ACAHM Statement War on Gaza

Oct 23, 2024

The Arab Coalition for Adolescent Health and Medicine strongly denounces the ongoing 2023 war in Gaza inflicted by the Israeli occupation and the catastrophic toll it exacts on the Palestinian people, most acutely on the shoulders of the vulnerable adolescents. The ongoing chronic violence and chaos shrouding Gaza have inflicted deep, unhealed wounds on this susceptible demographic. Palestinians not only grapple with the fear of death but also the relentless dread of perishing without access to basic necessities such as food and clean water.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the cumulative death toll in the Gaza Strip, since 7 October, has reached a staggering 4,385 individuals as of October 21st, including at least 1,756 children and 967 women and about 13,561 injuries, as reported by the Ministry of Health in Gaza1. It is tragic to acknowledge that hundreds more may be trapped under the rubble.

Adolescents, navigating the precarious path from childhood to adulthood, find their lives upended by this enduring conflict. Gaza, home to a predominantly youthful population, shelters almost a million children and youth under 19. The current ... Read full statement