In April 2025, the United Nations estimated that 92% of residential buildings in Gaza had been destroyed. As a result, most families are living among rubble or in tents. In the summer children are exposed to extreme heat with heightened risk of dehydration. Rain-soaked winters brings even more devastating consequences, with infants and young children particularly vulnerable to hypothermia.

The IPC estimates that 132,000 children in Gaza face acute malnutrition. Mothers are severely undernourished, leading to high risk and underweight births and, in many cases, an inability to breastfeed. Families have little access to fresh produce or meat.

Unsanitary living conditions, inadequate nutrition, and ongoing physical and psychological trauma have led to a sharp increase in illness among children. Weakened immune systems leave them especially vulnerable to viral and bacterial infections, tooth decay, and stunted growth.

Even when medicines are available, families often cannot afford even the most basic treatments—such as pain relief, fever reducers, or creams for skin infections.

​With 94% of hospitals destroyed, patients face extreme difficulty accessing doctors, surgical procedures, and essential pre- and post-partum care.