Palestine Children’s Day 2024
by Anera
Posted in: Days of Observance
Palestine Children’s Day is observed on April 5th of every year. In 1995, Yasser Arafat started the commemorative day as a way of shedding light on the injustices and struggles that Palestinian children confront under occupation.
On this day, Anera highlights the extreme difficulties faced by children in Palestine. In Gaza, where Israel is waging war, children now face some of the most unfathomably violent conditions endured worldwide.
Children throughout Gaza face the dangers of airstrikes, entrapment by rubble, orphaning, isolation, displacement, disease, dismemberment, starvation, water scarcity, instability and trauma. Nearly 14,000 children have died since October 7. An estimated 17,000 more have lost all their caregivers and around 600,000 total continue to be at risk.
For children who become injured, prospects are grim. Hospitals are grappling with a shortage of resources and staff that renders it impossible to provide care to every person who needs it. Doctors and nurses have found themselves faced with the horrific choice of deciding which child to treat and which to deny care. Hospitals treating children have themselves come under fire.
As abhorrent as these facts are, they cannot capture the full picture. Given the degradation of telecommunications in Gaza since the start of the war, the restrictions on the entry of foreign journalists and the attacks on local journalists, the stories of many children who have suffered and died will never be known.
In these circumstances, children, who depend upon adults to create a safe and nurturing world to live in, face a fundamental betrayal. They trust us to take care of them. We are sorely failing.
On Palestine Children’s Day, Anera once again beseeches the international community to push for an enduring ceasefire. We must ensure that no child has to endure this horrific war any longer.
Palestine Children’s Day 2022
Palestinian children have trouble accessing education, proper nutrition and health care, opportunities for jobs, and dreams for a brighter future. Some children have even been arrested and detained by Israeli authorities.
Anera’s programs in Palestine directly or indirectly help Palestinian children to better confront some of the hurdles that get in the way of their growth and happiness. These photos feature a few of the Palestinian children who have been impacted by our work in Gaza and the West Bank.
