Trauma that lasts a lifetime
Over the past eight months, the world has become accustomed to daily images on social media showing Palestinian children torn apart by bombs in Gaza, suffering severe injuries, burns, and extreme malnutrition. They are seen grieving parents and siblings, wandering among the rubble, or traumatized, displaced, and alone. Official figures from Gaza’s health ministry report at least 14,000 child fatalities in the Israeli assaults, a number that barely captures the true scale of harm to Gaza’s youngest residents. Children make up roughly half of Gaza’s population, and a new report from Save the Children estimates that 21,000 Palestinian children have disappeared since October 7. This tally includes children believed to lie beneath debris, buried in mass graves, detained by Israeli forces, or separated from their families amid ongoing chaos and forced displacement these months.
According to the same report from the British charity, unaccompanied and missing children may number around 17,000, with another 4,000 likely missing under debris and many more in mass graves whose locations remain unknown. Some have reportedly been arrested and moved out of Gaza, a situation that raises concerns about violations of international law, including the Geneva Conventions, and adds to the ongoing allegations of systematic mistreatment and torture faced by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.
The report emphasizes the daily difficulty of locating and supporting vulnerable children in Gaza’s current conditions. It notes that neighbors and relatives hosting unaccompanied minors struggle to meet basic needs such as shelter, food, and clean water. Many children are with strangers or completely alone, which heightens risks of violence, abuse, exploitation, and neglect. Earlier this month, the World Health Organization reported that more than 8,000 Gaza children have suffered from acute malnutrition, including about 1,600 in its most severe form.
A generational scar
No one doubts that the consequences of Israel’s assault on Gaza’s children will echo for generations. The blockade, collective punishment, war, and widespread destruction have defined life in the enclave for more than twenty years. Khaled Quzmar, director general of Defense for Children International Palestine, has told media outlets that the scale of what is unfolding in Gaza far exceeds even the horrors seen in the Second World War. He described the situation as a war against children and warned that Gaza’s youth pay the highest price of what he calls genocide in the region.
What stands out in discussions among global leaders is the uneven response to the 33 Israeli children reported killed during Hamas attacks on October 7, compared with the thousands of Palestinian children who have died or vanished since then. Condemnations were swift and loud in the early days for the Israeli fatalities, yet the ongoing child deaths in Gaza and the West Bank have rarely moved the same level of discourse from top officials.
Independent investigation and accountability
Across the region, observers note that Gaza has effectively become a graveyard for children, with thousands more missing and unresolved cases. Jeremy Stoner, regional director for Save the Children in the Middle East, has urged an independent inquiry to ensure accountability and to bring those responsible for crimes to justice. He stressed the urgent need for a ceasefire to locate and protect the missing children who remain alive and to prevent further devastation to families. The appeal highlights the critical role of independent scrutiny in advancing human rights and child protection during ongoing hostilities.
The core message from aid workers and researchers is clear: immediate, verifiable steps are needed to safeguard children, to document abuses, and to provide consistent support for families sheltering and caring for vulnerable youngsters. In Gaza’s current environment, such steps demand international cooperation and continued pressure for both humanitarian access and protection of civilian lives, especially those of noncombatants who bear the heaviest burden of war.