Source: Save the Children
Children in Gaza have entered 2026 facing ongoing storms and flooding that have ripped tents and left them exposed to water-borne diseases with an urgent need for supplies to rebuild shelters, Save the Children said.
More storms are forecast for later this week but families have limited supplies to strengthen shelters due to restrictions on bringing key shelter items into Gaza.
With sanitation systems damaged after two years of Israeli bombardment, rainwater has mixed with human and animal sewage leading to outbreaks of diseases such as hepatitis, diarrhoea and gastroenteritis, and with conditions like malnutrition make these diseases life-threatening.
Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children’s Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, said:
“Children in Gaza have entered another calendar year forced to live in conditions that are unfit for any human. Instead of having the rights they deserve, Palestinian children and their families do not even have the means to survive – they are not treated as human.
“While basic shelter items are stuck at the border, our dedicated Palestinian staff in Gaza are working tirelessly in leaking tents, surrounded by puddles of stagnant water and sewage, to keep up whatever semblance of normality they can for children.
“It is unacceptable that we begin another year pleading for the world not to look away from Gaza. Every child should have access to the essential humanitarian aid and services they need to survive and thrive. The denial of humanitarian aid is a serious violation of humanitarian laws and a grave violation against children – and yet it is still happening on our watch.”
Despite being denied registration by Israeli authorities, Save the Children is continuing to deliver lifesaving services and multi-sector programming through our 300 Palestinian staff and trusted local partners in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), where we are also registered with the Palestinian Authority.
Inside Gaza, the aid organisation runs child-friendly spaces, temporary learning spaces and mental health and psychosocial support for children as well as child protection case management.
Save the Children is also running health clinics, nutrition points, water and sanitation services and cash transfer programmes to support families whose livelihoods have been decimated.
Between October and December this year, Save the Children delivered 960 newborn baby kits, 4,100 hygiene kits, and 6,000 female hygiene kits as well as medical supplies in Gaza. While we have been unable to bring supplies into Gaza for some months, we are procuring supplies locally within Gaza to distribute.
