- More than 1,055 cases of arrest of children since October 7

Famine and malnutrition threaten the lives of children in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli aggression destroyed the right to education for an entire Palestinian generation.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said Thursday that children constitute 43% of the Palestinian population, and that there are 39,000 orphans in the Gaza Strip, describing it as the largest orphan crisis in modern history.

On the eve of Palestinian Children's Day, the statistics revealed that famine and malnutrition threaten the lives of children in the Gaza Strip, with an expected 60,000 cases of acute malnutrition. The statistics also confirmed the return of polio to the Gaza Strip.

It pointed out that the occupation forces have arrested more than 1,055 children since October 7, in a systematic violation of children's rights and a flagrant breach of international law.

Children constitute 43% of the Palestinian population, with the Gaza Strip leading at 47%.

Demographic estimates indicate that the population of the State of Palestine will reach approximately 5.5 million by the end of 2024, distributed as follows: 3.4 million in the West Bank and 2.1 million in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian society is characterized by a young population, with children under 18 years of age constituting 43% of the total population, approximately 2.38 million children, including 1.39 million in the West Bank and 0.98 million in the Gaza Strip. The under-15 age group constituted 37% of the total population, equivalent to approximately 2.03 million children, including 1.18 million in the West Bank and 0.9 million in the Gaza Strip. The under-18 age group constituted approximately 47% of the population in Gaza, compared to 41% in the West Bank, while the percentage of children under 15 in the Gaza Strip reached 40.3% compared to 34.8% in the West Bank.

The Gaza Strip is bleeding childhood: 534 days of aggression rob children of their dreams and destroy their innocence under the rubble.

During the 534 days of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip (October 7, 2023 – March 23, 2025), Palestinian children faced an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, as they, along with women, constituted more than 60% of the total victims.

The aggression resulted in the death of 50,021 Palestinians, including 17,954 children, including 274 infants born and killed by shelling, 876 children under the age of one, 17 children who died of cold in displacement camps, and 52 children who died of starvation and systematic malnutrition. 113,274 were injured, 69% of whom were children and women, while more than 11,200 citizens remain missing, 70% of whom are children and women.

In the West Bank, 923 citizens, including 188 children, have been killed and 660 children have been injured since the beginning of the Israeli aggression until the date of this statement.

More than 1,055 cases of arrest of children: a systematic violation of children's rights and a flagrant breach of international law.

A report issued by prisoners' rights organizations revealed an unprecedented escalation in the Israeli occupation's arrests of Palestinian children. During 2024 alone, the report documented the arrest of at least 700 children, bringing the total number of children detained since the outbreak of the war to more than 1,055. These children were deprived of their childhood and their right to education, and were subjected to serious violations during their arrests, including nighttime raids on their homes, beatings in front of their families, and shooting at them. They were also handcuffed, blindfolded, and denied legal assistance, in clear violation of international law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. As of early March 2025, the occupation continued to hold more than 350 child prisoners. Under the January 2025 ceasefire agreement, 51 children from the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Green Line were released, in addition to 44 children from the Gaza Strip who had been arrested after October 7, as part of the first phase of the prisoner exchange deal.

39,000 orphans in the Gaza Strip: the largest orphan crisis in modern history.

Estimates reveal that 39,384 children in the Gaza Strip have lost one or both parents after 534 days of Israeli aggression. This includes approximately 17,000 children who were deprived of both parents, leaving them facing a harsh life without support or care. These children live in tragic conditions, with many forced to take refuge in torn tents or destroyed homes, with virtually no access to social care or psychological support.

However, the suffering is not limited to the loss of family and shelter; it extends to severe psychological and social crises. They suffer from profound psychological disorders, such as depression, isolation, and chronic fear, lacking security and proper guidance. Furthermore, they suffer from impaired learning and social development, which can lead them to fall prey to child labor or exploitation in a harsh and unforgiving environment.

Gaza's children caught between the bombing and the collapse of the health system: an ongoing tragedy.

A report issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) revealed a catastrophic reality experienced by children with disabilities in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli aggression. Fifteen children were permanently disabled every day due to the use of internationally banned explosive weapons, bringing the total number of injuries to 7,065 children, including hundreds who lost limbs, sight, or hearing. 4,700 amputations were recorded, 18% (equivalent to 846 cases) of which were among children, further compounding the tragedy. These children face a double catastrophe due to physical and psychological disabilities, in addition to the collapse of the health system due to the destruction of hospitals and the prevention of the entry of medical supplies and prosthetic limbs. The spread of malnutrition has exacerbated bone deformities and hindered wound healing.

