Call to Action for Palestinian Children in the West Bank and Gaza
Background and Objectives
Three years into the conflict, Gaza’s humanitarian crisis remains catastrophic despite the ceasefire of 10 October 2025. Most people are internally displaced, living in harsh conditions, and exposed to military strikes, hostilities and insecurity. Nearly the entire population of 2.1 million people remains concentrated in less than half of the Gaza Strip amid extremely overcrowded and extremely poor living conditions1. Humanitarian access is severely restricted, with aid flows consistently below requirements due to administrative obstacles, intermittent crossing closures, and arbitrary dual-use restrictions. The new framework for NGO registration is further shrinking humanitarian space, and the continued expansion and consolidation of the Yellow/Orange Lines is cutting access to essential services and making movement planning more unpredictable. As winter approaches, massive shelter shortages remain, with 94% of the population urgently needing shelter solutions and non-food items2, alongside alarming fuel scarcity, contaminated water and sewage, and mounting public health risks.
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is experiencing a severe protection and displacement crisis driven by intensified Israeli military operations, movement restrictions, demolitions, and rising settler violence, which are causing civilian casualties, damaging homes and infrastructure, and disrupting access to health care, education, water and livelihoods3. Additionally, UNRWA’s Kalandia Training Centre has been repeatedly seized by Israeli forces, raising concerns regarding the inviolability of United Nations premises4.
In this context, the humanitarian situation facing Palestinian children remains deeply alarming. Children continue to face heightened protection risks, death and injury, repeated displacement and limited access to essential services, including health care, education, water and sanitation. As needs continue to outpace available resources, access restrictions, insecurity, the expansion of military zones, constraints on the entry of critical items and damage to critical infrastructure continue to hinder the delivery of assistance, renewed international attention and support are urgently required to protect children's rights, address immediate humanitarian needs and safeguard their future.
Since 7 October 2023, more than 73,669 Palestinian fatalities have been reported across Gaza, by the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, and nearly 175,000 have been reported injured5. Among them, at least 21,280 children have been killed, with tens of thousands injured – some suffering life-altering injuries – and thousands more estimated to be trapped under the rubble.6 Despite the ceasefire announced in October 2025, children continue to be killed, with at least 300 child fatalities reported in the 300 days that followed, an average of one child every day.7 The psychological impact is severe, with 96 per cent of children in Gaza reporting that they feel death is imminent.8 Despite some improvements in food security and nutrition since the October 2025 ceasefire, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic.
In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, over 1,135 Palestinian fatalities were recorded since 7 October 2023, including at least 250 children.9 Violence against children has reached levels unseen in decades, marked by unprecedented killings, injuries, and arbitrary detention, with serious impacts on children’s ability to access education and other essential services.10
Gaza
Food insecurity and malnutrition continue to threaten children's well-being. Conditions are projected to worsen, with more than 1.4 million people (67 per cent of the population) expected to face Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) between July and December 2026, including 212,000 people in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), compared with over 1.2 million people (59 per cent of the population) between April and June 2026.11 While acute malnutrition has declined among children following the scale-up of nutrition programmes, as of June 2026 chronic malnutrition affected approximately one in eight children (12%) under five with potentially irreversible consequences for their development12.
Health care in Gaza remains extremely precarious and subject to acute shortages of fuel, medical supplies and personnel, access restrictions and deteriorating health conditions. 19 out of 36 hospitals (53%) were partly functional as of June 202613, only 2 more than a year ago. The MoH estimates that more than 18,500 injured and chronically ill patients currently require medical treatment that is not available in the Gaza Strip due to the lack of specialized services and are awaiting medical evacuation.14 Only 12 of 34 oxygen-generation plants are operational, threatening critical and life-saving care, while there was a stockout of 47 per cent of essential medicines in July. Ambulances and mobile clinics have also been directly and systematically targeted, exposing individuals with life-threatening injuries to additional risk of harm.15
A year later, the water and sanitation situation remains critical. Nearly 90% of water and sanitation infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed16. Water insecurity remains severe, with 90 per cent of assessed households reporting moderate to severe water insecurity in July. Shortages of engine oil, spare parts and other maintenance items continue to undermine the operation of water and sanitation infrastructure. Conditions in overcrowded displacement sites are further exacerbating public health risks for children. More than 80 per cent of over 1,600 assessed displacement sites have reported frequent rodent or pest infestations, while skin infections or rashes were reported in nearly two-thirds of sites, lice in more than 65 per cent, and bedbugs in over half.17
Shelter conditions remain dire for children. An estimated 1.98 million people, 94 per cent of Gaza's population, require shelter and non-food item assistance. Two-thirds of the population continue to live in tents or makeshift shelters intended only for short-term use, yet more than half of families have remained in the same temporary shelter for over a year.18 Exposure to harsh weather, overcrowding and repeated displacement increases protection and health risks for children. With winter approaching, funding shortfalls, access restrictions on critical shelter materials and limited options for relocation are hampering winterisation efforts. As a result, many children are set to face a fourth consecutive winter in inadequate shelters, exposed to cold, rain and unsafe living conditions without adequate protection.
