Gaza’s Children Between Displacement and Rubble: Daily Scenes Reflect the Reality of Childhood in War
Gaza’s children are facing a daily struggle shaped by displacement, destruction, and shortages of basic necessities. From queuing for water and living in temporary tents to walking through rubble and helping support their families, their everyday lives reveal the profound impact of war on childhood.
Key Highlights of this Report
- •Water shortages: Children spend hours queuing and carrying heavy containers to secure water for their families.
- •Life in tents: Many children live in overcrowded temporary shelters with limited basic services.
- •Growing up among rubble: Destroyed buildings and debris have become part of children’s daily surroundings.
- •Responsibilities beyond their age: Children help collect water and firewood, seek aid, and sometimes sell food to support their families.
- •Childhood disrupted: Basic survival needs increasingly take priority over education, play, and normal childhood routines.
- •Holding on to life: Despite displacement and hardship, children continue to play, learn, and help their families.
Gaza – Palestine24
The displacement of families across the Gaza Strip continues amid widespread destruction of residential neighborhoods and the deterioration of basic services. Gaza’s children remain at the heart of the daily consequences of the war, trying to adapt to a reality marked by need, anxiety, and a severe lack of life’s most basic necessities.
Images from Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza and the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in southern Gaza City reveal details of children’s daily lives—from searching for water and living in tents to walking among destroyed buildings and trying to help their families secure essential needs.
Gaza’s Children Queue for Water
In the early hours of the morning, groups of children head to water distribution points in displacement camps, carrying plastic containers and buckets before joining long queues to obtain enough water for their families.
Some children push heavy buckets in front of them, while others wait for their turn amid the crowds—a scene that has become a recurring part of daily life in the camps.
Fetching water has become a daily responsibility for many children in Gaza, sometimes taking priority over play or education, as water and electricity networks remain damaged and basic services continue to deteriorate.
Photo: A boy pushes a bucket as children try to collect water in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
Photo: Children gather while filling their containers with water at Nuseirat camp for displaced Palestinians.
Photo: A woman fills water containers inside Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
Between the Tents: Daily Life in Displacement
Inside displacement camps, large numbers of children live in closely packed tents and temporary shelters, with limited privacy, ventilation, and access to basic facilities.
The images show children moving between tents, while some girls take on additional responsibilities, including caring for younger children and helping their families with everyday tasks.
Despite the difficult conditions, children try to find small spaces to play and gather between the tents, attempting to preserve some sense of normal daily life.
Photo: A girl carries a child while walking between temporary tents in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
Photo: Children stand among temporary shelters inside Nuseirat camp.
Photo: Children play inside the displacement camp in Nuseirat.
With each passing day, children in the Gaza Strip continue to cope with a reality they did not choose.
Children Walking Through Gaza’s Rubble
The suffering of children is not limited to displacement camps. In the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of southern Gaza City and other areas that have suffered widespread destruction, children and families walk among destroyed buildings and along roads covered with rubble.
Some children accompany their families as they move from place to place, while others search through what remains of their homes for belongings that can still be recovered.
Destroyed buildings and piles of rubble have become part of the everyday environment in which children live, after the landscape of many neighborhoods they knew before the war was dramatically altered.
Photo: Displaced Palestinians walk near destroyed buildings in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of southern Gaza City.
Photo: Displaced Palestinian children walk among temporary shelters in Tel al-Hawa.
Responsibilities Beyond Their Years
As living conditions deteriorate and many families lose their sources of income, children are increasingly helping their families with tasks that were once far removed from a normal childhood.
Some help fetch water or collect firewood, while others accompany their families to obtain humanitarian aid. Some children also sell small amounts of food near displacement camps to help provide for their families’ basic needs.
One image shows a displaced girl arranging her small food stall in Tel al-Hawa—a scene that reflects the scale of responsibilities some children in Gaza have been forced to shoulder.
Photo: A displaced Palestinian girl arranges a small food stall in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of southern Gaza City.
Photo: A displaced Palestinian girl stands beside her tent in Tel al-Hawa.
Photo: People stand near a pile of garbage in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
A Childhood Searching for Space to Live
Between water queues, tents, and rubble, the details of daily life have changed dramatically for many children in the Gaza Strip, with basic necessities now occupying a large part of their day.
With each passing day, children continue to cope with a reality shaped by war and displacement. Yet their attempts to play, learn, and help their families remain daily scenes that reflect their determination to hold on to life despite loss and harsh living conditions.