In addition, approximately 7,700 newborns are at risk of death due to a lack of medical care, as the remaining hospitals operate at very limited capacity, endangering the lives of children. With incubators, ventilators, and essential medicines in short supply, health conditions have deteriorated, increasing the likelihood of their deaths.

Polio returns to the Gaza Strip after 25 years: Vaccination campaigns face major challenges amid a stifling health crisis.

The Gaza Strip experienced its first polio outbreak in 25 years in July 2024, due to a drop in vaccination rates from 99% to 86% due to the difficult health conditions. In response, the World Health Organization, in collaboration with other UN agencies and the Palestinian Ministry of Health, implemented three vaccination rounds to combat the spread of the disease. During the first round, 559,161 children aged 0-10 years were vaccinated with the new oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), followed by 556,774 children in the second round, and 602,795 children in the third round. These efforts have contributed to limiting the spread of the virus despite ongoing challenges.

Famine and malnutrition threaten the lives of children in the Gaza Strip: 60,000 cases of acute malnutrition expected.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report for the period from November 2024 to April 2025 shows that approximately 1.95 million people across the Gaza Strip are expected to suffer from high levels of acute food insecurity, classified as Phase 3 or higher (Crisis or worse). This includes approximately 345,000 people who are likely to face catastrophic food insecurity (IPC Phase 5). Approximately 60,000 cases of acute malnutrition are expected to be recorded among children aged 6 to 59 months between September 2024 and August 2025. This means that these children suffer from a severe shortage of essential nutrients that significantly impacts their health and growth. Among these, 12,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition, the worst form of malnutrition, can lead to serious health complications, including organ failure or death. 16,500 pregnant and breastfeeding women will also require treatment for severe malnutrition, which significantly impacts their health and that of their children and may lead to health complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

From bombing to arrest: How the Israeli aggression destroyed the right to education for an entire Palestinian generation.

Education in the Gaza Strip has been a major victim of the ongoing Israeli aggression, which has lasted for 471 days. The occupying forces have completely destroyed 111 public schools, severely damaged 241 others, and bombed and vandalized 89 UNRWA schools. As a result, 700,000 students have been deprived of their basic right to education for the 2024/2025 academic year, while approximately 39,000 students have been deprived of their right to take the General Secondary Certificate Examination for the 2023/2024 academic year.

The destruction was not limited to buildings; lives were also affected: 12,441 students and 519 teachers were killed under the bombardment, while 19,819 students and 2,703 teachers were injured with varying degrees of severity. There is still no accurate information on the number of school students and teaching staff arrested by the Israeli occupation forces during ground operations in various areas of the Gaza Strip.

The aggression disrupted regular education for two consecutive academic years, with classes suspended for 300 school days until January 28, 2025. Although the Ministry of Education has adopted alternative educational paths such as synchronous and asynchronous e-learning and temporary schools, data from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education indicates that more than 298,000 students in the Gaza Strip are enrolled in virtual schools. However, many of these students have been unable to receive their education effectively throughout this period due to the lack of safe areas, in addition to power and internet outages, and the scarcity of necessary equipment. This threatens an educational gap that threatens the future of an entire generation.

In the West Bank, the situation was no better, with 90 students killed and 555 others injured, in addition to 301 students and 163 teaching staff arrested, as part of a systematic policy to dismantle the educational infrastructure.

A recent report by the Education Cluster indicated a sharp deterioration in access to education for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during 2024, due to a complex set of obstacles including Israeli movement restrictions, home demolitions, settler violence, and intensive military operations.

The Palestinian Ministry of Education recorded 2,274 incidents of violence targeting the education system, including 109 attacks targeting schools through vandalism or direct assault, where armed settlers stormed classrooms, detained students and teachers, or harassed students on their way to school.

The report indicated that more than half of students in the most affected areas were subjected to harassment or forced delays on their way to school, depriving approximately 806,000 students of safe access to education. Since the occupation's large-scale aggression in the northern West Bank on January 21, 2025, the educational process has been disrupted in approximately 100 schools.