More than two years of unrelenting violence, displacement and loss have pushed children and young people in Palestine into what one UN official describes as a “profound mental health emergency”, with girls facing heightened risks, including a resurgence in child marriage.Sima Alami, adolescent and youth programme officer at the UN agency for sexual and reproductive health, UNFPA, painted a stark picture defined by alarming statistics.“We have more than one million children in Gaza who need mental health and psychosocial support services,” she told UN News.The scale of trauma is staggering.96% of children in Gaza feel death is imminentAccording to UNFPA data cited by Ms. Alami, 96 per cent of children in Gaza feel that death is imminent. “This reflects the depth of fear and trauma they experience daily,” she stressed.Among adolescents and youth, often overlooked in humanitarian crises, the psychological toll is equally severe. Some 61 per cent suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 38 per cent from depression and 41 per cent from anxiety. “Alarmingly, one in five adults contemplates suicide almost daily,” she added.“This is not merely psychological distress,” Ms. Alami emphasized. “It is a widespread mental health emergency.”Girls at heightened riskWithin this crisis, girls are among the most vulnerable. In Gaza, child marriage, which was previously on the decline, has resurged sharply. Rates had fallen from 25.5 per cent in 2009 to 11 per cent in 2022, but are now rising again as families struggle to survive.A recent UNFPA study found that 71 per cent of respondents in Gaza reported increased pressure to marry girls under 18. In a short monitoring period alone, more than 400 marriage licences were issued for girls aged 14 to 16 in emergency courts, but the figures are likely underreported.“Some families see marriage as a survival strategy amid displacement, poverty and insecurity,” Ms. Alami explained. Others believe it offers protection in overcrowded shelters or helps ease economic hardship following the collapse of livelihoods.Child marriage exposes girls to violenceThe consequences are severe. In 2025, approximately 10 per cent of newly registered pregnancies in Gaza were among adolescent girls, marking a significant increase compared to pre-war levels.At the same time, access to healthcare has dramatically shrunk. Only 15 per cent of health facilities in Gaza are currently able to provide emergency obstetric and neonatal services, increasing the risk of complications for young mothers and their babies.Child marriage also exposes girls to violence.“Some evidence suggests that 63 per cent of girls married at a young age have experienced physical, psychological or sexual violence,” Ms. Alami said. Reports indicate rising divorce rates and widespread severe psychological distress among married minors.In the most extreme cases, the consequences are life-threatening. “More than 100 suicides or attempted suicides have been documented among survivors of violence,” she noted, underscoring that child marriage is a form of gender-based violence.Persistent sense of insecurity in the West BankWhile Gaza remains the epicentre of the crisis, conditions in the West Bank are also deteriorating. Escalating violence, military operations and settler attacks have driven displacement, particularly in refugee camps, while movement restrictions and checkpoint closures have disrupted daily life and forced many schools to shut.Children and young people are living under constant stress.“They face fear of raids, restrictions on movement, and uncertainty about livelihoods and access to services,” Ms. Alami said. “This creates chronic anxiety and a persistent sense of insecurity.”Such pressures can have long-term consequences, shaping behaviour and mental health well into adulthood. Some young people are even considering leaving Palestine altogether.Safe spaces offer lifelinesAmid these challenges, UNFPA has expanded support services. Over the past three years, the agency has reopened and supported more than 35 safe spaces for women and girls, providing case management and multi-sectoral responses to gender-based violence.More than 120,000 dignity and hygiene kits have been distributed, and across Palestine, over 15 multi-purpose youth centres are operating, with 11 dedicated to girls.“These spaces provide psychosocial support, education and life skills while promoting community engagement and a sense of belonging,” Ms. Alami said. Youth are not just beneficiaries, she added, but “active partners” in designing and implementing initiatives.Services include group sessions, psychological first aid, individual counselling and a digital helpline known as the Youth Window, offering free remote support to marginalised young people.Still, challenges remain immense. Displacement, limited resources and harsh conditions, particularly in Gaza, where some safe spaces operate in tents exposed to extreme weather, continue to hinder operations.“Many families prioritise survival over mental health,” Ms. Alami noted, highlighting the need for integrated responses linking psychosocial support with food, health and education services.

