The Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) reported that international officials meeting at United Nations headquarters called for urgent action to protect Palestinian children and safeguard their rights, education, health, and future amid the continuing deterioration of humanitarian and security conditions in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.
The gathering took place Wednesday at United Nations headquarters in New York, on the sidelines of the high-level general debate of the UN General Assembly.
Jordan, the European Union, and Belgium organized the event under the banner “Call to Action for Palestinian Children in Gaza and the West Bank.” Officials from UN member states, doctors, and representatives of various sectors attended.
The meeting opened with a recorded message from Lona, a Palestinian child from the West Bank, who said children do not feel safe and now live with fear and anxiety because of conditions created by the occupation.
“We know that we could be killed at any moment,” she said, adding that children feel anxious, afraid, and angry throughout the day. She said these conditions harm children’s mental health and their ability to concentrate and learn at school, and appealed to the international community and world leaders to protect Palestinian children’s rights and listen to their voices.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi asked participants to observe a minute of silence for Palestinian children killed during Israel’s ongoing military assault. He said the worsening conditions facing children in Gaza and the West Bank reflected the international community’s failure to use the mechanisms available under international law. He also stressed that humanitarian aid must be allowed to enter Gaza without obstruction.
Christian Saunders, UNRWA’s acting commissioner-general, warned that children in Gaza will carry the physical and psychological consequences of the war for years. He said many have lost critical time in school and are living without secure shelter, adequate food, or needed health care. In the West Bank, he added, violence, displacement threats, and disrupted education continue to affect children and their families.
The Israeli army continues to shoot displaced children inside their tents. Ibrahim Zannoun from Khan Younis recounts what happened to his child inside their tent.
At least 2,600 Palestinian children were reportedly killed by gunfire during the genocide. pic.twitter.com/o9CJyCs199
— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) September 23, 2026
Citing UNRWA figures presented at the meeting, Saunders said more than 300,000 children in Gaza are receiving educational support through temporary learning spaces and online instruction. He added that more than 500,000 children, young people, and caregivers have accessed psychosocial services. UNRWA is also providing primary health care, clean water, sanitation, and shelter assistance.
WAFA quoted Saunders as saying approximately 42,000 children began the new academic year in UNRWA schools in the occupied West Bank, while the agency continued providing cash assistance and livelihood support to families.
An UNRWA situation report published on September 10 separately placed enrollment at approximately 48,000 Palestine refugee students across 90 agency schools.
Saunders stressed that children must remain at the center of international efforts in the occupied Palestinian territory, saying their rights, dignity, and future cannot be postponed until tomorrow but are responsibilities that must be upheld today.
He said commitments alone are insufficient and must be translated into practical measures that ensure humanitarian assistance reaches those in need in a sustained, safe, and effective manner.
Saunders also called on states and other parties with influence to use it to advance a serious political process toward a future in which Palestinians, Israelis, and the peoples of the region can live side by side in peace, security, and dignity.
Call to Action for Palestinian Children in the West Bank and Gaza | UN Web TV
