Statistics: 2.47 Million Children in Palestine... A Pulse That Doesn't Stop and Resilience in the Face of Challenges

SadaNews - Demographic estimates have shown that the population of the State of Palestine reached approximately 5.56 million by the end of 2025, comprising 3.43 million in the West Bank and 2.13 million in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reported in a statement released today, Sunday, on the occasion of Palestinian Child Day, that children under the age of 18 made up 43% of the total population, which is about 2.47 million children, including 1.38 million in the West Bank (41%) and 1.09 million in the Gaza Strip (47%) by the end of 2025.

Children under the age of 15 accounted for 36.3% of the total population, equivalent to approximately 2.02 million children, with 1.18 million in the West Bank (35%) and 0.83 million in the Gaza Strip (39%).

Amid Bombing, Hunger, and Cold: The Alliance of Death Steals Palestinian Childhood

This year, Palestinian Child Day comes amidst one of the most severe humanitarian disasters of modern times, as the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip (October 7, 2023 – April 1, 2026) reveals a systematic targeting of the future of an entire generation.

The number of martyrs has reached 72,289, including 21,283 children, which constitutes approximately 30% of the total victims by the end of 2025.

Among these, 450 infants were martyred, and 1,029 children did not reach their first year, in addition to 5,031 children under the age of five, reflecting a true genocide against a generation that has not yet begun its life.

The methods of killing are not limited to missiles; the alliance of siege, hunger, and cold has claimed the lives of children as well, as 157 children died of hunger, while 25 others died due to the severe cold in the tents of the displaced. Meanwhile, the stories of about 9,500 missing people under the rubble remain in silence, the majority of whom are children and women swallowed by the debris, with no witness or grave.

Regarding injuries, children are suffering from a dual health disaster, with the number of wounded reaching 172,040, including at least 44,486 children, or 26% of the total injured.

The physical effects of the war remain devastating, with 10,500 children suffering injuries that have changed their lives, and more than 1,000 cases of amputations, amid a complete collapse of the health system and a severe shortage of medical devices. About 4,000 children face the risk of death if urgent medical evacuation is not secured for them. This bleeding has extended to the West Bank, where 237 children have been martyred out of 1,145 total martyrs.

These figures confirm that what is happening is a systematic attempt to assassinate a whole generation of Palestinians, through a "death alliance" that includes indiscriminate bombing, forced starvation, a suffocating siege, and the bitter cold of winter.

Over 1,655 Cases of Arrests of Children: A Systemic Violation of Children's Rights

A report issued by prisoner rights organizations revealed an unprecedented rise in Israeli arrests of Palestinian children; since the outbreak of the war, human rights organizations have documented more than 1,655 cases of child arrests in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, of which 600 occurred during 2025, in a clear violation of international law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

As of March 11, 2026, the occupation continues to hold 350 child prisoners suffering from harsh conditions and deprivation of basic rights, within a systematic context of serious violations.

58,000 Children in Gaza Have Lost Their Parents

The tragedy extends beyond physical damage to deeply affect the fabric of family and social structure, leaving profound and long-lasting impacts.

UNICEF reported that over 58,000 children in the Gaza Strip have lost one or both parents due to the Israeli aggression, leaving them facing a harsh reality of life without family support or adequate care.

War of Starvation in the Gaza Strip: Figures Reveal a Silent Genocide

A report released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) revealed an unprecedented nutritional crisis in the Gaza Strip, where famine has become a lethal weapon added to the tools of killing and targeting. In February 2026, over 3,700 children (aged 6 to 59 months) were admitted for the treatment of malnutrition, including more than 600 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

Although this number reflects a slight decrease from January statistics, which exceeded 4,600 children with 890 severe cases, it remains a stark indicator of the ongoing disaster. Data shows that 64% of children are limited to consuming two or fewer food groups daily, while more than 90% of them cannot access the minimum level of dietary diversity, and over 60% of children (aged 6 to 23 months) suffer from severe food poverty that threatens their essential growth.

This tragedy worsens with the near-total collapse of the health system, where about 94% of healthcare facilities have been damaged or destroyed due to the destruction of hospitals and the obstruction of medical supplies, leaving the remaining facilities operating at very limited capacities that are unable to save lives.

From Bombing Homes to Exploding Tents: A Double Risk Facing Children in the Gaza Strip in 1,000 Displacement Sites

The disaster of infrastructure destruction in the Gaza Strip extends beyond the loss of buildings; it strikes at the depth of children's psychological and physical safety. With at least 320,622 residential units damaged or destroyed, hundreds of thousands of children have lost their rooms, toys, and safe spaces, finding themselves forcibly among 1.4 million displaced people (two-thirds of the Strip's population) lacking the basic components of human dignity.

