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Nobel laureate and activist Malala Yousafzai was in Cairo this week, meeting Palestinian refugees who have had to leave Gaza in the wake of Israel’s brutal military campaign. She visited the International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance (INARA), an organisation providing Palestinians shelter, medical care, education and mental health support. Yousafzai met several children at INARA-run facilities and announced a $100,000 grant for the organisation from her Malala Fund.

The activist posted about her experiences on Instagram, recalling stories from the children she’d met. Having worked extensively with children, said this was “the first time where every child I met had been physically wounded, lost a close family member or saw their home bombed”. She said Palestinian children were the “hardest hit by Israel’s genocide”.

Yousafzai mentioned meeting a three-year-old girl who lost her siblings when she fled Gaza with her mother. A teenager she met said all she wanted was to see her father again. Another teenager, who had received therapy from INARA, was so traumatised by the events she saw unfolding that she couldn’t speak until she received mental health support.

The Nobel laureate ended her post with a note on how this crisis can only end once the war stops. “While we work to support children like those I met this week, we must continue demanding an end to the genocide,” Yousafzai said, urging leaders to pressure Israel into ending its siege of Gaza, opening checkpoints for aid shipments and implementing a permanent ceasefire.

“Palestinian kids deserve a future, and they deserve our support,” the activist said.

This announcement comes almost a month after Yousafzai pledged $3 million for girls’ education and women’s rights in Afghanistan. That grant went to 10 different organisations working both in Afghanistan and abroad to support Afghan girls and women.

Meanwhile, Israel’s war on Gaza has entered day 721, with over 65,400 killed and almost 167,400 wounded. Israel has criticised a wave of recognition for a Palestinian state this week at the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address the meeting today ( Friday).