 children in the Gaza Strip have life-changing injuries, requiring major rehabilitation, and that between 3,105 and 4,050 limb amputations have occurred since October 2023.Must Watch
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