Armed conflict

About 20,000 children in displacement camps and in facilities referred to as “rehabilitation” centres in northeastern Syria are at heightened risk as fighting intensifies and the situation remains fluid, with limited clarity on the security conditions affecting children and families.

Millions of children in Sudan have missed nearly 500 days of learning since the war started in April 2023 in what has become one of the world’s longest school closures, surpassing the worst shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Children in Gaza are being killed by collapsing buildings and freezing cold temperatures as tents that are the sole shelter for families are blown away in strong winds, Save the Children said

The number of child casualties in Yemen jumped 70% in 2025, with an average of one child killed or injured every day

Children in Gaza have entered 2026 facing ongoing storms and flooding that have ripped tents and left them exposed to water-borne diseases with an urgent need for supplies to rebuild shelters, Save the Children said.

Families fleeing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are arriving in Burundi at overcrowded camps with nothing, leaving children hungry, traumatised, and at risk of disease.

For brothers Osama*, 6, and Yousef*, 10, the day returning home after the end of 14 years of conflict in Syria should have been one of celebration - but instead it was one of tragedy

Israel’s aid restrictions mean that severe winter weather is cutting children in Gaza off from much-needed child protection and psychosocial support services, Save the Children said, as storms began again today

Syrians returning home full of hope in the year since the conflict ended said they are struggling to rebuild their lives amid destroyed infrastructure, limited access to schools and healthcare, and a collapsing economy, Save the Children said.

Israeli military operations have forced entire communities in areas of the northern West Bank into lockdown in their homes, keeping children out of school, jeopardising family incomes and increasing risk of physical violence and child detention from the Israeli military, Save the Children said.

Record numbers of attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine in the past two months have forced school closures and also disrupted the remote learning that children have relied upon for nearly four years of war, said Save the Children

Children in Gaza are sleeping on the bare ground with no shelter, in flimsy shorts and t-shirts that are sodden with sewage water after their tents flooded in a weekend of heavy rains, putting them at risk of disease, Save the Children said

One month after an agreed pause in hostilities in Gaza, children and families’ lives remain in limbo, with people unable to start repairs to homes without equipment and many scared to move due to unexploded ordinance or the fear of further airstrikes, Save the Children said.

Three horrific acts of violence against children in Somalia in recent weeks are highlighting the urgent need for the Somali government to approve and implement legislation that protects children.

Umran*, 52, has worked in Sudan for 10 years supporting Save the Children’s programmes in El Fasher and in Zamzam camp, where families have been living in famine conditions since August 2024. When fighting engulfed El Fasher last week, Umran witnessed unimaginable scenes of violence and loss. After the city fell, he walked for two days without stopping - out of fear of an ambush - together with other families and their children who managed to escape. He has now joined a team of Save the Children staff supporting families fleeing El Fasher to Tawila.

The announcement of a pause in hostilities offers a moment of hope for children and families in Gaza. But while it provides a brief respite, it is not enough.

From destroyed homes and playgrounds to dreams of becoming doctors, writers, and fashion designers, children in Gaza have expressed how two years of war have reshaped their lives and risk shattering their dreams in a series of drawings released today by Save the Children

Reports of an impending pause in hostilities in Gaza signals a hopeful reprieve on the horizon for families and children, but must be a turning point to secure a definitive ceasefire, said Save the Children.

The leaders of over 20 major aid groups in Gaza call for urgent intervention after a UN commission concluding, for the first time, that genocide is being committed.

The equivalent of about 150 classrooms of children have been killed or injured in Ukraine since the start of full-scale war

At least one Palestinian child has been killed every hour on average by Israeli forces in Gaza over nearly 23 months of war, with the number of children killed now surpassing 20,000, Save the Children said.

Children in frontline areas of Ukraine have lost 25% more days of learning due to the war than the world’s longest COVID-19 school closures, as a lack of bomb shelters means it is still too dangerous to for children to attend class, Save the Children said today.

Below is a statement from Save the Children International CEO Inger Ashing to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, 27th August.

The reported deaths of 100 children due to starvation in Gaza since October 2023 is a devastating milestone that shames the world and demands long overdue urgent action, Save the Children said.

As the Israeli government’s siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families. With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes.

