GAZA, (PIC)
In a small displacement camp west of Al-Nuseirat Camp, dozens of children sit among tightly packed tents. Some try to invent games from scraps of wood or scattered pieces of plastic.
There is no nearby public park, no equipped playground, no specialized center to fill their long hours. While adults exchange conversations about potential aid, reconstruction, and ceasefire negotiations, children spend their time waiting.
For thousands of children in Gaza, the war is no longer a passing event, it is an enduring reality etched into the details of daily life.
Despite a fragile ceasefire that has reduced the intensity of bombardment, the consequences of war continue to surround them on all sides: from destroyed homes and damaged or flattened schools, to the absence of spaces meant to offer them opportunities to play, learn, and socially interact.
International organizations and child development specialists warn that the challenges facing Gaza’s children today go beyond basic needs such as food, shelter, and healthcare.
A growing crisis is unfolding, one rooted in psychological and social deprivation, as children live in an environment stripped of safe spaces and structured activities.
A childhood on hold
Under normal circumstances, children spend much of their day in schools, parks, sports fields, and activity centers. In Gaza, however, war, widespread destruction, and repeated displacement have drastically reduced these spaces.
Many public parks have been directly damaged or rendered unusable, while schools and public facilities have often been converted into shelters for displaced families for extended periods.
Even after the decline in active military operations, thousands of families continue to live in temporary housing or in areas lacking even the most basic recreational facilities for children.
Humanitarian workers told the PIC that children are spending long hours without organized activities or consistent programs to channel their energy and meet their psychological needs, conditions that are already affecting their behavior, mental health, and ability to adapt.
Play is not a luxury
Play is often viewed as mere entertainment. However, child development experts emphasize that it is a fundamental component of children’s psychological and social growth, especially in conflict-affected environments.
Child protection experts at UNICEF stress that child-friendly spaces and structured recreational activities are essential to post-conflict recovery. They provide children with opportunities to express their emotions, rebuild daily routines, and regain a sense of safety.
In previous media statements, Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF’s spokesperson in Palestine, emphasized that the majority of Gaza’s children are in urgent need of psychosocial support, noting that the war has left deep and lasting impacts on their mental health.
He stressed that children in Gaza need more than emergency humanitarian aid, they need safe environments that allow them to learn, play, and recover from the trauma of war.
A void threatening recovery
Specialists warn that the prolonged emptiness in children’s lives could become one of the most dangerous challenges in the post-war phase, particularly given the disrupted role of schools due to destruction and unstable, partial operation.
A child without access to a stable school, a place to play, or a community center is more vulnerable to social withdrawal, psychological distress, and learning difficulties.
The absence of sports, artistic, and cultural activities further deprives children of critical opportunities to develop skills and build social connections.
Child protection workers emphasize that many children now need more than traditional counseling sessions. They need spaces where they can reclaim a sense of normal life, where they can interact with peers and engage in age-appropriate activities.
A crisis beyond numbers
UN estimates point to unprecedented levels of need among children in Gaza. According to UN agencies, more than one million children require protection services and psychosocial support, while humanitarian organizations continue to struggle to meet this growing demand.
In March 2026, Sima Al-Alami, a youth and adolescent program officer at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), stated that the majority of children in Gaza had experienced extreme levels of fear and psychological stress during the war, underscoring the urgent need to expand psychosocial support services for children and adolescents.
Yet these needs go beyond direct therapeutic interventions. They include the creation of a community environment that allows children to reclaim fragments of their normal lives, something that remains severely limited across much of the Gaza Strip.
Despite ongoing efforts by local and international organizations, the scale of destruction and the breadth of needs make the response increasingly complex.
Recent UN reports indicate that the demand for protection and psychosocial services continues to exceed available capacity. Many programs remain framed within emergency response, while children require sustained support over years, given the long-term psychological and social impacts of war.
Experts emphasize that focusing solely on rebuilding physical infrastructure will not achieve meaningful recovery unless it is accompanied by serious investment in community spaces designed for children.
In Gaza today, reconstruction is not only about rebuilding structures, it is about rebuilding an environment where children can grow safely and with dignity. Public parks, playgrounds, cultural centers, and child-friendly spaces are not secondary luxuries; they are essential pillars of social recovery.
Investment in these spaces, experts argue, can help mitigate the effects of trauma, strengthen social cohesion, and give children a chance to reclaim the childhoods stolen from them by years of war.
As the fragile ceasefire persists and reconstruction efforts move slowly, hundreds of thousands of children remain suspended between the weight of the past and the uncertainty of the future. Between tents and destroyed neighborhoods, they continue to carve out small spaces for play and life, waiting for reconstruction to move beyond rebuilding stone, toward rebuilding childhood itself.
Ultimately, the greatest challenge may not be repairing the buildings destroyed by war, but restoring the years taken from an entire generation that has grown up in its shadow.