Attacks on Gaza’s schooling have left an entire generation at risk. At the beginning of 2026, 60 per cent of school-aged children in Gaza had no access to in-person learning, while more than 90 per cent of schools had been damaged or destroyed. Prolonged disruptions to education are undermining children's learning outcomes, psychosocial well-being and future opportunities. The impact is particularly acute for younger children, with more than 335,000 children under the age of five estimated to be at risk of severe developmental delays because early childhood services have collapsed.19 As the school year begins all over the world, in Gaza thousands of children’s right to education will again not be respected.
Due to the war, Gaza has lost nearly 70 years of development progress20. Even under the right conditions, removing the more than 60 million tonnes of rubble would take seven years, reconstruction will take decades21. Rebuilding remains, however, a dream for the children in Gaza.
As the Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded: the essence of childhood in Gaza has been destroyed and will continue to affect children in Gaza throughout their lives22.
West Bank, including East Jerusalem
The situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has deteriorated sharply, exposing children to escalating violence, forced displacement, detention and barriers to essential services, resulting in growing levels of psychological distress and insecurity. Israeli operations have intensified, while settler violence has reached unprecedented levels in 2026. March and July 2026 were the deadliest months for Palestinians in incidents involving settlers since October 202323, and fatalities linked to settler attacks in 2026 have already surpassed the total recorded during all of 2025.24 Forced displacement has also accelerated. Across the West Bank, lack-of-permit demolitions, settler violence and related access restrictions have displaced an average of 17 people, including eight children, per day in 2026, double the daily average recorded over the preceding three years.25
Education is increasingly under threat across the West Bank. Schools continue to face escalating risks arising from military operations, settler violence, demolitions, displacement and movement restrictions. In Area C and East Jerusalem, restrictive planning policies make it extremely difficult to obtain building permits, leaving many schools vulnerable to demolition orders and disruptions to their operations. These factors have undermined access to safe and quality education for more than 834,000 school-aged children across the West Bank.26 Recent developments affecting UNRWA's Kalandia Training Centre in occupied East Jerusalem further underscore the growing pressure on Palestinian educational institutions. For more than 70 years, the Centre has provided vocational education and employment pathways for Palestine refugees, and its disruption risks depriving hundreds of young people of access to skills development and future livelihood opportunities.27
Movement restrictions continue to isolate communities and impede children's access to services. As of December 2025, 925 movement obstacles across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were documented affecting the movement of approximately 3.4 million Palestinians.28 This represents a 43 per cent increase compared with the average number of obstacles recorded over the previous two decades. Increasing restrictions on access to land, livelihoods, schools and health facilities are lengthening travel times, increasing costs and further undermining access to education, health care and other essential services for children.
At the same time, the detention of Palestinian children has reached its highest level in eight years. According to the Israel Prison Service, at least 355 Palestinian children from the West Bank are currently held in Israeli military detention and nearly half, or 164 children, are reportedly held under administrative detention without charge or trial.29
Across Gaza and the West Bank, UNRWA continues to play a vital role in providing life-saving assistance to generations of Palestinian refugees through its essential education, health, relief, social services and emergency programmes. UNRWA’s summer learning activities reached 47,068 children30. Despite UNRWA’s central support for the Palestinian population, the organisation continues to face many obstacles and operational challenges. In January 2026, UNRWA’s compound in East Jerusalem was almost completely destroyed by Israeli authorities31. UNRWA’s Kalandia Training Centre, which is its oldest vocational training centre and provides free vocational education and skills training to hundreds of students annually, has been repeatedly seized by Israeli forces32. Such actions are in violation of the obligations for the privileges and immunities accorded to the United Nations under international law. United Nations Member States must protect and respect the inviolability of UN premises and ensure that UNRWA is allowed to continue carrying out its crucial work in line with its mandate adopted by the UN General Assembly.
Call to Action
To deliver on the humanitarian promises of UN Security Council Resolution 2803 towards children in Gaza and safeguard the future of children in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, urgent action is needed to protect Palestinian children and address the deepening humanitarian crisis across the oPt. International law, including international humanitarian law (IHL) must be respected, including protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to ensure safe and unimpeded humanitarian access. Additionally, this entails addressing the specific vulnerabilities of children and facilitating safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access to meet their essential needs. Those who commit violations of IHL must be held accountable.
Increased support and advocacy are needed to enable the entry of critical supplies, restore essential services, support shelter and winterisation efforts, and safeguard children's access to education, health care, water and sanitation infrastructure and protection services. Stronger measures are needed to prevent settler violence and ensure accountability for violations against civilians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. At a time when funding gaps are forcing humanitarian partners to scale back life-saving services, these efforts must be matched by increased and flexible funding to address children's urgent humanitarian needs.
