All war has an effect on the children that live in the midst of it, we have seen that put on full display with the conflict in Gaza.

According to the Human Rights Watch, at least 33 children were killed in the Hamas excursion into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and 44 were kidnapped. Since then, 3,000 – 5,000 children have died in the following conflict in Gaza. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza heavily contributes to the suffering of children in the Gaza Strip, humanitarian aid has only been able to reach Gaza in limited numbers due to the possibility of Hamas using humanitarian trucks to smuggle more weapons into the Strip, as well as the possibility of Hamas simply taking whatever supplies for themselves instead of distributing among the civilian population. 

Since World War Two, many conflicts such as the one in Gaza have been fought with the idea of total destruction of the enemy in mind. In order to achieve such a goal, a nation has to drop bombs, lots, and lots, of bombs. It’s been seen before and it’s being seen again, the indiscriminate bombing of the civilian population to demoralize them is done in almost every conflict leading to massive losses in life. Such tactics were needed in World War Two, though it’s extremely difficult to find a justification for them now. Israel is known to have been using 2,000LB bombs in Gaza. Munitions of such size are owned by most western militaries such as the United States, though the U.S. very rarely, if ever, drops them in densely populated areas due to the massive explosion causing significant collateral damage.

In Oct. 2023, Israel told over one million people in northern Gaza to move south in preparation for the Israeli ground invasion. Many of them would have been children. On Dec. 2, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) began moving into southern Gaza, and on Feb. 2 the IDF signaled that they plan to move into Rafah, where many displaced people in Gaza have relocated to. This would likely put many children in the frontline and in the heat of the fighting as Rafah is the only crossing point into Egypt, the IDF taking Rafah would effectively cut off Gaza from Egypt, trapping all the displaced people and refugees within Gaza.

“I think the IDF needs to wait for the children and elderly within Gaza to evacuate before they take Rafah, or allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza after they take Rafah to ease the suffering of those inside the strip,” an anonymous junior said.

In the coming weeks or months, with the IDF advancing in the south, the conflict may begin to come to its close. After the conflict ends the true extent of the destruction and emotional damage will be seen and will begin to set in.