This widespread destruction has turned the "home" into a distant memory, and the "torn tent" in over 1,000 overcrowded displacement sites into a bitter reality devoid of privacy and protection from harsh weather. In this dilapidated environment, children face a double danger; while they struggle with cold and hunger in about 800 makeshift camps, "silent death" lurks in the remnants of the war.

Since October 2025, mine-related organizations have documented 33 detonation incidents resulting in 9 deaths and 65 injuries, with children being the most prominent victims. Those small ones who survived the direct shelling find themselves today prey to explosive remnants left in their tents and displacement routes, turning the quest for safety into a minefield threatening their lives and future at every step.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported that over 12,000 Palestinian children in the West Bank are living in conditions of forced displacement due to ongoing Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank since the beginning of 2025, starting from Jenin Camp and extending to Nur Shams Camp and Tulkarm Camp, resulting in the displacement of about 50,000 Palestinians.

These children face deteriorating humanitarian and health conditions, including loss of stability, disruption of education, difficulty accessing health services, medication shortages, increased risks of infectious diseases and malnutrition, along with severe psychological effects.

Despite UNRWA launching an emergency educational program to provide education and psychological support, these efforts remain limited in the face of the scale of the crisis, amid a reality that seriously threatens the present and future of an entire generation.

From Bombing to Arrest: How the Israeli Aggression Dismantled the Right to Education for a Whole Generation of Palestinians?

Education in the Gaza Strip has become a primary victim of the Israeli aggression, as occupation forces have destroyed 179 public schools, and 100 UNRWA schools have been bombed and vandalized. Consequently, 700,000 students have been deprived of their basic right to education for the 2025/2026 academic year, and about 39,000 students have been denied the right to take the General Secondary Certificate Examination for the 2024/2025 academic year.

The destruction has not been limited to buildings; it has also claimed lives: between October 7, 2023, and February 17, 2026, 18,971 students and 794 teachers were martyred under bombardment, while 28,293 students and 3,261 teachers sustained varying degrees of injuries.

There is still no accurate information regarding the number of students and educational staff arrested by the Israeli occupation army during the ground operations across various areas of the Gaza Strip.

The aggression has caused a disruption in regular education for three consecutive academic years. Although the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has adopted alternative educational pathways for the year 2025/2026, such as synchronous and asynchronous distance learning, and temporary schools, ministry data indicates that over 120,000 students in the Gaza Strip are enrolled in online education on the Eschool platform, with 6,334 students registered in the first primary grade of virtual schools, and the number of teachers in virtual schools reaching 1,500, many of these students have been unable to receive effective education during this period due to the absence of safe areas, in addition to power outages and internet disruptions, and scarcity of available devices, which portends an educational gap threatening the future of an entire generation.

In the West Bank, conditions have not been better, as 120 students have been martyred and 831 others injured since October 7, 2023, in addition to the arrest of 406 students and 183 educational staff, as a systematic policy aims to dismantle the educational infrastructure.

Bleeding Lives: 1.1 Million Children in Gaza Face the Trauma of Aggression

The repercussions of the Israeli aggression do not stop at material destruction; they extend to leave invisible scars on the souls of children in the Gaza Strip. Data indicates that over 1.1 million children are in urgent need of protection and psychological and social support services. The scenes of systematic killing and the rubble of homes have left no child untouched, bearing deep psychological effects ranging from chronic fear and acute anxiety to depression due to continuous psychological pressure and loss of familial and material security.

Contaminated Water: "Poisons" in Children's Cups and a Pandemic Spread Threatening Their Lives

In a silent health disaster added to the wounds of war, access to clean water remains a distant dream for children in the Gaza Strip.

Analyses of drinking and household water conducted by the World Health Organization during 2025 revealed a harsh reality; more than 77% of the samples did not meet basic health standards. Drinking water is not immune from this crisis, as more than 67% of samples fell below standard compliance, along with a dangerous spread of microbial contamination, reflecting a rapid collapse of water infrastructure throughout the sector. This water crisis has had direct repercussions on children's health, with health authorities reporting over 496,000 cases of acute water diarrhea during the year 2025, with children under five being the most affected, constituting about 47% of total cases. There were also about 5,800 cases of jaundice syndrome recorded, a worrying indicator of the worsening epidemics amidst the collapse of the health system and continued siege.