Children are living through a nightmare in Gaza. And now – as conflict spreads to Lebanon – things are getting even worse for children.
A year of relentless bombing and near-total siege has left Gaza’s children terrified and gripped by hunger.
Gaza and Lebanon Crisis
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What's happening in Lebanon and Gaza
Lebanon
Now many more lives are being torn apart as conflict spills into Lebanon. At least a million people have fled their homes there after the latest wave of attacks. Shelters are overwhelmed, and hospitals are struggling to treat the thousands of people who've been injured – many of them children. Families are sleeping outside with little idea if or when they might be able to return home.
Gaza
The suffering being inflicted on children in Gaza and Lebanon is unfathomable. A year since conflict erupted, 14,100 children have been killed in Gaza, many more have died from hunger and disease, and nearly 20,000 are missing. Behind these appalling statistics are the stories of individual children – buried under the rubble, cut off from their families, alone and afraid.
The survivors face constant hunger and horrific violence. Many are stricken by terror and grief.
What we're doing to help children
Our incredible supporters have not let the world forget Gaza’s children – giving what they can and speaking out for a ceasefire.
With their support, Save the Children has been able to reach more than 688,300 people in Gaza. We have:
- distributed food parcels and bottles of drinking water
- delivered expert medical care to children with serious injuries
- sent cash so families can buy food and medicines
- helped pregnant women give birth safely
- provided traumatised children with psychological support
- set up temporary learning spaces – so children can cling to the hope of a better future.
But as the conflict escalates, and more families are forced from their homes, Gaza and Lebanon face a humanitarian catastrophe.
We need your support now more than ever.
Your donation will be used to support our work in Gaza, Lebanon, and around the world.
With your support, we’ll be there for many more children, for as long as they need us, so they can start to recover and see beyond tomorrow.
It's only human to feel powerless watching the horror unfold on our screens. But your support matters – it has never mattered more. Your compassion could make the difference between life and death for a child.
Thank you for not turning away. Thank you for standing with children.
Meet Baby Lana
When Tima* found out she was pregnant in July 2023, she was excited to be having her second child and started to think about how she would spoil her new baby.
Then in October 2023, the war in Gaza started and everything changed. Tima and her family were displaced multiple times as fighting expanded across the Gaza strip. They now live in a tent in central Gaza.
Tima was very worried about where she would give birth safely, given the continuous attacks on healthcare facilities during the war.
Save the Children’s Emergency Health Unit have set up a maternity unit in the Gaza Strip. Baby Lana* arrived on 26 April 2024 and was the first baby to be born at the new maternity unit.
Although baby Lana was healthy when she left the hospital, after three days she became unwell. Tima was quick to bring her daughter back to the hospital where she was admitted. Lana had contracted sepsis due to the tough living conditions, including very limited access to clean water and washing facilities.
If left untreated, sepsis can easily kill a baby. However, thanks to Tima’s quick actions, a course of antibiotics and close monitoring in the inpatient facility, baby Lana has made a full recovery.
* Names changed to protect their identity
The situation in Gaza and Israel
Children are terrified, have been forced from their homes, and are cut off from an education. Civilians can never be targeted and there are no circumstances under international humanitarian law in which this can be ignored. The killing and maiming of children, along with attacks on schools and hospitals, is a grave violation, and those responsible should be held to account for their actions.
All children captured must be released immediately and unconditionally. Civilians, and infrastructure essential for their lives, such as hospitals and schools, must be spared from the violence.
The only way to truly protect children’s lives is to halt this violence.
Find out more about the conflict:
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