Introduction
Since October 2023, the Gaza Strip has experienced sustained conflict that disproportionately harms children, who make up nearly half of the population. 1 Over one million 14 children have been directly affected by violence, displacement, and the collapse of essential 15 services. 1 , 2 Health care infrastructure has been decimated, food systems disrupted, and educational access virtually eliminated. Military activity embedded in civilian zones has intensified risks, and limited humanitarian access poses serious operational challenges.Reference Salem 3 This report examines the multifaceted impact on children and offers context-specific recommendations for response.
Findings
Health and Infrastructure
More than half of Gaza’s health care facilities are non-functional.Reference Shorrab, Nassef and Subhi 4 Pediatric care is minimal, and telemedicine solutions are insufficient.Reference Muthumani 5 Immunization programs have collapsed, leaving over 250,000 children vulnerable to preventable diseases.Reference Bouaddi, Seedat, Hasaan Mohamad, Evangelidou, Deal, Requena-Méndez and Hargreaves 6 Rehabilitation services are overwhelmed by the surge in traumatic injuries, including amputations.Reference Warf, Eisenstein, AlMakadma, Howard, Birch, Jillson, Charles, Warf and Charles 7
Nutrition and Food Insecurity
Food insecurity affects over 80% of households. Acute malnutrition affects more than 25% of children under 5.Reference Checchi, Ververs and Jamaluddine 8 Agricultural collapse and restricted supply chains exacerbate the crisis.Reference Mahase 9
Mental Health
Children exhibit age-specific trauma responses-young children show developmental regression, while older children present with anxiety, depression, or aggression.Reference Bürgin, Anagnostopoulos and Vitiello 10 , Reference Alkhaldi and Alrubaie 11 Generational trauma is emerging as a long-term concern.Reference Giladi and Bell 12
Education
Over 600,000 children are out of school. Many learning environments are now shelters.Reference Buheji and Buheji 13 , Reference Berman 14 Educational continuity is largely absent, exacerbating psychosocial distress and interrupting child development.
Access and Protection
Aid delivery is hindered by fuel shortages, communication blackouts, and direct attacks on 40 humanitarian workers.Reference Malhouni and Mabrouki 15 Despite protection under the Geneva Conventions and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, enforcement remains weak.
Comparative Context
In contrast to coordinated responses in Ukraine and Syria, international intervention in Gaza has been inconsistent. This disparity highlights the urgent need for equitable humanitarian engagement.
Recommendations
To address the complex and urgent needs of children affected by the 2023 Gaza War, it is essential to strengthen local capacity through remote training, telemedicine, and the deployment of mobile health units.
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1. Establish protected humanitarian corridors via multilateral agreements to enable secure delivery of aid.
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2. Scale up mobile health units and remote training for local providers to restore pediatric care capacity.
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3. Fund and expand trauma recovery services, especially for children with disabilities or those separated from caregivers.
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4. Strengthen global accountability mechanisms to ensure adherence to humanitarian law and impose consequences for violations.
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5. Support education reintegration through temporary learning centers and psychosocial programming tailored by age and need.
Conclusion
The 2023 Gaza War has created severe, multidimensional threats to children’s health and development. Urgent international action is required to restore essential services and uphold humanitarian protections. Context-specific, age-appropriate interventions are needed to promote recovery and safeguard future well-being. Appendix lists health indicators and the number of children that have been impacted (based on estimates), along with the primary cause.
Supplementary material
The supplementary material for this article can be found at http://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2025.10251.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the humanitarian workers and medical professionals documenting the health impact of conflict in Gaza under extraordinarily difficult conditions.
Author contribution
JR conceptualized the report, conducted data synthesis, and drafted the manuscript. MQ contributed to contextual interpretation, critical revisions, and final review. Both authors approved the final version.
Funding statement
The authors received no specific funding for this work.
Competing interests
None.
Ethical standard
Not applicable, this manuscript is a synthesis of publicly available humanitarian and health data.
