Alone and at Risk: The Unseen Crisis of Unaccompanied Children in Gaza

Dr. Shulamit Pinchover

Ahmad Shabbat was just three years old when an airstrike hit his home in Beit Hanoun in mid-November 2023, killing his parents and older brother. Thrown nearly 20 meters from the rubble, he was found injured and alone, his identity unknown. Medical staff recorded him under a grim new acronym increasingly common in Gaza’s hospitals: WCNSF — Wounded Child with No Surviving Family. Ahmad lost both of his legs in the attack. Days later, he was identified by his uncle, who had been searching for surviving relatives. Eventually, Ahmad was evacuated to Italy, to receive medical treatment and begin a long process of physical and emotional recovery.

His story is one of the few we can follow. For most unaccompanied children in Gaza, we have only fragments—brief mentions in doctors records or posts, glimpses caught on video, or names passed along by neighbors. The scale of the crisis, combined with ongoing violence and the collapse of basic infrastructure, makes it nearly impossible to document or trace the full stories of these unaccompanied children.

Ahmad’s case is rare in its detail—but not in what it represents. As of early 2024, UNICEF estimated that at least 17,000 children in Gaza were unaccompanied or separated from their caregivers. Yet, during the same period only 384 children had been formally identified and registered, as many were too young to provide identifying information. Humanitarian agencies warn that the real number of such children is likely much higher, given
mass death, repeated displacements, destroyed infrastructure, and collapsed communication networks that make family tracing nearly impossible. Some reports suggest that up to 41% of families are now caring for children who are not their own, implying that separation is far more widespread than formal counts suggest.

Dr. Ezzideen, a pediatrician in Gaza, described this reality in stark terms: “Every day at the clinic, I am confronted with a heartbreaking truth that shakes me to my core. Many of the children who come for treatment are accompanied by adults—men or women—who look at me helplessly when I ask about the child’s medical history. Their answers are always the same, and they never get easier to hear: ‘These children are not ours. They are the sons and daughters of siblings or relatives who are no longer here—because their parents were killed.'”

These children—often orphaned, forcibly separated, or left behind—are living without the care of any adult legally or customarily responsible for them. In overcrowded shelters, hospitals, or makeshift camps, they face an acute risk of abuse, neglect, sexual exploitation, child labor, trafficking, and prolonged psychological trauma.

International humanitarian law recognizes this vulnerability: Articles 24 and 50 of the Geneva Convention IV (1949) obligate parties in conflict to ensure the care, education, and protection of children under 15 who are orphaned or separated from their families. In practice, however, these protections are routinely undermined. The prevalence of violence against children escalates during armed conflict and natural disasters. As Seddighi et al show, crises significantly increase the risk of multiple forms of child maltreatment—including physical and sexual abuse, neglect, and emotional violence, since they intensify as families are torn apart, formal child protection systems collapse, and informal safety nets vanish.

The current war in Gaza exemplifies this breakdown. Pediatric experts describe it as one of the gravest violations of children’s rights, with widespread trauma, preventable deaths, and the destruction of critical infrastructure, leaving thousands of children without care or protection. In the shadow of displacement and conflict, the lives of unaccompanied children unravel in quiet, devastating ways. Girls and young boys are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation especially in overcrowded shelters where privacy and sanitation are lacking. Many are forced to beg or engage in transactional survival strategies, placing them at heightened risk of trafficking.

Even when hosted by other families, unaccompanied and separated children are not always safe. They may face physical and emotional abuse, neglect, or be compelled into risky labor. Many children, especially boys, are sent to collect food or water, often in areas contaminated with unexploded ordnance. Numerous videos from Gaza document the daily struggle of children to survive under these conditions. One video, posted on June 9, 2025, shows Palestinian children—some as young as four or five —gathering spilled food from the ground amid rubble. In another, posted on June 14, 2025, shows a Palestinian child gathering food from a trash dumpster. In a third video, from July 21, 2025, children are seen alone, searching for food and fuel among the debris of a destroyed street. These scenes underscore the extent to which these children have been left to fend for themselves in the ruins of daily life.

Other children turn to illegal activities—out of necessity, as a coping mechanism, or to support their host families. Unaccompanied boys are also at increased risk of being recruited by armed groups. Lacking protection, they may be used as fighters, lookouts, or for logistical support—roles that expose them to serious physical danger and long-term psychological harm. Without proper documentation or access to formal care systems, some children are placed in informal arrangements that offer no legal safeguards. These situations can result in illegal adoption or a permanent loss of identity, severing children from their families and cultural roots.

Exposure to abuse and violence, in the absence of a protective caregiver, has created deep psychological distress among many children in Gaza. Emotional dysregulation, withdrawal, and difficulty forming relationships are especially pronounced in children who are unaccompanied. Ward, a five-year-old girl, made headlines after a video of her running through the burning school where her family had taken shelter was published. When rescuers reached her, they found her sitting quietly, not speaking or crying out. Six members of her family were killed in the airstrike, and two others are in critical condition. She is now with her uncle’s family. Her case reflects what psychologists warn is only the beginning of the long-term trauma many children will carry into adulthood.

Gaza’s formal child protection systems have nearly ceased to function. Social workers, legal assistance, and mental health professionals are severely limited in access and capacity. According to the IRC, by the end of August 2024 some injured children remained in hospitals not because they were recovering, but because there was simply no one else to care for them. Despite these challenges, efforts continue through limited alternative care programs, distribution of family tents, and frontline worker training in trauma-informed response. However, the ability to trace and reunify children with their families remains extremely constrained. Destroyed records, interrupted communication, and movement restrictions make it nearly impossible to confirm identities or locate relatives. As of early 2025, only about 100 children had been reunited with their caregivers or relatives, making Ahmad’s case an exception, far from the norm.

The crisis facing unaccompanied children in Gaza demands urgent and coordinated action. A permanent ceasefire is the only way to protect children from further physical and mental harm; without safety and stability, no meaningful protection can take root. In parallel, efforts must be scaled up to identify and register all unaccompanied and separated children, provide safe and supervised environments with trauma-informed care, and actively monitor and support the informal caregivers who shelter them. Equally critical are legal pathways for protection, reunification with surviving family members, and access to mental health services to address the deep emotional wounds inflicted by war.

Dr. Shulamit Pinchover is a researcher and lecturer in the field of early childhood, development, parent-child relationships, and educational and health systems for children and family. 

Additional reading

Latif, I. et al. (2025). Cases of trauma due to war and violence among children in Gaza. EMHJ, (4), 210–215. https://doi.org/10.26719/2025.31.4.210.

Taha, A. A., Azar, N. G., Fookson, M., & Ali, A. (2024). A call to action for children in hostile war-torn conflict zones: From Palestine, Ukraine and Beyond. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 38(3), 296-297.‏

Wendt, U. J. (2025). Children are bearing the brunt of violence in Gaza. BMJ, 388, r39.https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r39

Boukari, Y., et al. (2024). Gaza, armed conflict and child health. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 8(1), e002407. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2023-002407

Aqtam I. (2025). A narrative review of mental health and psychosocial impact of the war in Gaza. Eastern Mediterranean health journal, 31(2), 89–96. https://doi.org/10.26719/2025.31.2.89