Protecting children is not only a humanitarian and legal imperative; it is also an investment in the foundations of lasting peace and a viable Palestinian state. Ensuring that children can grow up in safety, have access to education and health care, and are given the opportunity to thrive is essential to preserving a generation that will one day play a central role in rebuilding institutions, strengthening social cohesion, and shaping a more stable and prosperous future.
FUNDING33
The Call to Action for Palestinian Children in the West Bank and Gaza advocates for adequate funding for Palestinian children through existing funding mechanisms.
An updated Flash Appeal for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), covering the period from January to December 2026, was launched at the end of 2025 and requests USD 4.06 billion to meet the critical needs of 2.97 million people identified (2.1 million in the Gaza Strip and 0.87 million in the West Bank). This is the successor to the Flash Appeal for the oPt from January to December 2025, which requested US$ 4.07 billion to meet the critical needs of 3 million people across the oPt (2.1 million in the Gaza Strip and 0.9 million in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem).
As of 15 September 2026, Member States have disbursed about USD 1.61 billion out of USD
4.06 billion (39.7 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.1 million people in Gaza and 0.87 million people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2026. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard.34 Nearly 92 per cent of the requested funds are for humanitarian response in Gaza, with just over 8 per cent for the West Bank. Moreover, during August 2026, the oPt Humanitarian Fund managed 77 ongoing projects, totaling USD 58.7 million, to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (92 per cent) and the West Bank (8 per cent). Of these projects, 28 are being implemented by INGOs, 35 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Notably, 30 out of the 42 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs.35
OBJECTIVES
The discussion aims to:
- Draw urgent attention to the worsening situation of Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza, who face acute and specific humanitarian needs and do not receive adequate assistance, and who must feature more prominently in international diplomatic efforts, especially as winter approaches;
- Highlight the operational realities on the ground, including severe humanitarian access constraints, the severity and scale of humanitarian needs, and the immediate as well as long-term impacts these have on children;
- Advocate for increased support to address the humanitarian needs of Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza, including by expanding the donor base and investing in approaches that enhance resilience in children.
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Reaffirm political commitment to the protection of Palestinian children and the full respect for International Humanitarian Law.
1 OCHA Humanitarian Situation Report
2 Shelter Severity and Household Needs Across Accessible Areas of Gaza
3 OCHA Humanitarian Situation Report
4 UNRWA Press Statement on Kalandia Training Centre in occupied East Jerusalem
5 Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip (9 September 2026) | United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Occupied Palestinian Territory
6 Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip (26 August 2026) | United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Occupied Palestinian Territory
7 At least 300 children reportedly killed in Gaza in past 300 days
10 Humanitarian Situation Update - 30 April 2026 - West Bank.pdf.pdf
11 GAZA STRIP: Humanitarian assistance drives food security and nutrition gains, but conditions remain highly fragile | IPC - Integrated Food Security Phase Classification
13 oPT Emergency Situation Update #70, WHO.
15 Occupied Palestinian Territory / https://www.emro.who.int/images/stories/palestine/Attacks_on_health_care_in_the_GS_8_Aug_26.pdf
16 Analysis of the response to the needs of children, State of Palestine, UNICEF (17 july 2026)
17 Gaza: Pest infestations surge in displacement sites - OCHA - Question of Palestine
18 Shelter Severity and Household Needs Across Accessible Areas of Gaza | Shelter Cluster
16 Rebuilding hope: UNICEF expands ‘Back to Learning’ for hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza
20 Statement attributed to Alexander De Croo, Administrator UNDP and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations | United Nations Development Programme
22 a-hrc-62-crp-2.pdf - Report Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel
23 oPt: Humanitarian Situation Report | 31 July 2026 | OCHA
24 oPt: Humanitarian Situation Report | 23 July 2026 | OCHA
25 oPt: Humanitarian Situation Report | 31 July 2026 | OCHA
26 Education Under Threat in the West Bank - July 2026 - occupied Palestinian territory | ReliefWeb
27 UNRWA Press Statement on Kalandia Training Centre in occupied East Jerusalem | UNRWA
28 Movement and Access in the West Bank | April 2026 | United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Occupied Palestinian Territory
26 UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hannan Sulieman's remarks at the United Nations Security Council meeting on escalating violence in the West Bank
30 UNRWA situation report #234
31 Israel almost completely destroyed UNRWA’s compound in occupied East Jerusalem
32 UNRWA Press Statement on Kalandia Training Centre in occupied East Jerusalem
33 Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory 2026 | United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Occupied Palestinian Territory
34 Escalation of Hostilities in the OPT Flash Appeal 2026 | Financial Tracking Service
35 opt_humanitarian_pooled_fund_dashboard_August 2026 draft01