Evacuated children's village in Rafah destroyed

GAZA - 22 January 2025

Evacuated SOS Children's Village in Gaza destroyed

After the ceasefire made it safe to travel, staff from SOS Children's Villages in Gaza visited the children's village in Rafah on Monday, only to discover it had been completely destroyed.

"The former residential homes have been reduced to rubble," said Reem Alreqeb, the acting director of SOS Children's Villages in Rafah, who was among those on the site visit. "We will need to rebuild the village from scratch. Unfortunately, it is likely that the children and staff who remain in Gaza will have to live in temporary shelters for a long time."

The children's village in Rafah was evacuated in May 2024 as the escalating violence made it increasingly unsafe for the children. Despite being officially recognized as a humanitarian center, the village was threatened by bombs that landed as close as 200 meters away. In the face of these dangers, the staff decided to relocate 33 children and staff to the city of Khan Younis where they set up a tent encampment.

Reflecting on this decision, Ms. Alreqeb stated: "Had we not left, we probably would have all been killed. This is yet another tragic reminder that innocent children bear the highest cost of this brutal war."

Before finally fleeing the Rafah village in May, a total of 68 children, accompanied by 11 caregivers and their families, were evacuated from Rafah to the West Bank in March. The children's village in Rafah was founded in 2000.

Children in Gaza long to see their parents

The 33 children currently living in the SOS Children's Villages tent encampment in Khan Younis, Gaza, were found unaccompanied and separated from their parents. In this temporary village, they receive essential care, including a warm home, nutritious meals, and medical support.

Although formal schooling is unavailable in Gaza, staff initiated teaching sessions in June to provide structure and opportunities to learn for the children.

Psychological support remains a priority, with emotional release activities used to help the children cope and gather information about their families in hopes of reuniting them.

"Sadly, their greatest struggle is the longing to see their parents," said a staff member. "All the children wish for a permanent ceasefire and permission to return north to reunite with their families. One child said, 'I wish for a ceasefire so I can ride my bike again without the fear of being bombed.'"

Rafah Village: 'They had hoped to find a small part of their memories'

Ms. Alreqeb said she and staff who visited the former children's village in Rafah on Monday were deeply affected by the level of destruction.

"No one anticipated such a scale of destruction. The children's representative kept asking, 'Where is my home? Where are my children's memories? Where is the place where we used to gather with the mothers? Where are my colleagues' homes?'," she said. "They had hoped to find even a small part of their memories and their children's memories, but unfortunately, everything was completely erased."

Ms. Alreqeb expressed hope that the ceasefire would hold and lead to lasting peace. However, even then, children in Gaza will remain in urgent need of aid for a long time. There is a dire shortage of everything: food, shelter, medical care, and psychological support. Ms. Alreqeb noted: "The entire infrastructure-roads, water and electricity supplies, housing, hospitals, schools-has been destroyed during the war. It will take years to rebuild."

"Families will not be able to provide food and clothing for their children, who are in need of great assistance as they have been cut off from their studies for a long time. The situation in Gaza is very tough and requires the combined efforts of all institutions to be able to return Gaza to what it was before the war," she said.