News

The bodies of 40 children were among 112 Palestinian people buried today in Gaza, in one of the largest collective funerals in the occupied Palestinian Territory since conflict erupted in October 2023.

As World Breastfeeding Week begins, Save the Children and its partners in Gaza are diagnosing high rates of malnutrition in pregnant and breastfeeding women, with rates particularly bad in northern Gaza. Some mothers are resorting to feeding their children water mixed with ground chickpeas or tahini, while others are stopping breastfeeding earlier than they would prefer, due to difficulties and lack of support.  

More than 74,000 children under five in Gaza will suffer acute malnutrition in the year to April 2027, according to new data, highlighting that the crisis remains catastrophic with children paying the highest price.

At least 19 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied Palestinian territory so far in July, with four children reportedly killed in Gaza this morning, with attacks near-daily despite a ceasefire.

"The surge in Israeli settlers’ attacks is not a surprise. The deafening silence of the international community is. Palestinian children are constantly living in fear and terror from Israeli forces and the settlers. Unprotected with no means of keeping them safe. This cycle of violence must be stopped."

Four Palestinian children have reportedly been killed and several injured by Israeli forces over the past six days, including a 10 year old in a tent in Gaza today, said Save the Children. The child rights organisation called once again for urgent international intervention.  

After 1,000 days of war, children in Gaza said they had lost homes, schools and a sense of safety but not their hopes for the future with even the ongoing violence failing to stop them from dreaming of peace and careers to help them rebuild their communities. 

The King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) and Save the Children Jordan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance mental health and psychosocial support services for children with cancer from Gaza who are receiving treatment at the King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC), as well as their caregivers.

Israeli forces have reportedly killed seven Palestinian children in Gaza and the West Bank in the week since a UN Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces have been deliberately targeting Palestinian children.  

The report has concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces have deliberately targeted Palestinian children resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Gaza Strip and war crimes in the West Bank. 

Israeli authorities announced earlier today that they are closing border crossings into the Gaza Strip, including Kerem Shalom and Rafah, until further notice.  

Save the Children staff have spoken with families who are too afraid to sleep at night, worried their children will be bitten by rats.

Students supported by Save the Children have been blocked from entering their school by an illegal barbed-wire fence, erected by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

Scorecard from humanitarian organisations assessing core civilian protection and humanitarian access provisions of the ceasefire plan reveals failure.

Save the Children analysis of UN data on settler violence in the West Bank found 685 children were displaced in the first three months of 2026, compared to an average of 63 across the same period in the three previous years

Food prices have surged in some of the most food-insecure countries in the Middle East and wider region due to the ongoing conflict, threatening to push the most vulnerable families further into hunger as Eid approaches.

The current rate of evacuation means it would take 4.5 years for the 20,000 people including 4,000 children needing medical care to leave Gaza, Save the Children said. 

The partial opening of the Rafah border has created a sense of disappointment across Gaza with families and children in urgent need of medical evacuation being left in limbo waiting for news, Save the Children said. 

 “The intensity of the recent airstrikes feel like the beginning of another wave of deadly violence. As we wait for Rafah to open, we must keep our eyes on the suffering across Gaza.” 

Nearly two years since the Rafah crossing was closed in May 2024, people in Gaza are anxiously awaiting news of its potential reopening following the discovery of the last remaining hostage. The crossing has become the focus of renewed hope as families wait for the possibility of medical evacuations, education opportunities for students, reunification, and the movement of urgently needed aid.