Gaza’s Orphan Crisis: 39,000 Children Left Without Parents

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories — Israel’s ongoing offensive has created the “largest orphan crisis in modern history” in Gaza. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) reported the devastating figures.

Since October 2023, more than 39,000 children have lost one or both parents. Approximately 17,000 children are now completely orphaned, having lost both mother and father.

The Human Cost
The conditions for these children are tragic. Many are forced to live in torn tents. Others shelter in destroyed homes. They have almost no social care or psychological support.

The PCBS detailed the scale of child fatalities:

Israeli attacks have killed at least 17,954 children in Gaza.

This number includes 274 newborns and 876 infants under the age of one.

Seventeen children froze to death in displacement tents.

Fifty-two children died from starvation and severe malnutrition.

Famine and Aid Blockade
The food crisis puts more lives at risk. The PCBS warned that 60,000 children face death due to severe malnutrition. A famine is looming over the enclave.

Israel’s actions worsen this crisis. They have sealed off vital border crossings since resuming the offensive. This blocks entry for essential aid like flour, fuel, and medical supplies.

Gaza’s Government Media Office spoke out against this policy. They accuse the Israeli government of “systematic starvation.” Stopping aid and flour for a month forced bakeries to shut down.

Unprecedented Detention of Minors
The report also highlighted a spike in the detention of children. Since October 7, Israeli forces have detained over 1,055 children. Most of these arrests happened in the occupied West Bank.

More than 350 minors currently remain held in Israeli prison facilities. The PCBS described this escalation against Palestinian children as “unprecedented.”

Children and minors (under 18) make up 43 percent of the combined Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank. According to the Ministry of Health, the total Palestinian death toll since October 2023 is at least 50,523. Most of the victims are women and children.

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