Being a Child in Palestine

To be born as a Palestinian child is to step immediately into the shadow of occupation. This is not merely about living in a specific geography; it is about clinging to life within a systematic form of erasure. Israel’s occupation policies and settler terrorism target not only the physical but also the psychological and social existence of Palestinian children. This siege, stretching from East Jerusalem to the Gaza Strip, deprives children of their most fundamental human rights—life, education, healthcare, and freedom—and simultaneously works to ensure the systematic absence of a people’s future.

Palestinian children living under Israeli occupation are worlds away from an ordinary childhood. Their childhood is encircled by the weapons of settlers, the tremors of bombardments, and the metal detectors of checkpoints. Universal rights such as access to education, play, and healthcare are exceptions, luxuries, and often illusions in this geography.

In the Gaza Strip, the ongoing blockade and military operations have resulted in the deaths of 59,921 people and injuries to 145,233 since Israel launched its attacks on 7 October 2023.^【1】 These numbers are not merely statistics; they represent thousands of lives extinguished before ever having the chance to explore the world. Israel’s systematic aggression clearly reflects an intent to commit genocide.

^{A Child in Gaza (}pixabay⁾

Although the right to freedom for Palestinian children is guaranteed under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, in practice this right has no meaning whatsoever. Despite claiming to be a party to the convention, Israel systematically tries Palestinian children in military courts from the age of 12. Israel subjects Palestinian children to physical violence, threats, isolation, and abuse in an effort to break their spirit.^【2】

As confirmed by UNICEF, these practices are the product of a systematic and institutionalized structure. Between 2016 and 2022, three-quarters of detained children were subjected to physical violence, and 97% were separated from their parents.^【3】 What else could this be called if not torture?

At this point, the truth is clear: Israel is openly flouting international law in its treatment of children. The world is watching.

^{A Child Amid the Ruins (}pixabay⁾

Access to education in Palestine is undermined not only by material shortages but also by direct Israeli political interventions. Checkpoints, barriers, and especially schools destroyed in the West Bank have rendered children’s access to education nearly impossible. Over 700,000 students have been deprived of education,^【4】 and hundreds of schools have been converted into shelters.

Palestinian children face severe difficulties not only in reaching schools but also in accessing even the most basic healthcare services. The bombing of medical facilities, restrictions on the movement of healthcare workers, and delays at checkpoints have trapped small bodies between life and death.

When every second counts in emergency medical situations, a child’s death due to a soldier’s refusal to grant passage has become a normalized tragedy.^【5】 The perpetrators of this tragedy are known. Those who remain silent are accomplices.

Most Palestinian children raised without security struggle to cope with severe psychological trauma. Can children constantly exposed to explosions, death announcements, family losses, and fear still hope for the future? Of course not. This is the deliberate construction of a collective mental collapse of a people.

^{A Child in Gaza (}pixabay⁾

The systematic targeting of Palestinian children is no accident; it is a strategic choice. The goal behind this choice is to forge a generation stripped of hope and detached from resistance. This aggression against children seeks not only to destroy the present but also to erase Palestine’s future. Yet Israel does not realize that in doing so, it is strengthening us. Alhamdulillah.

Israel’s aggressive policies can no longer be concealed behind excuses such as “security” or “legitimate defense.” The truth is clear and undeniable: There is an occupation, there is a genocide, and there is a systematic policy of killing children. And the world, by closing its eyes to this reality, is complicit in one of the greatest shames in history.