Fuel shortages in Gaza could cut off supplies of clean drinking water to about 44,000 children supported by Save the Children in a matter of days, increasing the risk of waterborne illnesses such as cholera, diarrhoea and dysentery, with these children only a small number of those impacted by fuel running out.

Nearly 1,000 people have been killed so far this year in Sudan while seeking health care or visiting loved ones in hospital

130+ NGOs call for immediate action to end the deadly Israeli distribution scheme (including the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) in Gaza, revert to the existing UN-led coordination mechanisms, and lift the Israeli government’s blockade on aid and commercial supplies.

Over a dozen schools and kindergartens have reportedly been damaged in a deadly attack on Dnipro this morning, with at least two children injured when a train was shelled. The attack came just over 24 hours after a round of drone and missile strikes in Kyiv killed nine people including an 11 year old child, Save the Children said.

The number of children reporting sexual assault after fleeing into Burundi to escape violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has more than tripled this year with aid cuts dramatically reducing the support available, said Save the Children.

There must be no further delays in unlocking the frozen billions for children in Ukraine currently sitting with Chelsea Football Club, Save the Children said as the UK Government threatened to sue former club owner Roman Abramovich.

KYIV, 28 May, 2025 – Air raid sirens forced children in Ukraine to miss an average of one in every five school lessons during the past academic year that ends this week with pupils preparing the third consecutive summer under war, Save the Children said.

Thousands of families have arrived injured, traumatised and with no food or water in the town of Tawila after journeys of up to 70km (40 miles) on foot to flee attacks in Sudan’s Zamzam and Al Shouk camps, Save the Children said.

The number of children going hungry in war-torn eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has surged 50% due to an escalation in violence this year, with 2.3 million more children now going without enough food [1], according to Save the Children.

More children have been killed and injured over the past five days in Ukraine than during the entire month of January, said Save the Children as ceasefire talks come to a close in Saudi Arabia.

Almost 5,000 trained foster families are needed in Ukraine to help children currently living full-time in institutions move into safer family-based care arrangements, especially as the war leaves more children without parental care and at risk of being admitted into institutions, Save the Children said.

More than 400 children in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were recruited by armed actors in January and February this year, with some as young as 14 years and some reported picked up from schools and the streets and put at immediate risk of violence, said Save the Children

Staff Account: Elias works with Save the Children in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). During the recent escalation of conflict, he was in Goma, but was able to leave for Bukavu, South Kivu, which is separated from Goma by Lake Kivu. When the fighting reached Bukavu, he was forced to hide in his home with his family. Here, Elias shares his experience:

More than 46,000 children and teenagers are missing the start of their school year in Catatumbo region in Colombia, as a major escalation in violence has forced the government to close schools across 10 districts.

Staff Account: Elias works with Save the Children in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). During the recent escalation of conflict, he was in Goma, but was able to leave for Bukavu, South Kivu, which is separated from Goma by Lake Kivu. Here, Elias shares what they have seen of the humanitarian situation in DRC.

Nearly one third of children in Lebanon – 29% - began the new year facing crisis levels of hunger, with some pushed into child labour to support their families, said Save the Children after new data showed an almost 5% increase in child hunger in the past three months.

Children and families in Gaza have faced five attacks on schools-turned-shelters by Israeli forces in the first week of the new school year, with at least three children reported killed and scores of children injured, said Save the Children.

Israeli airstrikes have killed about 80 people, including an estimated 38 children [1] in Gaza in the first few days of the new year, Save the Children said.

The recent developments in Syria and what they mean for children.

Save the Children worker Amar Osman* shares his account from the besieged city of El Fasher in Sudan as violence continues across the country.

The humanitarian situation in Lebanon continues to rapidly deteriorate; the latest Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have killed at least 60 people, including two children.

Civilian attacks by Israeli forces across the Gaza strip have escalated in the past 24 hours, underscoring the urgent need for international intervention.

The first case of cholera was detected in Lebanon, where over 400,000 children have been forcibly displaced by the escalating conflict. Children in Lebanon are now at growing risk of skin diseases, cholera, and other waterborne diseases due to overcrowded, basic conditions in collective shelters and a lack of water and sanitation facilities.

The occupied Palestinian territory is now ranked as the deadliest place in the world for children: about 30% of the 11,300 identified children killed in Gaza were younger than five and Gaza currently has the highest rates of child malnutrition globally.

Eight aid workers describe their experiences of the brutality of the constant bombardment in El Fasher.