The Gaza Child-Focused Assessment

Highlights

Two years of intense bombardment, repeated mass displacement and the collapse of essential services have created a severe, multidimensional crisis for children in the Gaza Strip. This Child-Focused Assessment was conducted between 21 December 2025 and 15 January 2026 through a phone survey of households with children aged 0–17 years, reaching 2,071 households across all governorates in the Gaza Strip.

The assessment generated representative, cross sectoral evidence across key areas, including health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), education, and child protection, alongside mental health, early childhood development, gender, disability inclusion, and livelihoods. It was designed to address critical information gaps in a context where routine monitoring systems have been disrupted, population mobility is high, and service availability continues to change rapidly.

Findings show that while impacts of the crisis vary across age and gender, they are consistently severe. Young children lack safe and stimulating environments essential for early development. School-aged children face prolonged learning disruptions with limited prospects for recovery without targeted intervention. Adolescents encounter shrinking opportunities, heightened protection risks, and growing exposure to negative coping mechanisms.