In the heart of the Middle East, a humanitarian catastrophe of unimaginable proportions is unfolding. Gaza, once a vibrant coastal enclave, has become what UN officials describe as “the graveyard of international humanitarian law” . Amidst the rubble and destruction, it is the children who pay the highest price—starving, traumatized, and disabled by a conflict they did not create. As famine tightens its grip and violence continues to claim young lives, the international community must not look away. This article reveals the devastating reality for Gaza’s children and explains how you can Help Save the Children of Gaza from further suffering.
1 The Reality of Famine: A Man-Made Catastrophe
What Famine Means for Gaza’s Children
Famine has been officially confirmed in parts of Gaza, with catastrophic levels of malnutrition spreading rapidly . According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), famine occurs when:
- At least 20% of households face extreme food shortages
- Over 30% of children are dangerously thin for their height
- At least two people per 10,000 die daily from hunger or related causes
In Gaza, these conditions are not accidental—they are man-made and preventable. As of August 2025, famine had been confirmed in Gaza City and was projected to spread to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by September . The consequences are already deadly: at least 147 people (including 88 children) have died from malnutrition since October 2023, with 25 children dying in July 2025 alone .
The Human Face of Hunger
Children’s bodies are particularly vulnerable to starvation. Even a single day without adequate nutrition can have lifelong consequences for physical and cognitive development. Save the Children staff report seeing children scavenging for food in garbage while mothers who once ate three meals a day now survive on nothing . One aid worker shared the heartbreaking words of a girl in a child-friendly space: “I pray that a truce happens, and they let in food before we die” .
Table: Nutrition Crisis in Gaza (2025)
| Indicator | Statistic | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Children at risk of death from acute malnutrition by mid-2026 | 132,000 | |
| Children with acute malnutrition at Save the Children clinics (4-month increase) | 10-fold surge | |
| Pregnant and breastfeeding women malnourished | 43% |
2 Beyond Hunger: Children Disabled and Injured by Conflict
The violence in Gaza has left not only nutritional scars but physical ones. According to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, at least 21,000 children have been disabled since the war began in October 2023 . The committee reported that approximately 40,500 children have suffered “new war-related injuries,” with more than half left with permanent disabilities .
These disabilities create additional challenges in an environment where basic aid is restricted and medical care is scarce. The UN committee noted that 83% of disabled people had lost their assistive devices (wheelchairs, walkers, canes), with most unable to afford alternatives . Even when aid reaches Gaza, devices like wheelchairs are often considered “dual-use items” by Israeli authorities and blocked from entry .
For disabled children, evacuation orders are “often inaccessible,” making flight impossible—reports describe people with disabilities crawling through sand or mud without mobility assistance to escape bombardment .
3 Education Interrupted and Mental Health Shattered
The Lost Generation
Gaza’s children are becoming a lost generation deprived of education and psychological support. Nearly 660,000 children remain out of school, according to UNRWA . Over 90% of Gaza’s schools have been either destroyed or severely damaged, with reconstruction expected to take significant resources and time .
Instead of classrooms, children now inhabit overcrowded shelters. Diana, a displaced child from Gaza City, explains: “Instead of studying in school, we’re living in it. We carry a bag of clothes instead of a school bag” . Another child, Misk, who lost her father in the war, lamented: “Two years of our lives were wasted. If it weren’t for the war, I would now be preparing for school, buying pens and school supplies. Now, we search for water and food” .
Psychological Trauma
The mental health toll on Gaza’s children is staggering. Nearly one million children in the Strip suffer from profound psychological trauma . Save the Children reports that over 1 million children need mental health support . After nearly two years of violence, displacement, and loss, children’s mental health is being “pushed beyond breaking point” .
4 How International Organizations Help Save the Children of Gaza
Despite unimaginable challenges, humanitarian organizations continue their life-saving work. Save the Children, which has operated in the region since 1953, provides:
- Clean drinking water delivered to 26 communities daily
- Two primary healthcare centers offering malnutrition treatment and maternal care
- Malnutrition screening and treatment for children and mothers
- Temporary learning spaces for children aged 3-12
- Mental health and psychosocial support services, including Child-Friendly Spaces
Other organizations like the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) work to provide medical and humanitarian relief to children “regardless of their nationality or religion” .
However, these efforts are severely hampered by access restrictions and inadequate funding. Aid workers are “blocked, attacked and restricted” while “supplies are running out” . Despite having warehouses full of supplies at the border, humanitarian organizations cannot deliver them consistently without a ceasefire and full access .
5 Why Your Support Is Crucial to Help Save the Children of Gaza
The situation in Gaza represents a failure of humanity that requires immediate international response. While political solutions are debated, children continue to die from preventable causes. Your support can make a tangible difference in the following ways:
Donations Provide Immediate Relief
Every contribution funds life-saving interventions:
- $87 can provide a family with a food parcel containing canned beans, hummus, olive oil, and water
- $120 could provide 210 doses of local anesthetic to prevent pain during medical procedures
- $290 could provide a family with a cash voucher for essentials like food and water for one month
Advocacy Creates Political Change
Beyond donations, raising your voice matters:
- Contact representatives to demand an immediate ceasefire
- Share information about the crisis to combat misinformation
- Support organizations pressuring governments to allow humanitarian access
The Moral Imperative
As Save the Children notes: “This famine is not an accident—it is a decision. One that is both foreseeable and preventable” . Using starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime under international law, and the international community must be held accountable for enforcing humanitarian standards .
6 How You Can Help Save the Children of Gaza Today
Time is running out for Gaza’s children. Here’s how you can make a difference immediately:
- Donate to Reputable Organizations: Support organizations like Save the Children and PCRF that have established operations in the region.
- Raise Awareness: Share information about the crisis on social media and in your community. Break the silence surrounding Gaza’s suffering.
- Advocate for Policy Change: Contact your government representatives to demand:
- An immediate and permanent ceasefire
- Unrestricted humanitarian access through all border crossings
- An end to arms transfers to parties to the conflict
- Support Mental Health Services: Contribute to programs providing psychosocial support to traumatized children.
- Remember the Disabled: Specifically support organizations providing assistive devices and specialized care for disabled children.
Conclusion: Don’t Look Away—Help Save the Children of Gaza
The children of Gaza did not choose this war, but they are paying the highest price for it. They are starving to death in a man-made famine, losing limbs to violence, missing education that would empower them, and suffering psychological trauma that will last generations. The situation is not hopeless—we know how to treat malnutrition, how to provide safe water, how to educate children, and how to support mental health. What is missing is the political will and resources to implement these solutions at scale.
As Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of UNRWA, warned: “We have made the Geneva conventions almost irrelevant. What is happening and being accepted today in Gaza is not something that can be isolated; it will become the new norm for all future conflicts” .
We must not let this happen. We must not look away. Help Save the Children of Gaza by donating, advocating, and remembering that these children deserve the same future we want for our own. The time to act is now—before more children become statistics in what history will remember as a preventable tragedy.
“We are children. We want to live like other children.” — Misk, child in Gaza