Children walk around without shoes

Children walk without shoes, the price of flour rushes and the anxiety over when the next auxiliary delivery comes is constantly present – this is the situation in the Gaza Strip.

At the same time, save the children are trying to create some kind of normality for the youngest in the war.

“They have seen things no child should have to see,” says Rachel Cummings, saving the children’s spokesperson in the Palestinian field.

She emphasizes that the future of children is in danger when schooling is affected. In Gaza, there has been no regular schooling since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October 2023.

– About 650,000 children are affected in Gaza. There is a huge need for temporary schools and support for the most vulnerable children. The feeling of normality, a routine, the kind of protection that a schooling constitutes for children – it has been removed, says Rachel Cummings.

– Many children go without shoes, people live in tents. It is a very difficult situation where both children and adults are struggling to find food and survive.

Wastewater on the streets

Save the children’s staff in Gaza have also been forced to move several times during the war.

– They have been expelled nine to ten times. Everyone who works for the organization has lost family or relatives in the war. It is also difficult to give staff protection during the war, as no place in Gaza is considered safe. Especially in northern Gaza, the destruction is terrible.

– These are desperate times. 90 percent of all schools and almost all infrastructure have been destroyed in Gaza. Here in Dayr al-Balah, the streets are filled with wastewater, she says.

At the same time, the organization is trying to set up educational centers in tents to give children a basic education. She describes the need as huge and says that resources are not enough.

Live in constant anxiety

The uncertain access to supplies also leaves traces.

– Everyone in Gaza lives in a constant anxiety over when the next delivery comes in. This applies not only to food, but also when tents, clothing and teaching materials come in. It is unclear when or if things come into Gaza, which makes the situation even more urgent.

– In just a few days, the price of a bag of flour has gone up dramatically when deliveries are shut down suddenly, she says.

Cummings now puts its hope for the ceasefire to hold.

– There is a great need to rebuild the infrastructure and give people access to protection and basic social functions.