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.
The drawings, released on World Mental Health Day, are by children in a psychosocial support programme run by Save the Children in one of its child-friendly spaces in Gaza, which offer places for children to play and help them cope with what they are witnessing during the war and what they dream about for their future.
Several of the children produced art illustrating the relentless bombardment they have lived through in Gaza, with sketches showing missiles destroying homes, warplanes flying above playgrounds and neighbourhoods, and life in displacement.
One drawing shows a child amid rubble, dreaming of graduating and becoming a doctor. Other children portrayed their dreams of travelling, having successful careers, of plates full of food and intact homes, surrounded by butterflies, flowers, and skies free of bombs.
The child accounts come as the war in Gaza enters its third year this month. Over that time, children have suffered the unthinkable with more than 20,000 children killed—an average of over one child every hour since October 2023.
In August, famine was officially confirmed in Gaza City and is expected to spread to other parts of the Strip with an estimated 132,000 children aged under five facing risk of death from acute malnutrition.
Even before 7 October 2023, children in Gaza were in mental health crisis due to cyclical escalations of violence, the impacts of the blockade dating back to 2007, including restrictions on freedom of movement and access to essential services, economic collapse, and separation from family and friends.
In 2024, parents and caregivers told Save the Children that children's capacity to even imagine a future without war has virtually disappeared. Those surveyed said they had witnessed a dramatic deterioration in the mental health of children that is much worse than during previous escalations in violence, manifesting in fear, anxiety, disordered eating, bedwetting, hyper-vigilance and sleep problems as well as behavioural changes such as an alternation in attachment style with parents, regression and aggression.
Ahmad Alhendawi, Regional Director for Save the Children in the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, said:
"These drawings represent children's lived experiences in Gaza, portraying both their aspirations and their daily realities. They show what children in Gaza wish for — things all children have the right to, but which these children are denied: plates of food, an education, safety, and a future.
"It's been two years since these children had their childhoods ripped away. These two years will haunt us all with our collective failure to protect these children and their futures. The only way to stop this is for an immediate and definitive ceasefire and unfettered access to life-saving aid."
Save the Children has been working in Gaza and across the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) for over 30 years.
Currently we are running two primary healthcare centres in Gaza, providing essential services to children, mothers and families, mother and baby areas with support for infant and young child feeding, and child-friendly spaces with psychosocial care for children.
Drawing is a core component of our psychosocial support programming as it helps children process and express emotions they cannot yet verbalize, supporting emotional regulation, self-expression, and cognitive processing of difficult experiences. It also strengthens a sense of control and resilience, allowing children to transform traumatic or stressful memories into symbolic forms they can understand and discuss at their own pace. As most of the activities happen in group settings, drawing activities foster peer connection and social support, helping children see that others share similar emotions, which promotes healing and belonging. We have also set up temporary learning spaces to help children who are unable to enrol in formal education. We are ready to scale-up lifesaving aid alongside our partners.
Drawings available here
