Amman, Jordan, October 9, 2024 —  In Gaza, an entire generation of children is now at risk of being ‘forgotten’. With the cumulative effects of unrelenting violence, forced displacement and loss of an entire school year likely to impact them for the rest of their lives. The time to act to provide relief and scale-up humanitarian aid is now, to protect children and ensure their recovery.

One year has passed since the latest escalation of conflict in Gaza, and nearly every facet of civilian life in Gaza has been destroyed. Israeli forces began a deadly campaign of airstrikes and ground invasions, killing more than 41,000 people, following an attack on Israel by Hamas and other armed groups, that killed 1,200 people and the taking of over 200 hostages.

The conflict has left the entire population in Gaza in crisis, without access to basic necessities such as adequate food, water, shelter, education and healthcare. Half of those affected are children.

No safe spaces for children

Among the most vulnerable groups of children are unaccompanied and separated children. It is estimated that around 17,000 children could be unaccompanied or separated from parents and caregivers, but based on previous experience of other crises, IRC believes this number may be three times higher.  IRC research has found that the risk family separation has increased dramatically in the past months, exacerbated by multiple rounds of displacements, arrests, Israeli evacuation orders and fatalities, with some children found living alone in hospitals.

Even before the latest escalation, at least half a million children in Gaza needed mental health and psychosocial support. Now, the burden of witnessing profoundly distressing events, multiple displacements and lack of safety means that every child, parent and caregiver in Gaza is experiencing trauma, which could require long-term mental health and psycho-social support.

Ongoing toxic stress from violence and displacement will lead to long-term health challenges for children. There are currently no safe places for civilians in Gaza, and children feel the negative impacts most acutely. There is an urgent need for support for children through psychosocial activities or safe spaces. Without this, there is a significant risk of long-term developmental impacts, including on brain development. The situation urgently calls for immediate international support and intervention to mitigate these long-term impacts and support the resilience and recovery of an entire generation of Palestinian children.

Faten Abu Mousa, IRC’s Child Protection Manager in Gaza, said,

“In Gaza, children are the most vulnerable group, and their basic needs, especially their sense of safety, have become non-existent. At IRC, we have been working with our community facilitators to give children a helping hand by creating safe spaces for expression and communication and providing mental health and psycho-social support services, and we feel how much this support means to children every day, all of whom have profound trauma. These interventions help restore a sense of security, provide coping mechanisms, and enhance emotional resilience. Engaging children in mental health and psychosocial support activities during crises not only strengthens resilience, but also enables them to rebuild their lives, creating a foundation for healing and hope.” 

Malnutrition crisis

Gaza is now facing an unprecedented food crisis with the entire population of 2.2 million people facing crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity—the highest share ever classified for any area or country. Even prior to this crisis, chronic malnutrition was already an issue in Gaza, meaning that with an influx of new cases of acute malnutrition IRC teams in Gaza are seeing increased rates of severe and acute malnutrition in children under five.  While humanitarian partners are able to treat cases in the Israeli-designated “safe zone”, humanitarian operations to treat children in the north are severely restricted due to prevention of access and hostilities.

Even if a child survives acute malnutrition, they will often face long-term health impacts,  and require lifelong support. Prolonged malnutrition can negatively impact physical and mental development, including stunting, when a person’s growth and cognitive development may be held back for their age. Acute malnutrition leads to wasting; where muscles rapidly deteriorate leading to a life-threatening situation. It is very common for a child to experience both stunting and wasting at the same time. In these cases, the child's risk of death is more than 11 times higher than that of a healthy child especially because their weakened bodies are not able to fight off common diseases.  Children under five are particularly at risk as they are in a critical period of growth.

Education disrupted

Children in Gaza have now missed one year of education due to the destruction of school buildings and the collapse of the education system. Reports suggest that the impact of war and trauma will set Gazan children’s education back by up to five years. The absence of schooling for more than a year means that children are not just behind developmentally, but they have also lost access to safe spaces that schools would have previously provided.

While ensuring physical safety, preventing starvation, and providing life-saving medical attention are the most immediate and urgent needs in Gaza, the consequences of repeated exposure to violence, upheaval and a breakdown in education and early developmental supportive services are devastating. Severe and prolonged stress and trauma in the first years of life can have profoundly detrimental effects on children’s future health, learning and overall wellbeing, as well as threatening to cause lasting impacts for future generations of Palestinians. 

Bart Witteveen, IRC Country Director for the occupied Palestinian territory, said,

“Children are bearing the brunt of this war, and it’s clear that without an immediate and lasting ceasefire in sight, the long-term impacts will only become greater. Prolonged toxic stress from violence and displacement can lead to long-term health challenges for children. Without support through psychosocial activities or safe spaces for children, there is a significant risk of long-term developmental impacts, including on brain development. The international community must act immediately to safeguard children, not just in the immediate term, but also taking into account their long-term health needs, whether related to mental health, healthcare or education. Children in Gaza cannot wait any longer, prolonged restrictions on humanitarian aid and continued fighting means that a generation of children will now experience life-long health and developmental issues.”

In light of the desperate need for a massive scale-up in humanitarian aid and the need to prioritise responding to the acute needs of children, the IRC continues to call for an immediate and lasting ceasefire as the only way to protect Palestinian lives and enable the release of the remaining hostages.