November 20 comes each year to remind the world of children’s rights and the duty to protect them—except in Gaza, where this day returns heavy with sorrow, reflecting another face of childhood trapped between the cold of tents and the fires of war.

In the rain-torn refugee camps, the cry of a young Gazan girl echoes: “I’m very cold.” Simple words, yet they encapsulate the scale of the catastrophe.

A child shivering from a cold beyond her ability to endure, hugging her fragile body in search of any measure of warmth, in worn-out tents that protect neither from rain nor from wind—after Israel has barred the entry of tents and heavy winter clothing for weeks.

Children crying from the cold, tents flooding, and rain turning into yet another weapon claiming the lives of the displaced.

With every passing day, the Israeli siege tightens, and any humanitarian or international commitments that were supposed to protect civilians continue to erode.

No agreement is upheld, and no international pressure forces the occupation to allow in even the minimum of basic necessities.

Field estimates indicate that 93% of displaced families’ tents in Gaza were flooded during the recent waves of rain, while Israel continues to bomb buildings and roads, and prevents the entry of humanitarian aid—including tents and heating materials.

Since the war on Gaza began in late 2023, thousands of children have been killed by Israeli fire. Those who survived the bombing faced hunger, disease, and cold, until life in the camps became a daily battle for survival.

Medical sources have documented the deaths of 17 children from severe cold after the entry of tents and heating supplies was blocked. Another child died just days ago, bringing the total to 18 children who perished silently in the winter.

On World Children’s Day, Palestinians question the meaning of this day as the reality reduces the rights of Gaza’s children to nothing more than “survival.”

While children around the world enjoy safety, healthcare, and education, Gaza’s children stand alone against cold, bombardment, and hunger—with no protection, no justice, and no international voice capable of stopping the tragedy.

Humanity collapses year after year, as Israel continues using every possible means to break the resilience of civilians—until even the cold itself has become a systematic instrument of death.

Meanwhile, international institutions content themselves with issuing statements that change nothing, under constant fear of angering the United States, the main supporter of the occupation.

In Gaza, children do not need slogans for a global day; they need a safe tent, a warm blanket, a meal, and a simple right to life— a right the world still fails to grant them.