Hoda*, 11, managed to escape the earthquake, clutching onto her sisters hand as they ran from their home. As they stood outside in the freezing rain, they saw the building collapse with all their belongings inside. Hoda* is particularly sad about losing her favourite teddy bear, who is now buried with the rest of their belongings. Hoda* is very thankful her family survived, and are now living in a camp for earthquake survivors. Her family received the tent, clothes, food and emergency supplies from Save the Children partner organisation Shafaq. Hoda* is also attending the Child Safe Space in the camp where she has access to activities and psychosocial support.

The dramatic escalation in violence witnessed in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and Israel is deeply alarming with horrendous consequences for children’s lives and wellbeing. With the death toll climbing, children are at risk and terrified. Children have been killed and injured in every major escalation, not to mention suffering from serious longer term mental health impacts – they’ve never emerged unscathed.

As the violence continues, civilians continue to pay the heaviest price, with thousands killed and injured in both Gaza and Israel. It remains unclear how many children have been killed and injured so far. As of 23 October, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 2055 Palestinian children have been killed in Gaza, bringing the total death toll to over 5,000 people. 62% of people killed in Gaza are women and children. A further27 children have been killed in the West Bank. In Israel, of the names of 855 fatalities released out of 1,400, 28 have been
confirmed as children. With the violence ongoing, and many people trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings, numbers are expected to rise.

Olha*, 42, lives with her daughter Arina*, 12 and twins Kateryna* and Yevhenii* who are 5, in Dnipro, Ukraine. Olha’s mother also lives with them. Their flat was damaged because of a missile attack on 29 December 2023 - the building they live in was just 200 meters away from where the rocket hit.
When the situation became safer, the family returned to their flat to find out that windows were almost blown out, leaving gaps between window frames and walls. Temporarily fixed them with installation foam, but the windows require replacement. Save the Children has provided the family with cash to help repair their home. While Olha* was sorting out the cash assistance, Kateryna* and Yevhenii* got a chance to play with Save the Children staff members in the special area set up for children.