Gaza: A Graveyard for Children, With Suffering Repeating and Escalating

Qamar’s ordeal began in the Jabalia camp, where she was injured, but could not access proper medical care as the hospital was besieged for 20 days.

Gaza has become a living nightmare for its one million children, and the situation worsens daily due to relentless airstrikes and military operations. Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF, describes Gaza as “hell on earth” for children, exemplified by the tragic story of Qamar, a seven-year-old girl whose leg had to be amputated after shrapnel injuries led to an infection.

Qamar’s ordeal began in the Jabalia camp, where she was injured, but could not access proper medical care as the hospital was besieged for 20 days. When amputation became the only option, she and her family were forced to evacuate south on foot, despite her recent surgery. Now, they live in a tent surrounded by stagnant water, with no access to prosthetics or adequate medical care. Qamar’s trauma is deepened by the daily bombings that continue around her.

Russell highlights how Qamar’s story is not unique but tragically common in Gaza. "It’s being repeated not just across families, but over the months and months of this endless conflict," she says. After more than a year since the first evacuation orders were issued, hundreds of thousands of people in northern Gaza are once again facing evacuation under dire conditions.

The humanitarian crisis is worsening. Essential resources like water, food, and medicine are woefully scarce, especially in southern areas like al-Mawasi, where the population has surged from 9,000 to 730,000 people. This overcrowded region, lacking in infrastructure and basic services, has also been targeted by bombings, further endangering children and families forced to relocate there.

UNICEF continues to advocate for ceasefires, the return of hostages, and the free flow of humanitarian aid. Despite these efforts, children’s suffering persists, with over 15,000 patients urgently awaiting medical evacuation. Russell's chilling message echoes her previous warnings: "If this level of horror doesn't stir our humanity and drive us to act, then whatever will?"

The cycle of suffering in Gaza continues, with thousands of children at risk of death from not only conflict but disease, such as the emerging threat of polio. Without immediate action, the world risks watching yet another generation of Gazan children succumb to preventable suffering and death.