Toronto, ON, October 8, 2026 — Three years have passed since the October 2023 attacks in Israel and the ensuing escalation of war, which has devastated lives across Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, and left children living through a humanitarian catastrophe.

Almost one year after a ceasefire agreement was announced, children across Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territory continue to endure immense suffering amid repeated violations of the ceasefire and continuing humanitarian need. In humanitarian crises, existing inequalities can deepen, leaving girls facing heightened risks to their safety, education and rights.

The past three years have brought devastating loss for families and communities across the region, including the families of those who were killed, injured or taken hostage, and all those whose lives were forever changed by the violence that has taken place over the last three years.

1,200 people, including 40 children, were killed in the attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023 by Palestinian armed groups who injured 15,000 people and took 252 people hostage.

In Gaza over 73,922 people, including 21,000 children have been killed since October 2023 with 174,995 people injured.

In the West Bank, at least 1,136 Palestinians, including at least 250 children have been killed between October 7, 2023, and mid-September 2026, roughly one in five of those killed in the West Bank are children.

Despite the announcement of a ceasefire agreement a year ago that raised hopes of an improvement in living conditions and the humanitarian situation, missile strikes, insecurity, movement restrictions, displacement and severe constraints on humanitarian access have continued, prolonging human suffering.

In the last year the United Nations says that approximately 1,431 people have been killed and 5,026 people have been injured in Gaza. At least 300 children in Gaza had been killed in the 300 days following the announcement of the ceasefire agreement in October 2025, an average of one child every day.

Repeated violations of the ceasefire, the collapse of essential services and the severe restrictions on movement of relief supplies and humanitarian workers have left most of the people in Gaza struggling to survive, with children paying the highest price.

“Since the ceasefire, we suffer from random gunfire on our tents. You can see the bullet holes in them. We hear about victims all the time. My neighbour is one of them; he is in a coma now. There is not one place where you can walk safely,” said Houssam* who lives in a tent with his family of six, including his parents-in-law, in northern Gaza.

“The ceasefire was announced in the media and officially, but it has not been applied in real life. We sleep preparing ourselves for death, because most of the people who died, died from gunshots while they were sleeping or walking in the street. Tents cannot protect us from gunshots. I feel like a stranger in my own country,” said Houssam.

The humanitarian situation across Gaza remains dire. Most people remain displaced and unable to return to their homes, confined to less than half of Gaza's land area, with more than eight in ten buildings damaged or destroyed, according to UN assessments.

“The broken promises of a ceasefire and the failure to deliver lifesaving relief are costing an entire generation of children their childhood and their future. For children in Gaza, the crisis is far from over,” said Dr Unni Krishnan, Plan International’s Country Director in the occupied Palestinian territory.

“War must stop to give children a chance. Palestinian children in Gaza have witnessed horrors no child should ever see, and some of that damage cannot be undone. Children and families need sustained peace, unhindered humanitarian access and urgent investment in recovery and essential services. The future of a generation depends on the choices made today. The ceasefire must be respected,” said Krishnan.

Health services have been decimated: fewer than half of all health facilities are even partially functioning and, according to the World Health Organization, not one has been restored to full capacity since the announcement of the ceasefire, with nearly all of those awaiting rehabilitation held back by a lack of medical equipment.

The United Nations warns that around two thirds of Gaza’s population are projected to face crisis levels of food insecurity through the end of 2026, and that more than seven in ten children under two are food insecure. Admissions for the treatment of malnutrition rose by a fifth over the first four months of this year compared with the same period in 2025.

Gaza’s education system is in crisis. Around nine in ten school buildings require major rehabilitation or full reconstruction, and the overwhelming majority of school-aged children in Gaza still have no access to sustained, formal, in-person learning. Many have now missed three consecutive school years.

With winter approaching, displaced families face increasingly harsh conditions. Many are living in temporary tents, makeshift shelters or damaged buildings, in sites where sanitation has broken down.

By the end of April this year, more than eight in ten shelters and displacement sites were reporting infestations of scabies, lice, and other parasitic skin conditions. Rain, flooding and cold in those conditions fall hardest on children who are already weakened by months of inadequate nutrition.

Plan International continues to call for an end to attacks on children, civilians and humanitarian workers and for rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access. Gaza needs sustained and reliable long-term funding to support both immediate relief and long-term recovery, including investment in education, child protection and mental health support to help families recover and rebuild their lives. We call on all parties to uphold International Humanitarian Law, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and ensure children are never caught in the crossfire of conflict.

*name changed for security

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Children never start wars, but they suffer the most. To support children affected by war and other global crises, visit plancanada.ca/donate/children-in-crisis.

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Plan International Canada is a member of a global organization dedicated to advancing children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International has been building powerful partnerships with and for children for almost 90 years and is now active in more than 80 countries.

We stand with children, especially girls, wherever they are oppressed, exploited, left behind or not equally valued. We’re determined optimists and will continue to persevere until we are all equal.

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