Between death from cold or disease Gaza s children are paying the heaviest price for the ongoing war of extermination

In tattered tents that offer no protection from the winter cold or the summer heat, the children of Gaza face a daily struggle against hunger, disease, and fear, as if they were born to be the most vulnerable in a war they did not choose and a siege they have known no other.

More than two years after the war of annihilation and the tightened siege, children have become the most affected group, not only in terms of the number of martyrs and wounded, but also in the harsh health, psychological, and living conditions endured by those who survived, transforming childhood in Gaza into an open-ended battle for survival.

Reports from health and humanitarian organizations, along with testimonies from doctors and families, paint a grim picture of the situation for children in the Gaza Strip, where famine intersects with the spread of disease, the cold exacerbates the suffering of displacement, and restrictions on the entry of aid and medical evacuations continue to stifle what little chance remains for life.

Dr. Ahmed Al-Najjar, medical director of the ANERA organization operating in the Gaza Strip, told the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds that displaced children in Gaza are suffering from a serious outbreak of diseases due to deteriorating living conditions, severe overcrowding, a lack of clean water, and the collapse of the sanitation and hygiene system.

Al-Najjar pointed out that respiratory illnesses, such as influenza, pneumonia, and meningitis, have become widespread, especially with the drop in temperatures and the lack of heating inside the displacement tents. Skin diseases, such as scabies, lice, and acute skin infections, have also become rampant due to the scarcity of clean water and the decline in hygiene standards.

The situation is even worse; Al-Najjar warned of an increase in malnutrition, most notably kwashiorkor, a disease caused by a severe