Children in Gaza continue to face severe deterioration of their health and wellbeing since October 2023, driven by the collapse of the health system and deteriorating living and water and sanitation conditions, part of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Israel's mass destruction of homes, civilian infrastructure, and water systems, combined with systematic restrictions on humanitarian and medical supplies, is directly contributing to preventable illness and death among children.

Living conditions and lack of proper access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies are causing a variety of health issues among children, including scabies, diarrheal diseases, respiratory infections, and gastroenteritis. Between January and April 2026, MSF teams treated tens of thousands of children with these conditions across two dozen health facilities. Infants are disproportionately affected: in the MSF pediatric field hospital in Deir al-Balah, infants aged 1-12 months now represent half of all pediatric hospital admissions. Between September 2025 and March 2026, 112 neonatal deaths were recorded in MSF-supported hospitals, with respiratory distress and sepsis as the leading causes.

Among children, infants are disproportionately affected by diarrheal disease and other infections. Their immune systems are still developing, and they cannot fight off infections the way older children or adults can. At the same time, infants lose water much faster than older children, and diarrhea can become life-threatening within hours.

MSF continues to call on all states to use all available political, economic, security, and legal measures to ensure Israeli authorities respect their obligations under international law as an occupying power, including unimpeded entry of humanitarian and medical aid.