stemming from Israel’s disregard for human rights norms and serious violations also committed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.Citing a new report from his office (OHCHR) covering the 12 months to 31 October 2025, High Commissioner Türk said that Israel had “continued attacks on residential buildings and makeshift tents, destroying entire neighbourhoods”.“Mass civilian deaths” resulted from the Israeli attacks, the UN rights chief noted, with more than 25,500 Palestinians killed in the space of one year, and more than 68,800 injured.Killed in search of foodA total of 2,435 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military near food collection points run by the non-UN Gaza Humanitarian Foundation between late May and early October, Mr. Türk also said, adding that most were young men and boys.In the West Bank, Israeli security forces “continued to launch airstrikes and use unlawful force, killing hundreds of Palestinians,” he added.Since last October’s fragile ceasefire, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed with over 1,600 injured in Gaza, according to local authorities. “Anywhere else, this would be considered a major crisis,” the rights chief said. Independent human rights expert monitoring the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Francesca Albanese, highlighted the “catastrophic” situation facing Gazans today.The Special Rapporteur said that families “survive in flooded tents while people continue to die from gunfire, hunger and preventable diseases”, despite the truce.Ms. Albanese – who does not work for the UN and reports to the Human Rights Council - was speaking in Geneva alongside other independent experts, who condemned repeated attempts to undermine their work for the Council’s “Special Procedures” mandates.Attacks on independent experts ‘beyond the pale’Speaking to journalists in Geneva, the Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, rejected calls for Ms. Albanese to resign along with “personal vendettas” against independent experts, following the publication of an online video misrepresenting her comments about Israel.Ms. Albanese was sanctioned by the United States last July for alleged “gross infringement” on national sovereignty, together with judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) beginning in February last year.Mr. Bennett said that all States which feature in reports and statements by Special Procedures mandate holders “may strongly disagree and are fully entitled to express those disagreements forcefully.“However, deliberately misrepresenting the statements or views of mandate holders and attacking them personally is beyond the pale. International sanctions are for human rights violators and criminals, not for human rights defenders.”Special Rapporteurs and other independent human rights experts are not UN staff and they are not paid for their work. Human rights is one of the fundamental pillars of all the United Nations’ work, along with peace, security and development.

and restore the “fundamentals of childhood”.Through expressing their hopes for peace in art, poetry and models that they have made from rubble created by the war, thousands of young people across the enclave have taken part in The Gaza We Want initiative. With support from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the initiative has engaged children aged five to 18 to share their vision for rebuilding the territory that’s been largely destroyed since war erupted between Hamas and Israel in October 2023. The initiative helps “reinforce the importance of meaningful, ongoing child participation in decisions about Gaza’s future,” said Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF’s head of communications in the Palestinian Occupied Territory, briefing journalists in Geneva on Tuesday.Safety firstOver 11,000 children, including children with disabilities, have participated in the initiative which asked them to “imagine dignity” and share their ideas.Children prioritised shelter and safety; real schools with roofs, walls and toilets; followed by hospitals and psychological support; and lastly places where they can play and “reclaim what war stole from them”. Mr. Crickx said that when thousands of children independently draw clean streets, classrooms and parks, “it is no coincidence. It is a direct appeal to the world.” “The children’s deepest wish is simply the ability to sleep through the night, to walk to school without fear… I met too many children whose bodies had healed but whose fear had not.” Mr Crickx said, echoing the call for mental health support alongside physical care.'The clarity of children'Mr Crickx described meeting 15-year-old Hala at a temporary learning centre in the central Gaza city of Deir Al-Balah.Months without school had harmed her education but she dreams of a safe life, a safe home, her own bedroom and a good school, he said. Despite the ceasefire – in place since last October – more than 135 children have reportedly been killed in Gaza. UNICEF says that listening to children must be the foundation of any credible reconstruction. “It is difficult to ignore the clarity of children who have lived through such uncertainty. A recovery that ignores children’s voices will fail them – and fail Gaza.” The UNICEF's communications chief said. “What the Gaza children describe is not abstract. It is the Gaza they want and have the right to grow up in.”Aid continues Relief continues for children in Gaza as fresh bread, hot meals and digital cash assistance are provided to displaced families by the UN humanitarians. The trucking of drinking water has been stepped up after a large water line that connects Gaza with Israel shutdown two weeks ago when two leaks were identified, the UN’s humanitarian coordination office (OCHA) reported on Tuesday. To restore sanitation levels, the UN and partners are moving quickly to rehabilitate pumping stations that were damaged or destroyed during the war. This is critical as sewage overflows can lead to water contamination and spread of waterborne diseases.Although two new clinics for the screening of non-communicable diseases have become operational in North Gaza, there continues to be a critical shortage of medicine and laboratory supplies, particularly for cancer and heart diseases.

