In the Save the Children's six centers in the war-torn area, young people can formulate their wishes and put them up in a cloud. But the cloud is now full of death longing.
They say "there I will have food, there is my mom or dad". It cannot get worse, notes Cummings on the phone from Dayr al-Balah, south of Gaza City.
The situation is so desperate. I feel like a broken record, what can we say or do to make it better for Gaza's children?
Tears at the clinic
Like colleagues in other aid organizations, Cummings appeals to the outside world for an immediate ceasefire in the war that broke out after the Islamist movement Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel in October 2023. She also emphasizes the importance of a drastic increase in emergency aid to the bombarded area.
Starvation has been found in parts of Gaza and on Tuesday, the UN Children's Fund Unicef warned that 26,000 children there are suffering from acute malnutrition. Over 10,000 of them are in Gaza City, where Israel recently launched an extended offensive and from where Palestinians are fleeing at an increasing rate.
Many of them are exhausted and lack tents, supplies, and somewhere to go. That famine is a tangible part of everyday life is clear at Save the Children's nutrition clinic in Khan Yunis, according to Cummings. When she sat down next to one of the queuing families the other day and asked how they got food, the mother's tears began to flow. She had three children with her at the clinic, one of whom was acutely malnourished.
The mother told that she sends out her older children to look for water and something to eat. She said it was wrong, that they should be in school. But the family is barely surviving.
Will be radicalized?
Predicting the long-term consequences of the war for Gaza's young people is difficult at present. Almost all of them have missed two years of schooling and seen their home area laid in ruins. They are struggling with famine, physical injuries, and in the worst case, suicidal thoughts.
It's layer upon layer upon layer – not just physically but also mentally. Now we must focus on their immediate needs, to save lives, but it's deeply worrying to think about the long-term effects, says Cummings.
The children here have been denied their rights and their value. There is a risk that in the long run, it can lead to hatred and radicalization.
She summarizes the situation as "a disaster on a disaster" and warns that the overcrowded refugee areas south of Gaza City are a "perfect recipe" for another public health crisis.
It is possible to save the children here, but we must get a ceasefire now. We cannot just write off an entire generation.
Facts: The war between Israel and Hamas
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The war in Gaza broke out after the terrorist-stamped Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Over 1,100 people were killed and around 250 were taken as hostages.
About 140 of the hostages have been released alive through negotiations, and eight have been rescued by Israel's military, according to the news agency AP's compilation.
Israel's warfare has killed over 65,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled area's health department, whose figures are often cited by UN agencies and international organizations. The statistics do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
In the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, a legal process has been ongoing since December 2023, in which South Africa accuses Israel of genocide.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued international arrest warrants for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and now-dead leaders within Hamas. The charges concern war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Source: ICJ, AP, UN
