As Israel’s unrelenting assault on Gaza stretches into its ninth month, experts are warning of the compounding effects of the war on children. Children represent some 16,000 of the more than 37,000 Palestinians killed by Israel since October 7. They are also some of the most vulnerable to disease and the worsening hunger crisis, with thousands malnourished and facing death. Another 17,000 children have lost one or both parents. Meanwhile, over 600,000 Palestinian students have been out of school for more than eight months. Schools that have been turned into shelters for displaced Gazans have been regularly destroyed by Israel, including an UNRWA building in Khan Younis which was hit by an Israeli airstrike Thursday.

Mays Al-Masri: “There was a house next to us. They wanted to strike. And as you can see, the classroom where we shelter is damaged. I don’t know where we will sleep. We are 25 people in this classroom. Look how it’s damaged and our sleeping area. Where we will sleep? We don’t know. We will have to sleep in the yard.”