Palestinian Walid Al-Assi was playing with his young granddaughter this week, promising to take her to the market in Gaza City with the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan as his family had done before the Israel-Hamas war, but now circumstances had changed.Mr. Al-Assi lives with his family in a tent made of cloth and plastic sheeting next to the rubble of their home in the Al-Zarqa neighbourhood in the centre of Gaza City, where they used to live “happily” and eat good food, including special Ramadan sweets like Qatayef.“Everything has changed now,” he told UN News, describing the grim landscape left behind following two years of Israeli attacks.“We have been deprived of all these things. Today, I see goods in stores, and I turn my face away from them because I do not have the money to buy them. I am a man who suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes, and I cannot walk. Those in the tents must be helped.”‘We are living in a tragedy’In another displacement tent, Amal Al-Samri and her husband are trying to create an atmosphere, even if only symbolically, for the month of Ramadan. They have been busy arranging the tent and preparing for the holy month, while a smile never left Ms. Al-Samri’s tired face, and their three children wore clothes that looked new in celebration of the arrival of the month.Before the war, she said, “our life was beautiful.”She said she would visit relatives, go see her family and brothers, shop at the market for the house and create a Ramadan atmosphere, complete with hanging lights and decorations.“Today, there is nothing,” she said.“We are living in a tragedy. There is no electricity or water. We were displaced from our homes from one place to another, and in one place, the sea water flooded us and swept away our tents.” High prices and shortagesDespite the circumstances, challenges, continued suffering, shortages of supplies and the signs of destruction that left deep scars in the sector, the atmosphere of the holy month of Ramadan and its distinctive goods found their way to the historic Zawiya market in Gaza City.Shops and vendors’ stalls put up lanterns of different sizes and signs advertising their goods and welcoming the holy month.Some families were able to buy lanterns for their children despite the high prices.Prices double for Ramadan lanternsBut, many pass through the market without buying anything as they do not have enough to buy in light of the high prices and the scarcity of goods, explained Luay Al-Jamasi, the owner of a shop selling Ramadan decorations.“Many people have been deprived of Ramadan decorations because they do not have electricity,” he said. “The price of Ramadan decorations has risen significantly because no more of them have entered the sector in the past period.”Holding one of the lanterns, he pointed out that “the price of this lantern used to be 30 shekels, but now it has reached 60 shekels. The price has doubled because of the lack of goods entering the country.”‘We’ve been through some difficult times’However, there are those who are determined to celebrate in their own way and show solidarity with those who celebrate the month, including Maher Tarzi, a Christian Palestinian citizen, who was strolling through the Zawiya market.In a sweet voice, he sang one of the songs associated with the month of Ramadan, whose lyrics say: “sweet and happy nights have arrived, nights that are coming and nights that are going, in which the manifestation is always present, and its light shines from the heights.”“People want to be happy,” Mr Tarzi said. “We’ve been through some tough times, and it’s good that we’re still alive.”‘How did we survive all this?’“People look around and wonder, how did we survive all this?” Mr. Tarzi continued. “Then they resume their lives and come to the markets. But, things are not the same now as they were before in terms of purchasing power.”At night, some areas of Gaza City are illuminated by available lanterns and lamps in celebration of the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan, despite the harsh conditions that many Gaza residents are still living in, most of whom are still displaced.The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that, according to estimates, at least two thirds of the population (1.4 million out of 2.1 million) are living in about 1,000 of the sites to which they have been displaced, in overcrowded places and in tents that offer little privacy and protection.