‘Gaza’s children are too weak to play or sing: hunger has stolen their childhood’

As the crisis shows no signs of abating, Bryony Gooch speaks to charity workers at a camp where children ‘still have hope’

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At the SOS Children's Village in southern Gaza, a group of children are crowding around a bus carrying energy biscuits and milk from Unicef.

“You cannot imagine the happiness in the camp when they received those biscuits,” says Reem Alreqeb, who helps run the camp for displaced children in Khan Younis. “It isn’t that delicious, but the children felt good to taste them after three months without any sweets.”

Since Israel announced a military takeover of the Gaza Strip, life has felt even more uncertain and tense for Ms Alreqeb and the children at the camp, many of whom have lost their families. If they are asked to move, all that remains is a bus with a few tents. They don’t have enough food or basic supplies to bring with them.

“I’m doing my best to stay focused and grounded, especially for the sake of the children and families who rely on us,” she tells The Independent.

This isn’t the first time that SOS Children’s Villages has been forced to move the children from Gaza in its care since the ongoing conflict began on October 7, 2023. In May last year, they were forced to leave their permanent village in Rafah after a ground invasion began which displaced an estimated one million Palestinians.

In just one day, charity workers had to transport 170 people – including caregivers and their families – to a humanitarian zone in Khan Younis. On the final day of a three-day trip to bring bare essentials to the humanitarian zone, their car broke down as drones struck people overhead.