A Comprehensive Report on How War, Hunger, and Mass Displacement Are Destroying Childhood in Palestine – The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, April 5, Palestine Children’s Day:
The latest demographic estimates show that by the end of 2025, the State of Palestine had a population of 5.56 million, including 3.43 million in the West Bank and 2.13 million in the Gaza Strip.
Children under 18 accounted for 43% of the population—approximately 2.47 million—with 1.38 million in the West Bank (41%) and 1.09 million in Gaza (47%).
Children under 15 made up 36.3% of the population, totaling 2.02 million, including 1.18 million in the West Bank (35%) and 0.83 million in Gaza (39%).
Bombardment, Starvation, and Winter Cold: A Deadly Alliance Consuming Childhood
Palestinian Child Day arrives amid one of the most devastating humanitarian collapses in recent history. The ongoing Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, from 7 October 2023 through 1 April 2026, has exposed a systematic assault on an entire generation.
Tens of thousands of children in Gaza have lost one or both parents due to the ongoing genocide 💔 pic.twitter.com/4GyfDjGWs1
— MagicalM (@MagicalM237047) April 5, 2026
By the end of 2025, Israeli forces had killed 72,289 Palestinians, including 21,283 children, who represented nearly 30% of all fatalities. Among them were:
- 450 infants,
- 1,029 children under one year,
- 5,031 children under five.
These figures reflect the scale of a catastrophe that has extinguished the lives of children who had barely begun to live.
The siege and the collapse of basic services created additional layers of death:
- 157 children died from hunger,
- 25 children died from freezing temperatures in makeshift displacement camps,
- Around 9,500 people remain missing beneath the rubble—most of them children and women.
Injuries have been equally devastating. Out of 172,040 wounded Palestinians, at least 44,486 were children (26%). More than 10,500 children suffered injuries that permanently altered their lives, and over 1,000 children underwent limb amputations amid the near‑total collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system. Nearly 4,000 children face imminent death without urgent medical evacuation.
Children in Gaza were filmed playing a game they called “carrying the martyrs,” where they pretend to carry dead bodies on hospital gurneys. pic.twitter.com/0Fcw9QBv5U
— AJ+ (@ajplus) April 3, 2026
In the West Bank, Israeli forces killed 237 children out of 1,145 Palestinians during the same period.
Systematic Arrests: More Than 1,655 Palestinian Children Detained
Human rights organizations documented over 1,655 abduction of Palestinian children in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, since the start of the war—600 of them in 2025 alone.
As of March 11, 2026, Israel continues to hold 350 Palestinian children in harsh conditions, deprived of basic rights, as part of a systematic pattern of grave violations.
58,000 Children in Gaza Lost One or Both Parents
UNICEF reports that more than 58,000 children in Gaza have lost one or both parents due to the Israeli assault, leaving them without family protection or adequate care in one of the harshest environments on earth.
Starvation as a Weapon: The Silent Killing of Gaza’s Children
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Gaza is experiencing an unprecedented nutrition crisis.
In February 2026 alone:
- 3,700 children (ages 6–59 months) were admitted for malnutrition treatment,
- Including 600 cases of severe acute malnutrition.
January’s figures were even higher: 4,600 children, including 890 severe cases.
Key indicators reveal:
- 64% of children consume only two food groups or fewer per day,
- Over 90% lack minimum dietary diversity,
- More than 60% of children aged 6–23 months face acute food poverty.
Projections for 2026 warn that:
- 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women will suffer acute malnutrition,
- 25,000 infants under six months,
- 101,000 children under five,
- 120,000 children aged 5–17 will require urgent therapeutic interventions,
- 31,000 children face imminent death from severe acute malnutrition.
These conditions unfold amid the destruction or disabling of 94% of Gaza’s healthcare facilities, leaving the remaining centers barely functional.
From Destroyed Homes to Explosive Remnants: A Double Threat in 1,000 Displacement Sites
At least 320,622 housing units have been destroyed or damaged, forcing 1.4 million Palestinians—two‑thirds of Gaza’s population—into displacement.
Children now live in more than 1,000 overcrowded displacement sites, many of them makeshift tent clusters lacking privacy, safety, or protection from the elements.
Since October 2025:
- 33 explosive‑remnant incidents were documented,
- Resulting in 9 deaths and 65 injuries,
- With children being the primary victims.
In the West Bank, UNRWA reports that 12,000 children are living in forced displacement due to ongoing Israeli military operations in northern districts since early 2025, which displaced 50,000 Palestinians.
Notice in this video the joy of the little children ❤️
You always share our pain in the Gaza war.
This time, share the joy of our children in Gaza 🍉. https://t.co/K99r44FeJb— mohammed hussein~Gaza 🇵🇸 (@mohammedIhysse) April 4, 2026
Education Under Attack: A Generation Denied Its Future
Israeli forces destroyed:
- 179 government schools,
- 100 UNRWA schools.
As a result:
- 700,000 students in Gaza were deprived of education during the 2025/2026 school year,
- 39,000 students were prevented from taking the 2024/2025 Tawjihi exams.
Between October 7, 2023 and February 17, 2026:
- 18,971 students were killed,
- 794 teachers were killed,
- 28,293 students were injured,
- 3,261 teachers were injured.
In the West Bank:
- 120 students were killed,
- 831 injured,
- 406 students and 183 educators were arrested.
Despite alternative learning pathways—online platforms, temporary schools—thousands of students remain unable to learn due to the lack of electricity, internet access, devices, and safe spaces.
1.1 Million Children in Gaza Suffering Psychological Trauma
More than 1.1 million children require urgent protection and psychosocial support. Continuous bombardment, loss, displacement, and the absence of safety have produced widespread chronic fear, anxiety, and depression among children across the Gaza Strip.
On this day last year, Israeli warplanes carried out a horrific attack on Dar Al-Arqam School in Gaza.
Missiles struck the schoolyard, killing and injuring displaced women and children, leaving a lasting scar on the community. pic.twitter.com/BGlkTedNVu
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) April 4, 2026
Contaminated Water: A Silent Epidemic Threatening Children’s Lives
WHO (World Health Organization) water testing in 2025 revealed:
- 77% of household water samples failed basic safety standards,
- 67% of drinking water samples were contaminated.
Health authorities recorded:
- 496,000 cases of acute watery diarrhea,
- Children under five accounted for 47% of cases,
- 5,800 cases of jaundice, signaling widespread infectious disease.
The data reveals a stark and devastating reality: Palestinian children are facing a multi‑layered system of death and deprivation—bombardment, starvation, winter cold, displacement, arrest, disease, and the collapse of essential services.
This is not a series of isolated tragedies but a deliberate dismantling of an entire generation, stripping children of their right to life, safety, education, health, and a future.
