After years of devastation and uncertainty, there are, at last, signs of change in Gaza. And with them, a quiet, cautious hope is budding.
Ghada, National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Palestine, said: “This is the first time in two years that we feel like we’re breathing and experiencing a moment of true peace and hope. We hope the war will end completely.”
In Israel too, there’s a shared longing for peace. Nelly, National Director of SOS Children’s Villages in Israel, said: “There is a quiet hope that children will have the chance to live, to dream, and to grow in the light of peace.”
The situation, however, remains complex and fragile.
Hope and aid are on the rise
Long-awaited humanitarian aid is now finally increasing, with around 40 trucks a day (roughly 190,000 metric tons) now reaching Gaza. This includes food, shelter items, medicine, and other essential supplies.
However, deliveries are far below what’s needed (with the ceasefire agreement stating 400 trucks a day). And access could shift at any moment if ceasefire conditions aren’t fully met.
Despite these challenges, SOS Children’s Villages’ commitment has never faltered. We are the only organisation offering specialist alternative care for children in Gaza and the West Bank.
We’re providing care, education, and emotional support. Our temporary camp in Khan Younis still offers shelter and relative safety. And our safe spaces for learning and wellbeing remain open. All this has only been possible thanks to your support.
Supporting unaccompanied and separated children
SOS Children’s Villages remains on the side of children and families, unwavering in our promise to bring comfort, care and light after such hardship.
We’re prioritising the most urgent needs: families with children who have been displaced, returnees who have lost their homes, and those in high-risk areas.
The UN estimates that 1.9million people in Gaza are internally displaced, many of them are women and children. Most are attempting to return home, but for countless families, their homes are gone, creating a new wave of displacement as they continue to seek safety and stability.
Since 10 October, partners monitoring displacement have recorded nearly 310,000 movements from southern to northern Gaza, and approximately 23,000 movements in other directions.
This scale of displacement has left 19,000 children in Gaza without one or both parents.
SOS Children’s Villages is focusing on family tracing and reunification, recognising that reconnecting children with their families is always the best solution. Where reunification is not possible, children are supported via community-based kinship care or temporary family-like alternative care.
Safe spaces for play, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), recreational activities, and education continue to form a central part of the response. Families receive multi-purpose cash assistance to cover food, non-food items, and shelter, helping prevent separation and strengthen family stability.
Hope in numbers
- 53,000 people helped since the start of the war
- 31,192 children benefited from support
- 30,632 children received mental health assistance
- 1,300 children benefited from emergency education
- 200 unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) received interim family-like care
- 417 children received community-based alternative care
Prioritising urgent needs
In addition to this work, preparations are also underway to help families cope with the approaching rainy and winter seasons. We’re providing essential emergency shelter and non-food items, such as tarpaulins, bedding, cooking sets, and hygiene kits.
Food insecurity continues to threaten lives, particularly for children, so we’re scaling up efforts to provide food and cash assistance. Meanwhile, mental health support is helping families cope with anxiety, stress, and loss.
Education remains central. Temporary learning spaces are reopening, giving children a place to learn, play, and heal.
“Establishing an educational space during this difficult time is very important. We feel honoured to continue fulfilling our mission, even in these challenging circumstances.”
For children like Abdelkareem, school is a source of joy. “I love coming to school every day. I enjoy learning. I come to school with happiness.”
Multi-purpose cash assistance is also being provided, giving families dignity and choice, helping them to meet urgent needs.
These vital steps are restoring dignity and laying the groundwork for restoration of the country. Yet even this represents only a fraction of the enormous challenges being faced on the path to recovery.
Our broader support includes rubble removal, repairs to water and sewage networks, and the rehabilitation of key sites to create shelters.
However, the scale is immense. Clearing the rubble alone will involve removing an estimated 61million tons, a process expected to take more than a decade. Yet this effort is vital to reopening blocked roads, enabling the movement of people and goods, reducing hazards, and restoring essential services, including the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The path ahead
SOS Children’s Villages is planning for the long-term recovery and reconstruction of Gaza. This includes embedding child-centred care in rebuilding efforts, strengthening local community capacity, and ensuring robust systems for tracing and reunification.
“Our mission is to walk with children and families on the path of recovery, so that every child can grow up in a safe, stable, loving environment.”
Hope has returned, fragile though it may be, and we long to see it bloom.