Voices from Gaza
Since the escalation of hostilities on October 7 2023, more than 51,000 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 116,000 have been injured.*
Some 70 per cent of fatalities in Gaza are women and children. Although the number of children who have been killed is not reported frequently, the latest estimate from UNICEF estimates 15,000 children have been killed and 34,000 injured.
Gaza has been described as the most dangerous place in the world to be a child and without a ceasefire, that risk increases drastically. Children who have been suffering unimaginable loss for almost 18 months are again witnessing death and violence. Dwindling aid supplies mean they are also unable to access even the most basic necessities
90% of Gaza's population, some 1.9 million people, have been internally displaced, leaving them cut off from essential resources, including food, medicine, clean water, and education.
"When you lose the people you love, you feel like a walking corpse."
In Rafah, southern Gaza, 37-year-old Latifah is a widow and mother of three. Her life has been shaped by the relentless conflict that has gripped Gaza, where the collapse of the ceasefire in March 2025 has exacerbated an already devastating humanitarian crisis.
"I am afraid for my father, mother and sisters."
As the conflict in Gaza continues, children and their families face increasingly dire conditions. Sitting amid the rubble is 10-year-old Kenan who has lost everything. "I am afraid that a pilot will bomb us, that when we have to collect firewood, a plane will bomb us." he says.
"We are not happy with the war. Our house is gone, and my bed is gone, and I lost my bicycle."
"Sometimes they ask me for dinner, but I can't feed them as there is no flour."
Humanitarian aid to Gaza, including food, water, medicine, and fuel has been blocked since March 2, leading to an escalating hunger crisis. Community kitchens have shut down, and malnutrition is widespread, particularly among children.
Zainb, 42, faces a daily struggle to feed her children, and is only able to provide them with one meal a day.
As a humanitarian organisation which advocates for children’s rights and principled humanitarian action around the world, Plan International is devastated to witness the horrific violence that has engulfed Gaza, Israel and the wider Middle East since October 7.
Plan International has issued a joint statement with other aid organisations, warning that the aid system in Gaza is collapsing.
Built with Shorthand