That is a deeply painful and important question. The truth is: children should never die in wars, yet they do and far too often. There’s no justification that can make sense of it emotionally or morally. But we can try to understand the forces that lead to such tragedies.
Here are some of the main reasons why children die in wars:
Wars Are Increasingly Fought in Civilian Areas
Modern conflicts are less often fought on traditional battlefields and more often in cities and towns. This means homes, schools, and hospitals become battlegrounds, and children are caught in the crossfire.
Deliberate Targeting or Indifference
In some wars, armed groups deliberately target civilians to instill fear, punish communities, or gain control. In other cases, there is a cold indifference to civilian life, children become “collateral damage,” a term that hides the human horror beneath bureaucratic language.
Breakdown of Societies and Systems
War often destroys healthcare, clean water, food supplies, and shelter. Many children die not from bullets or bombs but from malnutrition, disease, and lack of medical care.
Use of Child Soldiers
In some conflicts, children are recruited or forced to fight. These children face enormous psychological and physical harm and are often killed or permanently traumatized.
Failure of the International Community
Sometimes powerful nations or institutions fail to intervene, or intervene too late, or even fuel wars by supplying weapons, funding factions, or supporting unjust policies. Political self-interest too often outweighs humanitarian concern.
It’s one of the most unbearable truths of our time: that those least responsible for war – children – suffer its worst consequences. And while analysis may help us understand the “how,” it does little to soften the “why.” The real question is not just why this happens, but why humanity continues to allow it.