Gaza Herald – This year’s Palestinian Children’s Day comes amid one of the darkest periods in recent history, particularly in Gaza, where genocide, blockade, and a collapsing health system converge to threaten an entire generation.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, by the end of 2025, Palestine’s population reached approximately 5.56 million, with 2.47 million children under 18, reflecting a predominantly young society. Children under 15 make up roughly 36% of the population, heavily concentrated in Gaza and the West Bank.
However, these demographic figures clash with a grim reality on the ground. The Israeli war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, until April 2026, has killed over 72,000 Palestinians, including 21,283 children. Hundreds of children died from hunger and extreme cold in displacement shelters, while roughly 9,500 remain missing under rubble. More than 172,000 have been injured, including at least 44,486 children, and over 10,500 suffer permanent injuries, including limb amputations, amid the near-total collapse of the health system.
The humanitarian crisis extends to arrests and malnutrition. Rights organizations documented over 1,655 child arrests in the West Bank since the war began, while tens of thousands of children face severe malnutrition, with around 31,000 at risk of death without urgent treatment. Nearly 94% of healthcare facilities have been destroyed or damaged, leaving medical services unable to meet basic needs. Approximately 1.4 million Palestinians are displaced within Gaza, including hundreds of thousands of children who lost their homes and safe environments.
Education has also been severely affected. Hundreds of schools in Gaza were destroyed, and UNRWA schools were damaged, leaving around 700,000 students without access to schooling in the 2025/2026 academic year. Alternative solutions, such as online learning, are hindered by poor infrastructure, electricity outages, and limited internet, deepening the educational gap. In the West Bank, numerous students were killed, injured, or detained, while teachers and school staff were also affected, reflecting a continuous targeting of the education sector.
Children’s psychosocial well-being is under severe strain. More than 1.1 million children in Gaza require mental health and social support to cope with cumulative trauma. The water crisis has worsened health conditions, with roughly 496,000 cases of acute watery diarrhea and thousands of jaundice cases among children under five, highlighting the spread of disease.
These statistics paint a stark picture of Palestinian children’s suffering, showing how the impact of war extends far beyond immediate casualties to threaten the future of society amid ongoing blockade and deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
