Childhood in Gaza has been completely shattered. And now with the end of the 6-week pause in hostilities and Israel announcing a suspension on all humanitarian aid entering Gaza, children’s lives are once again hanging in the balance.
Childhood in Gaza has been completely shattered. Palestinian children in Gaza endured over 15 months of unrelenting siege since October 2023, marked by relentless Israeli airstrikes that have wiped out any semblance of a normal childhood.
In 2024, the occupied Palestinian territory, specifically Gaza, became the deadliest place on earth to be a child.
However, over the past six weeks, the pause in hostilities and a surge in aid meant that children in Gaza were finally able to start physically recovering from the horrors of the war. Increased access for and to aid and commercial goods meant that they were better fed, able to start safely accessing healthcare services, and even to return to learning. They were able to reconnect with missing family members and friends and travel back to their homes with their families.
But now with the end of the six-week pause in hostilities and Israel announcing a suspension on all humanitarian aid entering Gaza, children’s lives are once again hanging in the balance. The resumption of the war will completely obliterate any progress made in children’s recovery and will set them back even further.
This halting of aid will have devastating consequences for 1.1 million children in Gaza and their families as children already on the brink of famine and suffering severe malnutrition will not be able to get the nutrition and food they need, families will not be able to rebuild their destroyed and damaged homes and children who have been injured and maimed in the war will not be able to access the treatment they need.
Denying humanitarian aid is a crime under international law and a grave violation against children. The international community must not allow the war to continue and the halt on aid must be immediately reversed.
A definitive ceasefire is the only way to save lives in Gaza and end grave violations of children’s rights. There is no alternative.
The lives of Gaza’s 1.1 million children depend on it.
Amidst extremely challenging conditions, we’ve been working around the clock to find ways to deliver aid to children.
Smart citizens charitable foundation has been supporting Palestinian children since 1953 and has maintained a permanent presence in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) since 1973. Our response has significantly scaled up since October 2023, leveraging our existing footprint, technical expertise, and partnerships to address the evolving humanitarian crisis.
As of 11 February 2025, Smart citizens charitable foundation and its partners have reached more than 1.2 million people across the occupied Palestinian territory, including over 1.1 million people in Gaza.
Since the pause went into effect, on January 19, we have provided essential lifesaving aid to over 51,000 people. This includes distributing winter clothing to over 15,000 children in Gaza, and food parcels to over 23,000 people.
We have also distributed essential items such as mattresses, pillows, blankets and plastic tarps to families that have returned to northern Gaza, while continuing providing healthcare services at our two primary healthcare centres and mental health support at our child friendly spaces. Despite this, the needs are vast and ever-growing.
Alongside local partners, we’re distributing vital supplies to families across shelters and households – drinking water, food, hygiene products, mattresses, blankets, learning materials, toys, and games.
We are prepared to scale up further in Gaza to respond to the spiralling needs. But the basic conditions to reach families need to be established by the Government of Israel by lifting the siege and facilitating the safe, unobstructed delivery of aid across Gaza.
We are by children’s sides in Gaza and we’ll keep calling for a world that respects their right to survive and be protected. But we can’t do it without your support.