About 130,000 children aged under 10 have been trapped for 50 days in areas in northern Gaza that are almost entirely inaccessible to aid workers and not receiving food or medical supplies despite warnings of famine, said Save the Children [1]. 

Children living in North Gaza and Gaza governates have been almost completely cut off from supplies of food, water, and medicine since 6 October 2024 when Israeli forces declared the area to be a closed military zone, with the independent Famine Review Committee (FRC) saying that famine is either imminent or likely already occurring in the area [2]. 

The UN also warned nearly a month ago that the entire population of North Gaza governorate was at risk of dying yet attempts by aid groups to access the area have been repeatedly denied by Israeli forces.

Save the Children has been unable to access northern Gaza to deliver food parcels for 5,000 families, along with 725 hygiene kits and other aid supplies, for over seven weeks. Before the area was closed off, Save the Children worked through local partners to reach thousands of children in need, distributing over 1,000 food parcels and 600 hygiene kits, and reaching around 15,000 children and families in northern Gaza with psychosocial support, recreational activities, and case management. The 5,000 food parcels have consequently been re-directed to and delivered in southern Gaza where the needs are still great, though not as critical.