Hanaa never imagined that leaving Gaza for a brief visit to the West Bank would mark the last time she saw most of her family. When war erupted, the border sealed behind her. Her four children, mother, and siblings remained in Gaza, trapped under relentless Israeli bombardment.

Then came the strike. The family home was hit. Her mother and siblings were killed. Two of her children lost their lives. Her daughter Ghaidaa was critically wounded. Only two children survived, both now clinging to life in an overwhelmed Gaza hospital running on hope more than resources.

In the West Bank, Hanaa mourns a life destroyed. Her husband was also killed. Powerless and alone, she follows the news with trembling hands, imagining her children isolated in a hospital without electricity, without their parents, without safety.

“I just want to hold my children,” she says quietly. “I’ve already lost almost everyone. I’m terrified I’ll lose them too.”

She has turned to humanitarian agencies, pleading for help to cross the border. Ghaidaa requires urgent care. The surviving children are traumatised, hungry, and alone.

Hanaa’s story is one of thousands. Palestinian mothers across Gaza are burying children, searching rubble for loved ones, or waiting in vain for permission to reach the ones who still breathe.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, over 16,500 children have been killed since the start of the war—more than 30 percent of all casualties. Thousands more are wounded, orphaned, or waiting for medical transfers that rarely arrive.

In Gaza, children are no longer just victims of war. They are its frontline. And their cries, for many, still go unheard.