London, 20 November— Explosive weapons are killing children on a scale never seen before, according to a new Save the Children report. As wars increasingly move into cities, bombs and drones are striking schools, homes, and hospitals - places that should be safe under international humanitarian law.
For decades, children in war zones were more likely to die from malnutrition, disease, or collapsing health systems than from bombs or bullets. While data on deaths from hunger or disease remain sparse, the surge in blast-related casualties signals a profound shift in how children are being killed in modern conflicts.
The new report, Children and Blast Injuries: The devastating impact of explosive weapons on children, reveals that more than 60% of child casualties in war zones now result from explosive weapons.
In 2024 alone, nearly 12,000 children were killed or injured, the highest number ever recorded. A number of countries including the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and Ukraine were identified among the deadliest conflicts for children during this period, where bombs and drones leave families shattered and children facing life-changing injuries.
For three consecutive years government forces - not armed groups - have been identified as the main perpetrators. Save the Children said this was a consequence of the international community’s failure to hold them to account.
Key findings include:
Alarming Number of Child Casualties
Between 2020 and 2024, nearly 50,000 children became casualties of war — the equivalent of 200 full passenger planes.
“The world is witnessing the deliberate destruction of childhood - and the evidence is undeniable,” said Narmina Strishenets, Senior Conflict and Humanitarian Advocacy Advisor at Save the Children UK, and leading author of the report.
“Children are paying the highest price in today’s wars - not only at the hands of armed groups, but through the actions of governments that should be protecting them.
“Missiles are falling where children sleep, play, and learn - turning the very places that should be the safest, like their homes and schools, into death traps. Actions once condemned by the international community and met with global outrage are now brushed aside as the ‘cost of war.’ That moral surrender is one of the most dangerous shifts of our time.
“We are watching the rules of war unravel. If we accept this as normal, we are accepting a world where childhood itself is under attack.
“We urgently need the knowledge, tools, and the will to protect children - and to provide care for those who survive,” she added.
Government Forces Driving Most Child Casualties
Save the Children’s report finds wars are becoming more urban, more destructive, and marked by growing impunity.
Government forces were responsible for most child casualties, largely due to their use of wide-area effect weapons in densely populated areas. State-made explosives now cause over half of civilian deaths and injuries – up from 17% in 2020 to 54% in 2024.
Children’s Bodies Vulnerable to Blasts
Children’s smaller bodies and developing organs mean even a single blast can cause catastrophic injuries or death. Yet in too many conflicts, children are treated as “mini-adults,” their distinct medical needs overlooked -leaving those who survive to face lifelong pain, disability, and devastating mental health impacts.
“Children are far more vulnerable to explosive weapons than adults. Their anatomy, physiology, behaviour, and psychosocial needs make them disproportionately affected,” said Dr Paul Reavley, Consultant Paediatric Emergency Physician, and co-founder and chair of the Paediatric Blast Injury Partnership, a coalition between Save the Children UK and medical specialists.
“Many do not survive to reach hospital, and those who do face a higher risk of death than adult civilians in any health system. They often suffer multiple severe injuries that require complex treatment and lifelong care. Yet most health responses to conflict are designed for adults, overlooking children’s distinct needs. Survivors face chronic pain, disability, psychological trauma, and stigma that can last a lifetime.”
“Blast injuries are devastating for children and an enormous challenge for the healthcare workers who treat them. We must equip medics with the knowledge, skills, mental resilience, and facilities to care for the most severely injured children in the world,” he said.
A blast injury in a growing child is not a one-time wound, but a lifelong medical challenge, making recovery longer, more complex, and far more costly than for adults.
Collapse of Protection and Accountability in Modern Warfare
Military doctrines are stretching the idea of “military necessity” to justify strikes on homes, schools, and hospitals - eroding the very principle that civilians must be protected. Yet major arms-exporting states, including the UK, continue to supply weapons to those responsible.
The report warns that modern wars ignore the long-term costs for children. Medical care, rehabilitation, and psychosocial support remain critically underfunded.
Protections for children in war are collapsing. Even with mounting evidence of indiscriminate attacks, accountability is almost non-existent. International courts lack power, and UN deadlock shields powerful states - fuelling a dangerous cycle of impunity.
Though recognised in law as a protected group, children are still treated as “mini-civilians,” unprotected and rarely heard.
Building Solutions: The Paediatric Blast Injury Partnership
In response, Save the Children UK and Imperial College London, together with many other international partners, established the Paediatric Blast Injury Partnership — bringing together medical specialists, humanitarians, and academics to improve outcomes for children injured by explosive weapons.
The Partnership’s Paediatric Blast Injury Field Manual arising from this collaboration — the first of its kind which helps medics in conflict zones treat children with blast injuries — has been translated into nine languages and is now used in twelve conflict zones including Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan.
In 2023, it launched the Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London to strengthen global expertise, including improving research and care for affected children.
“Treating blast injuries is far from straightforward,” said Professor Anthony Bull, Director of the Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies at Imperial. “It takes specialised knowledge and continued research to ensure children can not only recover but grow after amputation or surgery.
“The shocking findings of this report show how our partnership with Save the Children can help address this urgent humanitarian challenge by ensuring our research is reaching the people who need it most.”
Regional Findings
Occupied Palestinian territory: More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza since October 2023. In 2024, an average of 475 children each month have suffered lifelong disabilities including traumatic brain injuries, burns, complex fractures, and hearing loss. Gaza is the only conflict in the world where doctors use a grim new term — “WCNSF”: Wounded Child, No Surviving Family. It is now home to the largest cohort of child amputees in modern history, with restrictions on entry of medical supplies and attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system meaning operations are often performed without anaesthesia or sterile conditions.
Ukraine: Over 3,000 children have been killed or injured since 2022. The number of children maimed by explosive weapons surged 70% in one year, from 339 in 2023 to 577 in 2024. Common injuries include shrapnel wounds, burns, fractures, eye injuries, traumatic brain injury, hearing loss, and amputations. Children are especially vulnerable to head injuries and burns due to their smaller size. Ukraine also faces one of the world’s worst explosive ordnance contaminations, with about a quarter of its territory contaminated by mines, cluster munitions, and unexploded ordnance. In 2023, one in eight civilians killed or injured by landmines or ERW was a child.
The report also includes findings from Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, and Afghanistan, highlighting that children across multiple regions face severe risks from explosive weapons.
Save the Children is calling on world leaders to:
Stop the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.
Enforce stronger political and military policies to protect children in conflict.
Invest in victim assistance, research, and rehabilitation for children affected by blast injuries.
ENDS
Report available here: Children and Blast Injuries: The Devastating Impact of Explosive Weapons on Children, 2020–2025 - Save the Children’s Resource Centre
Notes to Editors
This report draws on United Nations Annual Reports on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) from 2021–2025, which track six grave violations against children:
Killing and maiming
Recruitment and use of children
Sexual violence, Abduction
Attacks on schools and hospitals
Denial of humanitarian access
Data are supplemented by external sources including AOAV, Explosive Weapons Monitor, Airwars, ACLED, UNICEF, OHCHR, and ICRC to identify key conflict trends and blast-related harm affecting children. All figures are conservative due to access and verification limitations in active conflicts.
Clinical analysis is provided by the Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London, the Paediatric Blast Injury Partnership, and the University of Bath, highlighting:
Medical realities of paediatric blast trauma
Treatment challenges in conflict settings
Innovations to improve rehabilitation and long-term recovery
All case studies and testimonies were collected with informed consent and anonymised. Names marked with an asterisk (*) have been changed to protect identities.
For more information, please contact Shaima Al-Obaidi [email protected]
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